newhome

I would have thought that it was EASIER to finish it than put up with constant nagging but apparently not!

I had a similar issue with an old i3 also running Windows 7, but it was light, smallish and comfy like an old pair of slippers so I was reluctant to change it and resort to the mega gaming laptop which is too heavy and too big. I generally run a dozen or more Chrome sessions and it became unusable. I upgraded it with as much memory as I had slots for (cheap as chips) and the difference is outstanding so the gaming laptop still plays with itself ?.

Most of my things are ‘finished but not quite’. That was the hubby’s specialist way of working. Definitely not a completer finisher and my total lack of DIY skills constrains what I can do to fix them. I bet we have all Belbin role types on here When I’m next down your way (family still live there) you’ll have to give me a guided tour of the finished project . Well, it might not be the next time I’m down perhaps but maybe sometime in the next 5 years

It’s cool. After 7 years you think about changing things anyway so the old list of unfinished jobs just becomes a new list so clean slate

So my neighbours' expensive solicitor says that Network Rail are totally wrong and that they have to give 48 hours notice of entry in all cases other than an emergency. My neighbours' plot has been marked completely differently to mine. In their plan Network Rail only has access over the very front bit of the plot in brown which doesn't even give them access inside our main gate. So they can't actually come onto the plot at all according to my neighbours' deed of conditions, but in mine they can. Seems like this may rumble on for a bit ........

Try 7

@Onoff you need to do a ‘story so far’ post for those of us starting out on page 50

Is this season 1 or are we on season 2 yet?

I’ll not be reading through the whole thread to catch up! Still, doesn’t look like I’ve missed much so far as you’ve barely started by the looks of things

Aw, are you making a film of it?

@Onoff you do have another bathroom presumably? I have this vision of you slopping out in the morning ?

Ah yes, fixing hair rippers and suchlike Yes they do I believe and British Transport Police helped me when my car was trashed in the station car park. They proved that it had been smashed into by a guy who was there fixing the CCTV cameras who was then caught on his own CCTV. You couldn’t make it up! I still maintain that I have the upper hand for now as long as I tread reasonably carefully. It will be in their interests to obtain access smoothly, not battle with the householders every time.

A friend is one in England. Seems to do pretty well Not sure a career change is on the cards lol. My next career change will be sitting on a sunny beach somewhere I hope

Ah yes, that was my intention re the walk through. I am going to annotate the document with plain English statements to make it clearer and keep on file. It annoys me that in the 21st century we haven’t managed to modernise the language used in these documents to be honest. And I’ve already started to confirm my restrictions in writing by following up my conversation with an email detailing those areas that we have reached agreement on and those that I am still holding firm on, like the 48 hour notice period (for now) and the position on ID. It’s reasonably conciliatory but direct in places and I hope is unambiguous. What surprised me is that she expected me to speak for my neighbours too who she now knows have engaged a solicitor (they told me I could tell her that) and she asked for their email address etc which I explained wasn’t my place to provide. She still stated that the chain would be removed whenever they required access and I did state surprise that she should suggest this, but my neighbour removed it last night after I explained where I had got to in terms of the parking etc. Maybe I should be a mediator I dare say there will be some drama to come but hopefully we are partially there.

It's up there with remembering to put the loo seat down I guess

Ha ha, it was screwdriver bits I bought not drill bits. Another 51 just to ensure I had one that fitted . Me plus a drill don't make a good combo . I might have to brave one at some point though. I changed the battery in the car remote a couple of days ago having looked at a Youtube video. It looked pretty straightforward and I was quite chuffed when I managed the bit that the video said could be fiddly. Then I couldn't get the bloody thing back together . I did manage it eventually but jeez I can make the most straightforward practical task difficult . Hubby did the practical stuff whereas I did all the organising and paperwork. Practical things are anathema to me sadly. Must try harder I guess!

