Page 22 | West London June thread (one day early)

ComeOVeneer · 2007-05-31T09:30:55+00:00

Almost made it to the end of the month. Children are gone. I am free until Sunday lunch

foxcub · 11/06/2007 19:54

Kew - nope.

I now have a witness from HR to the fact she told him to call me urgently today and he declined.

I will just add this to my grievance.

What a bloody idiot he is!!!

CoV - and for you!!!

Puds - did you enjoy the class then? I'm quite - what a lovely thing to do

Paddle - have you progressed your search for a property since last week at all? have you contacted all the HAs yet?

xoxo · 12/06/2007 08:46

Quokka: hi ; so pleased to hear you got there and are coping with 2 jetlagged kids and large openable windows. I'd have hired two maids by now and checked into Raffles (in my dreams)

Foxy: oh oh, silly man. Why not confrount it when he may be able to sort it rather than duck and hide and it gets much worse? Full steam ahead m'girl and don't feel bad about this: you have been put in this position, not him.

PC: well done on the sale.

Reading through teh threda shows me how much more you guys do than me: no naked bike rides, sod all garden centres. Mental note to get off fat arse and do something...

Paddlechick666 · 12/06/2007 09:02

morning all

oxo, we're going swimming this morning if you fancy it?

foxie, keep us posted on how it goes. good on you for tackling it too. make sure you stress how this conflict has affected your maternity leave - go for compo!

went to look at a Notting Hill Housing Trust development on teh edge of Ivybridge Estate yesterday arvo. Actually not a bad flat, very very generous bedrooms and bathroom. kitchen a bit basic and living room not as big as you'd like. big wide hallway tho.

i've made an expression of interest. prob can only afford a 30 or 40% share which is less than i currently own. ridiculous as these flats are valued about 40k less than mine - in total.

however, the montly service charge is enormous due to the road etc not being adopted by the council. major oversight on the part of the HA.

am feeling quite sad about it all really. came home and sat in the garden and realised just how much i am going to miss having outdoor space.

but that was always going to happen as there's no way i could afford a house or even garden flat.

locationally it's good and bad. the estate isn't very attractive tbh but it's so close to where i am now which is great. apparently ivybridge primary has a good rep and that's walking distance. no communal space tho but hey there's always Kew.

so it's ticking a lot of boxes with my head and on the practical side but still i feel very down about the prospect of living there.

there just isn't any other option really. there are other HAs around Bedfont Lakes, Ealing, Acton etc but really there's not going to be much difference in terms of the type of property so it all comes down to location i guess........

sorry, i'm waffling. haven't really got anyone to discuss this with so guess i'm just trying to order my thoughts.

on the upside dd's room would be huge and i could decorate it beautifully......

Original poster

ComeOVeneer · 12/06/2007 09:05

Morning all. Bad night in the COV household. DD woke me at 3am complaining of tummy and ear ache, then promptly threw up all over the carpet, so is off school today and currently asleep on the sofa. I have the IL's arriving on Friday for the weekend and have housework etcto get done. Mind you with a bit of luck one of us may still be sick by then (if it is contagious) and the visit will be called off .

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quokka · 12/06/2007 11:17

yes I too had another bad night, then in the morning projectile vomit. Maybe the food hall wasn't a good idea for dc's dinner? Mind you ds2 wasn't sick and either was I?

Don't stress PC it will sort itself out, but the place you looked at sounds quite good. School sounds better than alot of the others? If the kitchens too small don't spend much time in it . My kitchen is like a cupboard, the biggest thing in it is the fridge, I turned on the cooker for the first time today and all the electricity went in the kitchen. So I finally get the gas connected but then have no electricity . I'm determined to cook them a decent meal tomorrow.

Kewcumber · 12/06/2007 11:25

Hi quokka - it all just teething problems, it'll all come good in the end.

PAddle its early days yet, you need time to think about things and to look at other properties and think about the pros and cons of each. There's no rush is there? I always found househunting immensely depressing - it doesn't matter how much money I've had I've always seen some real dross. On the outseide space, I can see why the thought of giving it up would be depressing. You need to compare to a flat with outside space and see whether you are prepared to compromise (presumably on internal space) and then mull it over.

Original poster

ComeOVeneer · 12/06/2007 11:29

Quokka, I agree with QC, all teething problems. WHen we arrived in Chicago none of the blinds were up in any rooms, fab for combating jetlag . The washing machine and tumble drier were in the middle of the kitchen (also very small) instead of in the laundry so you couldn't get tto the fridge, and the cable guy turned up atthe appartment to connet it 20 mins after we arrive(it being nearly 11pm for us time wise with 2 exhusted children). Once eveything was sorted and we settled in we loved it as I'm sure you will.

