Parahandy
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Posts posted by Parahandy
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4 hours ago, Victor Vectis said:
By exploiting the needs of others.......
...........Who could probably afford to become mortgage paying home owners if house prices had not been inflated by the buy to let market.
Is that strictly true Victor given the Help to Buy Scheme and the various Housing Associations operating their own Shared Ownership Schemes
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12 minutes ago, Sir Nibble said:
To go off on a different tangent. I am getting heartily sick of celebs supporting the national morale with their endless efforts to stay in the public eye and remind us all that they're famous.
There is something quite unpleasant about it , another gripe I have is some of these Adverts which advertise nothing other than the Company's name alongside some spurious Covid soundbite . " Now more than ever we are in it together " Sainsburys ?????
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25 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:
Not many people do agree with it. Just my opinion old bean
The problem is houses are homes for the majority not investments for the few. Whilst ever people with disposable incomes keep buying them up then they creep upwards and onwards away from working people on low wages. There is a programme on daily showing people with spare cash buying up terraced proerties and what they call " Adding Value " in other words forcing the price ever upwards. Those people then take rent from the less fortunate and so the cycle escalates. Its very true to say that people like estate agents could never be NHS staff, a different outlook on life entirely. I know of course that it takes all kinds ?
Ive no time for Estate Agents , they are little more than corrupt Parasites in my experience .
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1 minute ago, Athy said:
...and others who, for a reasonable fee, manage properties efficiently and fairly, and who are not to be reviled in the slightest. Fortunately ours (Hudson's of Thetford) falls into this category.
Ahhh the rural backwater variety ? Doubtless these good Agents are still out there . My sister is responsible for rental property for American Servicemen and Women at Mildenhall and Lakenheath ensuring that property is up to the required standard and handed back to the Agents in the proper condition after the Rental Period is over . I suspect these Agents such as Hudsons have made a good living over the Years and as you say have provided good service .
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34 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:
Its a mess. As for negative equity there is no such thing. Example, one of my kids paid 109k for her flat in 2007 its now probably worth 90k in todays market. She has paid off 13 years of her mortgage which has by the way come down over the years. So as she is keeping on paying it off then she will own the property at the end of the arranged mortgage term. She wants to sell at the moment and has accepted that if she sells she will get less for it than she paid for it ( she is still going to sell ) much like much stuff goes down in value over the years. She has had a roof over her head for those 13 years after all. So she does have a choice in sell and get less or stay put and pay the mortgage off. Its a home not an investment after all.
I dont strictly agree with that Tim , whats the problem with property being an Investment ?
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7 minutes ago, Ex Brummie said:
The main difference between home ownership/rental between the 60's and early 70's and later dates is that peoples expectations of life have significantly changed.
The 'baby boomers' who are now seen as pariahs were happy to invest in a home at the expense of cars, foreign holidays, nights out at clubs, meals out, achange of wardrobe every month etc.
They did not live on credit, only spending what they had, and saved for new stuff rather than end up paying instalments for stuff they have long got fed up of. I understand the gripe of renters who complain they are buying someone else's house, but any investment is not without risk. It is this attitude to house purchase that left prospective purchasers with having to find a much bigger deposit, and saw the assimilation of Building Societies into the general banking industry, and we all know their priorities.
As someone who serviced a lot of property in the course of my work, I understand the fragile relationship between landlord and tenant, where each wants as much as they can get for as little cost. In probably 80% of tenancies, there is an easy balance, but it only takes a small number of bad tenants to negate the profits of an investment. Legislation has made property rental a less attractive proposition and is heavily loaded in the tenants favour. As usual there are many agencies who milk the situation for a slice of the profits and impose excessive costs to tenants for precious little constructive input and no acceptance of any responsibility.These are more to be reviled than the landlord.
I think we eventually get back to the paucity of Social House Building and sadly its been the same story no matter which Government is in Power . I had hoped with low interest rates the present Government would take the advice of Economists like Jim O,Neill and embark on these large definitive once in a lifetime projects such as replenishing Social Housing Stock .
Poor Pension provision has been another driver of this Private Landlord Explosion and I dont think you can bear any ill will to someone who has been left a Home by his Parents and decides to rent it out rather than sell it , likewise someone who buys a Boat for Social Housing rather than Cruising .
