Owning your own home

They do it for £40 round our way, but it's a very quick 'blast of fresh water and a squeegee' job. Not great if you've got cack that's been caked on.

We have two useful things;

1. telescopic window brush that accepts a hose pipe
   
2. A squeegee / foam pad on a telescopic pole
   
   

You'll struggle to prevent streaking with tap water though; I try to use a bit of cleaning vinegar.

It appears to be impossible to get a reasonably priced window cleaner at the moment (a neighbour had a quote of £110 for a 3 bed house) so looking like I'm going to have to do it myself.

The way we fixed this problem (W London) was to arrange a "group buy" with a few neighbours. This brought the cost down pretty dramatically as it obviously reduces travel time for the window cleaners.

I pay £15 every two months in SE6

£20 front back and sides of a three bed in N/E London. Once a month ish depending on his need for holiday cash or beer monies.

a neighbour had a quote of £110 for a 3 bed house

surely that is not per visit??? wtaf

We had some semi-reliable window cleaners for a while but they they had an argument, split up and then had a turf way. At one point they both tried to clean our windows 6 days apart which was a bit keen. Haven't sene either for more than a year :(

Sadly this lot don't cover my neck of the woods: https://bikebubl.com/

I can only assume they didn't really want the work so quoted outrageously. There used to be a local guy but he's retired and any attempts at getting someone to do a group of places on the street have failed with the window cleaner gradually stopping responding to messages.

@Ramsaye I don't suppose your guy is near N15?

Maybe I should get a telescopic window brush, seems cheaper than the pressure washer bit I found
https://smile.amazon.co.uk/K%C3%A4rcher-Telescopic-Pressure-Washer-Accessory/dp/B08TRKG6XZ/

Paging Victorian factory owner @chrisbmx116 for his tales of outrage at paying window cleaners thruppance a month.

£11.50 monthly in Catford for the front outsides to be done.

No, he will refuse jobs that are too far up the street from his existing jobs so travelling out of Chingford is a big no no.

Alright kiddos. Those of you who've moved Further Out East (I'm talking anything from Forest Gate to East Ham really, as far out as you can get without going outside the A406) how're you finding it?

I grew up in East London and when I was a kid, if Forest Gate was a dog, you'd shoot it. But now that victorian housing stock and Aldersbrook is looking more tempting. Is it really worth 500 large for a two bed freehold tho? It's still Forest Gate even if it does have a tap room round the corner, surely?

Omg he's mentioned the A word.

Which is where I live. And it's a very fine place I have to say. I really like living here and they will carry me out in a box I think.

Forest Gate is posh now.

We lived there and then couldn't afford it any more, and even when we lived there people's reactions to hearing where we lived switched from wincing to "la-di-dah". Obviously bits of it are still deprived and crime-ridden (it's in London) but the property market is ridiculous, and the new places that are opening (Italian deli, bars in the arches) seem to be able to sustain a clientele.

East Ham/Manor Park (where we are now) is a bit different. More affordable houses, but probably more extreme poverty as well - more homelessness and street drinking. Even so, since we moved here in 2019 there are now two places within a 3 minute walk where I can get a proper coffee and a croissant, and the community initiatives that Newham have allocated money for means that there are community gardens, tree planting and mini libraries sprouting up.

more homelessness and street drinking ... Newham have allocated money for ... community gardens, tree planting and mini libraries

Sorry to snip your post but sounds like a real misallocation of resources!!

” Forest Gate is posh now.”

Ah, that's a lot more North and East

It does, though I suppose the £100,000 they're paying for community projects is probably dwarfed by what they're spending on housing etc.

To be fair to Newham Council (which is hugely unpopular within the borough) they have set up their own development company which ensures that developments have 50% affordable housing.

🤷‍♂️

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Iirc you're thinking of hoisting anchor and moving in due course ?

Thanks to you and @princeperch for this - I was down that way on Saturday and couldn't quite believe how leafy and nice it felt, and I wondered if we were just lucky in getting a sunny day for it. I'm clearly going to need to upgrade my London psychogeography map!

To be fair as nice as it is it is absolutely ridiculously expensive. A bloke a few doors down paid £1,126,000 for his terraced house which is identical to the one I paid significantly, significantly less for (but his has a kitchen diner and loft extension) I am doing both of those which will cost me about 100k ish. So still a lot of money and still absolutely obscenely expensive. I'll check myself into the golf club thread obviously but had I not had some good fortune with the last 2 properties I owned I wouldn't have been able to move here.

£5 for the front is fine, them not turning up after paying up front for the year "due to stress" isn't!

Any examples?

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Not to get hung up on the meme but shouldn't that be a statement, not a question?

@Soul
Yes.

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