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foxcub · 12/06/2007 13:25

Hi everyone

Anyone know of a tradesman/woman who could lay some kitchen floor tiles for us [desperate emoticon]?

Original poster

ComeOVeneer · 12/06/2007 13:32

Can't help foxy. We have a guy who does tilling and small building jobs for us but he makes a special trip from N London as a favour to us as we have given him tonnes ofbusiness through recommendations.

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xoxo · 12/06/2007 13:36

PC: there are fab open spaces there - Reedless park, and a fab library (Isleworth) def walkable or a very short bus ride. and of course there's the leisure centre which has loads of kids stuff including an internal 'ball/ soft play' room: considferably cheaper then Hugos!

bad first week at weight watchers - put on a pound : d'ya think wine has calories?

Paddlechick666 · 12/06/2007 13:48

hi all

thanks for the comments. the more i think about it the more i like the property. it's literally 5 mins away from where we are now.

not massively keen on the ivybridge estate but reading the school's ofsted report gives me hope - evidently the parents are very supportive of the school and most of them must be on the estate!

trouble is QC, there isn't a great deal of time to make a decision. properties like this are thin on the ground and in fact this one may not even be available. it's already under offer but it's likely the 1st applicant isn't going to get the finance...

bottom line is i can't finance an outright purchase of anything mortgage-able south of Manchester. probably not even north of manchester.......

a garden is just a luxury that is out of my league now so just have to have a hard word with myself and get on with it.

if it's going to be a flat then i'd rather be as close to kew and the river as I can.

there's some Thames Valley places coming up behind Kew Retail Park but not till next spring now.

plus my lease is up on this house end August. think the landlord is happy to do a rolling contract which is good news but i'd rather move end summer than autumn/winter.....

foxcub · 12/06/2007 14:00

Paddle - it sounds nice and has lots of space, plus the location is good. You sound as though you're 80% decided.

Are you going to have another look at it?

I find people usually know pretty much straight away if they want a property. So you'll know in "your bones" as it were, whether it ticks enough boxes.

Quokka - I'm sure all the blips with your Combo will be sorted out. Do you still like it?

How are your two boys - are they excited about their new surroundings?

Kewcumber · 12/06/2007 14:01

you can come and sit in my garden Paddle.

xoxo · 12/06/2007 14:07

How does it work? can you put yr name down for the ones around Kew now?

Paddlechick666 · 12/06/2007 14:09

foxie, well it doesn't have the WOW factor but then i'm hardly in the running for Location Location eh LOL!

i am feeling a bit nervous about not getting it now so I guess that indicates something.

not knowing how things are going to turn out with H doesn't help. he seems to be making an effort but has just texted that he has to go back out this weekend - that's 3 weekends in a row and he absolutely promised to be here this weekend for a variety of important reasons. he's flying now so can't discuss it.

i feel like just binning him once and for all but rationally can see that this is a very important time in his job etc and probably won't do his job prospects much good if he refuses to go. assuming he would refuse which actually i doubt he would.

i do feel an ultimatum forming on my lips like "let me down again and we're done" but is that being unreasonable as this is somewhat out of his hands......

QC, cheers! it's a very nice garden and i'd be honoured to sit in it.

Quokka, glad you've got gas. I'll change my daily Yahoo to "got electric" now then! hope ds1 is over the projectile stage and on the mend. how did dh go on his first day?

Paddlechick666 · 12/06/2007 14:12

oxo, no the kew ones aren't going to be ready for quite a while. plus tbh i don't actually think i could afford that development even on a part-buy/part-rent basis.

it's all done on market value so rent is a percentage of the market value and total is dependent on what share you don't own iyswim.

i'd prob only manage a 25% share and pay a massive rent.

am still very miffed about the ivybridge service charge - it really is outrageous and will only increase annually.

Original poster

ComeOVeneer · 12/06/2007 14:13

"Quokka, glad you've got gas" made me chuckle in a very childish manner. Think I have cabin fever. DD has continued to vomit all morning, but seems a little better now. She has taken over the laptop agian to play on cbeebies so I am in dh's study whilst ds naps. Would love to get out the house but doubt that will happen today.

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foxcub · 12/06/2007 14:26

CoV - hey make sure your DD doesn't vomit all over your keyboard!!

Paddle - how many properties have you looked at so far? I guess you could can register your interest and still keep looking - just to reassure yourself you've considered all the options?

I'm really trying to bite my tongue here but I think you've given DH loads of rope.

OK will shut up now...I am in a bit of a man killing mood at the moment (re. work reasons). I send my grievance in last night by e-mail. Lo and behold, my boss sends me a lomg e-mail this morning full of excuses as yo why he hasn't responded (since early March???). He must think I was born yesterday!