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13 hours ago, matty40s said:
So as per gov advice, you wash your hands...
I think you would agree Matty that having lots of People congregating on a towpath is both undesirable and if they are not engaged in the specified permitted activities against the government instruction too . CRT presumably saw there was an issue or else they wouldn't have bothered to issue guidance . The issue as I see it is twofold , the Public not obeying the guidance and CRT not in some Areas closing the Towpath , the latter of course many will disagree with . Its not a question of People taking exercise , its the sunbathing on canal benches , its the fishing , its the complete ignoring of social distancing as People with no work to do stand outside admiring and comparing boats after arriving with bagfuls of Bread they have previously stockpiled and proceed to scatter on towpaths feeding rats instead of birds . sorry for what seems like a rant Matty but we see this every day down here . I dont believe CRT have acted strongly enough , it seems to me the Foot and Mouth restrictions back in BW days were far much better though I take the point we didn't have People furloughed from work wandering around aimlessly . I conclude that this Lockdown in my view will be unenforceable by the end of May owing to People disregarding it and Industry facing extinction .
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1 minute ago, ditchcrawler said:
They are not coming into your oat are they
Not yet Brian
Just now, George and Dragon said:Since the brexit vote (specifically G Osborne's claim that the bottom would drop out of the housing market) I've made a number of offers on properties at 70% of asking price
. It may be that Covid-19 does what brexit didn't.
Talking to a bloke who has recently suffered a marriage breakdown and he assures me that " cheeky offers " are indeed out there . He was on at 220k then reduced it down to 200k before encountering a Spaniard on his doorstep who claimed to have seen the For Sale sign and felt obliged to offer 175k ☹️
2 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:Yeah, they didnt budge an inch with Brexit but may drop with covid? I hope they do, property is a ridiculous price and beyond the scope of many working youngsters these days.
I was reading that 80,000 Private Landlords are facing financial ruin owing to Tenants not paying rent , will their plight arouse much sympathy ? ?
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1 minute ago, Tonka said:
Correct me if I am wrong but aren't most of the boats moored illegally to the towpath in the Milton Keynes area. These people are now complaining about people not following guidelines. I know the guidelines are a matter of life and death which the illegal mooring is not.
Yes consider yourself corrected , I couldn't imagine why you would think such a thing .
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23 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:
NBW are having a bit of a rant about the subject :
Victor: Surely it should now be Towpath Trust!
Published: Sunday, 19 April 2020WITH Canal & River Trust giving complete freedom of movement to towpath users whilst closing down its waterways it really should change its name to the more accurate Towpath Trust.
Boaters are not allowed on its waterways and its continuous cruisers are being hampered by ever changing regulations giving them the feeling of being inferior citizens, whilst visitors to the towpaths have no regulation whatsoever.
Every single person in the country must be aware of the coronavirus pandemic and the never ending 'Stay at Home - Save the NHS' messages rammed down their throats, yet thousands ignore it by walking, jogging, running or cycling the towpaths, so such people are hardly going to bother about the ambiguous notices being churned out by Towpath Trust—should they even see them.
People with moored boats, whether marina or towpath, are not allowed to take them out on the waterways, as a couple of people on a boat mooring against a towpath 'is a health risk' that could spread coronavirus. But the thousands of people allowed on that same towpath obviously cannot. Just how illogical is that?
This is indeed a clear case of favouring the towpath visitors as against the Trust's customers—the boaters. The answer is simple—close the towpaths. That would deliver the 'Stay at Home - Save the NHS' instruction. But no, Canal & R...—sorry, Towpath Trust is more interested in flogging its linear parks—the towpaths—and to hell with us, the boaters. Even though it goes directly against the government advice, as they are certainly not staying at home and the two metres rule is impossible to enforce on such narrow towpaths.
In perspective
Let's put it in perspective. We are not allowed to take out normal Spring cruise as though we have all been in isolation for three weeks we are told we could tie up at a towpath and spread coronavirus. We planned to travel the Trent & Mersey, well stocked but with a 'pit stop' at the Tesco Extra just up from the towpath at Rugeley early in the morning, keeping our distance then off we go.
The problem however is the masses of towpath visitors at the locks that could give us the virus, and for the aged Thomas that would be kaput!