I contacted the lady at Network Rail today. My God she can talk for Scotland and I could hardly get a word in edgeways . Anyway I think we will find some middle ground. She started off by saying that maybe they could agree to restrict parking to 3 vehicles and I said that this wasn't possible as the agreed access point would not allow for that, and nor was it desirable for them to park outside on the road. I asked if they could maybe park in the cemetery car park a couple of hundred yards further up the road (it's always empty), and she's agreed to ask the contractors and staff to park there in future rather than on my property. That way their 'briefings' that she said were so important to hold will only be waking the dead and not me . And if they only walk through here to access the gate and are then gone that will be fine and I doubt I will even notice them. They are apparently doing improvements to a stretch of the line for 11 weeks. I have asked that they provide notification of when it is planned that they work in this location and need access. We half agreed on this point and she said that she couldn't agree to that all the time but they would try. They have a tendency to send generic letters to everyone with a property that borders the railway line and on this occasion they had sent a letter saying sorry for any disturbance until end April (3 months). I actually contacted them when I received this letter and asked if they needed access during this time and was told no (which she admits was wrong). I said that a generic letter may be acceptable for information for most people but for those of us with properties that would be accessed this was not enough, and we required more specific letters with more specific details and plans for access. My main concern around this is that the people doing the updates seem to be a tad incompetent (I didn't say that to her ). I said that I would not be allowing access to anyone who had no ID and where I had not been given notification of works, and if this was in the night I may be forced to call the police. I noted that there had been thefts from the farm / farmhouse a bit further up and I said that it was unreasonable to ask me to make an assumption that everyone who arrived in an unmarked white van was here on railway business rather than up to no good. They very occasionally have the track alarm on here. It makes a cheeping sound when things are 'safe', and a more 'busy' sound that warns when a train is due. That doesn't bother me to be honest. I don't hear it inside so maybe on the 1 day of summer in Scotland I may hear it but they don't use it at night when the railway is closed and given most of the work is at night it's a non issue really. So in summary it looks like the parking issue is hopefully nailed, the noise / behavioral issues may be nailed, and there will be some more negotiation to be had over the notice period and the identification of personnel. And all without resorting to a solicitor although I may still need one to help me understand the full legal implications of the Deed of Conditions. It's not in their interest to annoy householders to the extent that they become uncooperative really. Thank you to everyone on here for their input. All the responses allowed me to think through the implications of the different courses of action, and focus on what I wanted the end result to be. I was thus able to communicate my desired outcome in a clear, unambiguous way, and it appears that we can agree on at least 2 of the points. I will not be compromising on the point regarding proper ID, but if I don't get the 48 hours notice, well if they are only walking up the drive to the gate on a occasional basis that's not a major issue for me really.

I spoke to my neighbour last night. She has asked the solicitor to claim compensation from her previous solicitor for the fact that the house doesn’t have a completion certificate which she has letters to prove that this was the agreed basis of the sale. So she is having to pay for the residual work required by the council in order to get the house signed off which should have been addressed by and paid for by the previous vendor. Plus she’s asked him to clarify the access conditions and get the deed of conditions reworked to show parking in the intended area. That sounds all very costly to me, and most of that is nothing to do with me so I won’t be contributing to that. He is apparently billing her as he goes so she shouldn’t be hit with a large bill at the end, and he has told her that he thinks she has a good case against the solicitor if you can rely on that. He was recommended to her so hopefully he will be good. All I want really is for someone to review the document I have and explain the contents. I could do that using a decent online service I imagine but I googled and just seemed to find lots of links requesting money ‘to answer your question’ which is not what I really need. My issue is that it’s Scotland and I only know English lawyers. And no I don’t earn £280 an hour lol!

I was going to email them tonight but when I read the pdf it says: Must not distribute our standards and controls outside their organisation. So surely I wouldn't be entitled to it?

This one better be good .

Thank you Ferdinand. I will be sure to tell my neighbour not to exchange too many pleasantries for that money , and to get straight to the point and have a list of clear instructions. I have told her that I am prepared to cover half the cost of the work as it will benefit both of us if everything is fully understood when we go to sell. I suppose that if parking in a specific location blocked my garage they could just ask to park elsewhere. As far as I am concerned I will only allow them to park in the shared area (there is plenty of room there), and not on my own private parking area. If they park right by the fence it shouldn't restrict my access I believe. One of my concerns is that vehicular access and parking doesn't state how many vehicles they can park here but I have assumed that if they could park at point A on the old plan then they would be restricted to the size of the yellow box on that plan which looks like 1 or a maximum of 2 vehicles. It's not really the parking that concerns me that much however, it's being able to turn up without any notice and without anyone being able to tell me who is there. A security camera could be a good idea. There is power in the garage anyway so it shouldn't be too difficult to rig up. They have brought this on themselves in truth. Night after night of disturbance from their contractors was just the catalyst for us taking some action. Had they acted in a reasonable way and kept the noise down I doubt we would even have known that they were there!

As I read it, we the owners are now ‘the board’ as noted in this definition.

Yes that’s how I read it in truth. My neighbour has engaged a solicitor. She has some different letters from her solicitor and it appears that Network Rail used an agent for the land registry entry and her new solicitor says that it’s not uncommon for these to be done incorrectly. It’s clearly in her interests more than mine to get the parking access agreed as currently it’s in the middle of her driveway but we are both agreed about where it was intended to be and will proceed accordingly. She has asked him to clarify the notice period etc. He has quoted £280 per hour. Is that the going rate?

Wunda (pun intended) why they didn’t factor these in as part of the design? They provided all of the UFH kit. As you say, too late now tho!

Pass the voddy please (to hell with it being too early!)