Owning your own home

Excellent news for @NurseHolliday

If that does happen, it'll be slow going. That whole border of East London / Essex is culturally very resistant to change, even where that change is positive.

I've had the exact same experience recently.

A couple of places on rightmove that I've contacted about recently I'm certain have never actually been available. Both with Keatons.

Going through all this for this for the first time, can't believe how shady and unregulated the whole sector is. Or I can, but I'm now just actually dealing with it.

You gotta feel for career laborers.

Definitely. I did it for a mate in between jobs. When it's your place you tend not to pace yourself well.

Which all neatly brings me to the suggestion I was about to make. Hire a labourer to help you for a couple of days. You're looking at ~£100p/d in ldn. Two of you working for two days will smash through loads - even stuff like how long (and tiring) is it taking you to fill and move the rubble bags?

Going through all this for this for the first time, can't believe how shady and unregulated the whole sector is. Or I can, but I'm now just actually dealing with it.

It's a shit show, for sure.

I might just find the areas I like then flyer the shit out of them and try to side step EAs completely.

Could Phil and Kirstie do it for you?

https://www.channel4.com/4viewers/take-part/location-location-location

Hah we meet their requirement of chain free, exchanged contracts, deposit sitting in the bank gathering dust

I mean, what do you have to do to get EAs interest? Turn up at their gaff and lick their boots?

@Señor_Bear - I have an unemployed student son sitting here 5 mins from you. If you want some hours of rubble shifting / general labour DM me. He's been well isolated!

Not that you should have to do anything for them to want your custom - but I think going in in person might help (assuming they're actually back in office) . You're probably more memorable that way, and they can get the information they need from you (how serious/ready you are) without waiting for your response.

never actually been available

This is why we gave up looking in Forest Gate. Nothing we wanted /could afford actually existed irl.

Now with a toddler and C19 moving to Borehamwood has proved to be the right move. Although we've only recently discovered that the school stats are warped by the Jewish faith schools so one of our assumptions of the big long term pluses over Forest Gate has proved to be incorrect.

The main reason I went with the estate agents to sell my place that I did was because they were the only ones, when we were viewing properties, who were actually pro-active at suggesting properties to view and getting us into places that weren't yet online.

All of the others I dealt with would occasionally email me stuff that may or may not fit my criteria and was already on Rightmove.

My dad was labouring on building sites until he was 68, his knees are fucked and he’s deaf as a result of that graft.

This isn't cheap but lovely decor and none of those pesky fireplaces:

https://www.wilkinson-estates.co.uk/property/residential/for-sale/london/forest-gate/hampton-road/29101754

views for days too

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Not sure if worse or better than staring straight in to somebody else's gaff...

I think... and this is totally just a guess, its because the rules are about not building something that overlooks other people... I think... its a monstrosity either way and should be removed by the council IMO.

I used to have a house down that end of Hampton Road and it must be said that the Overground trains are actually fairly quiet. The freight trains that pass along there on the other hand are flipping noisy and while infrequent, sometimes travel during the night.

Forest gate has a couple of really nice roads which are disproportionally expensive, but in the end I wasn't won over by the place.
There was a Lambo wrapped in a power rangers wrap on one drive way which kinda put me off.

Painting is very nearly complete. Just a round of touch ups tomorrow, then probably a few days of cleaning and moving furniture.

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That looks fantastic.

Thanks @chrisbmx116. Here’s a before and after of somewhere that we used to store a bike.

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Painting is the hardest thing ever. Hat doffed. I still have loads to do....

Anybody who started or propagated that rumour has not been to Romford.

£800k, 2,000 sqft, N4 and 20 minutes into the City on the train. On a pretty busy road though. I was very tempted when I saw this one, it had a great cellar, I assume the previous buyer must have pulled out.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-77447383.html

That’s some sexy skirting.