You see the problem? All the towpath visitors, many who will hanging around the locks, some obviously effected, spreading it to us.
So Towpath Trust bans us (not the more obvious visitors) and bans all its other thousands of boaters and hire companies—its paying customers—from using the safe environment of the waterways in favour of allowing unsafe towpath visitors, who of course pay nothing, but more importantly are illegally breaking the rule of travelling away from home to exercise and the other rule of keeping the two metres distancing.
Where's the logic? Where's the sense?
Thousands at risk
It gets worse, much worse, for Towpath Trust tells us there are 5,500 continuous cruisers on its waterways, and with many couples and even crews a modest total would be around 7,500 people—many elderly—at risk from coronavirus from those towpath visitors.
But that is not the half of it. The boaters have to stay put. And needing supplies of course that means they have to stay where it is available—around towns, where the hoards of walkers, joggers, runners and cyclists congregate.
Here's what the Trust (Towpath, of course) tells its continuous cruisers:
'We are continuing to put out the message that, while our towpaths remain open, use of them should be limited, in support of the government’s ‘stay at home’ campaign.
To this end, thousands of signs have been put up around network, with more to come, and other channels such as our website and targeted social media advertising continue to remind the public that towpath use should be limited and only for those who are local to it'.
Then it told the continuous cruisers:
'Please remember our advice—only move your boat if it’s essential (not for leisure purposes) and minimise your use of the towpath'.
So whilst the public have free rein to use the towpaths as they please, boaters cannot, they have to minimise their use!
How ridiculous is that? It proves one thing for sure—the towpaths are not for the use of boaters, they're for visitors!
Blaming the government
And now it is no longer 'our' advice. This has been changed to 'governments' guidance, making it of course seem official, though of course it is not as the government most certainly has not given the advice it blatantly states:
If you are not currently occupying your boat, the government guidance is that you must not visit it this means no short trips or breaks on your boat at this time.
It is simply putting it's own twist on the government's 'stay at home' campaign so stopping boaters. But I ask why not the same twist to stop towpath visitors?
Instead it is wasting thousands of pounds in an expensive campaign to persuade people not to visit its towpaths, if it really means it then it would be simpler and a lot less expensive to just close them. But methinks, as do I'm sure many others, is that is the last thing it really want to do, eh?
Victor Swift
As usual NBW couch a simple reality in unnecessary invective which I always struggle to read but its hard not to agree with much of whats written . I find Richard Parry little more than a mealy mouthed Bureaucrat on his way to the obligatory knighthood and this attitude is mirrored by much of the Organisation he heads . I have had occasion to challenge recently several of their recent sightings of my boat after being inexplicably handed a six month Licence , 40 years afloat you can trust I had both the Geospike sightings complete with Pictures and corresponding Emails to CRT in order to back up my Continuous Cruise , naturally they apologised and issued me with a 12 month License but sadly the sour taste remains .
52 minutes ago, Sir Nibble said:Move. Moving to escape a crowded towpath is specifically allowed by the latest guidance.
Thanks Sir Nibble I wasn't aware of this .
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On 13/04/2020 at 19:16, mark99 said:
Channel 81 is worth checking out for those who like British films etc.
I love these old English Films that show the Country as it used to be , I call it the BREXIT Channel , I've been watching for 6 weeks now and haven't saw a Foreigner once ?
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Its an absolute nightmare here in Milton Keynes with the Towpath like Blackpool Promenade and if you mention the CRT Guidance regarding the use of Towpaths things very quickly turn ugly no matter how polite the initial discourse . I dropped an Email to CRT and was given a polite reply which solved nothing and a Poster to download , what a complete farce , as a Boater when it comes to Social distancing on the Towpath I have been left with no protection at all . Its hard to understand why the Towpath wasn't subject to emergency closure and Boaters advised to gather their Boats within these Boundaries and move as per instruction for Water , signs could have been erected either sides of the closure and more importantly the Police could deal with transgressors , as it is we simply have a wooly worded request on a CRT website that further advises the Public to contact the Police should they be approached by an irate Boater .
All of this would have been the simplest of tasks but as things stand just now we are faced with two options either dropping a couple of trees across the towpath or ignoring CRT guidance and move into the Country , I am tempted to do the latter .
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17 hours ago, Bewildered said:
Now that the 14 day rule has been suspended, how long will it be before all the visitor moorings, in towns with supermarkets, are permanently hogged by selfish boaters? I'm happily moored out in the wilds but at some point will need to cruise into town to use the services and stock up on shopping. This seems to me to be the sensible way to isolate; I just wonder if I will find a mooring in town when I need one?
Absolutely little attention being paid to CRT instruction r.e Covid 19 , sadly it seems that many just feel they can do what they like so I wouldn't stress over the possibility of not finding a mooring .
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Just this minute had a Wyvern Boat pass , managed to have a word with the Hirer and he told me that Wyvern have summoned them back to base where a refund awaits them .
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7 minutes ago, buccaneer66 said:
Pitsford water is one of my favourite walking places but closed now.
Lovely County Northamptonshire , even Northampton itself has managed to retain some of its heritage , contrasted with the disaster thats Luton , its quite impressive .
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9 hours ago, buccaneer66 said:
Parks are getting closed now as Anglian water have closed all their water parks and Northamptonshire County Council have closed their Country parks.
Abingdon Park has always been a favourite of mine , I suppose that will remain open . Its certainly going to be a strange sort of Summer and at this stage Summer is even hard to contemplate
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16 hours ago, mrsmelly said:
Funnily enough, surprise suprise Wyvern no longer hiring till end of May.
Personally I am delighted by this , its unnecessary travel pure and simple .
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Unsurprised to see Wyvern Shipping still hiring out Boats , three have passed me this morning on the GU South heading North , not a Canalside Pub open anywhere and the Country at virtual standstill the canal still has its attraction .
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5 minutes ago, haggis said:
I saw a good argument against canal boating recently. It applied to caravanners and day trippers too. It said that by going into another area unnecessarily you could possibly introduce the virus and local people could be affected. Also, if you get the virus and need hospitalised you are using NHS resources which could be used for local people. That was enough to make us decide not to go boating and to stay at home.
Haggis
Good on you Haggis . Enforcement Patrols have now ceased so it wont be long before most CC Liveaboards are static too
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20 minutes ago, Galilee said:
I'm planning a week on the boat from 28th March, to move from Great Haywood to Rufford. I'm concerned that if the UK is in a France/Spain style lockdown at that point, the canals will be closed somehow, but I've read through this whole thread and the consensus seems to be that that won't happen - even in a lockdown, the canals will remain open. Is that the general view?
I made an inquiry with CRT yesterday asking if they had any published Policy as regards how they were going to deal with Coronavirus . The reply was that they were encouraging the benefits of Boating in the fresh air and if anyone was self isolating then this would be treated simply as an overstay . The chap did add that they were monitoring latest Government Instructions in case of any restrictions being imposed to alter this position . I guess its a case of watch this space .
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7 hours ago, BWM said:
Pitstone is a long way south of Milton Keynes, south west will put you on one of the arms (Aylesbury/Wendover), or the South Oxford/Thames.
I think our friend quaz is about to find out just how limited his choice is especially on the GU South . I think we have covered everything thats in any way local to MK so I think Matty is probably correct when he mentions Oxford
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17 hours ago, Richard10002 said:
According to the details, The owner is retaining the gate to the mooring.
Its only the stern of the Boat which abuts the land for sale Richard , the rest of the Boat is alongside an adjacent field . The Gate is simply to allow him continued access to his Boat as the edge of the adjacent field is marshland and useless for this purpose .
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The old mate went down to view the Plot yesterday , clearly no room for another Boat owing to the proximity of the Bridge . The seller intends to retain the rights to the gate which is at the far end of the Plot which allows him to access the stern of his Boat .
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12 hours ago, Felshampo said:
If you could get planning provisional permission from the local council for a couple of properties then the maths is simple. A builder built two large houses on a similar sized plot in our village. He paid 100,000 for the land and told us each house was about 200,000 to build. They sold for 450,000 each. Not a bad profit for two years work.
130 foot by around 70 foot I dont think he would be building any large houses not to mention the front gate abuts the Bridge Parapet , a notorious accident spot . Personally I think its ripe for one of those Agricultural sleight of hands were someone perhaps buys a Pony quickly followed by a Caravan in order to make a cup of Tea whilst they feed it ?
Lockdown ? What Lockdown?
in General Boating
Posted
Especially when you mention Brexit