On 15 Apr 2010 at 11:15am Expat wrote:
Am I the only one who finds it a little hypocritical that a member of Transition Town Lewes has taken what is essentially a modest family home, done it up within an inch of it's life and is now hoping to sell for a price which could only be paid by someone earning a very un-local wage?
On 15 Apr 2010 at 11:34am No Pot Pourri wrote:
I don't think that "person from Transition Town Lewes is middle class and lives in an expensive house" would come as a shock to many people. Move along now.
On 15 Apr 2010 at 12:40pm Feline wrote:
No, I'm not suprised either. Where is this house?
On 15 Apr 2010 at 1:26pm Prick Stein wrote:
Sounds about right for that mob of self serving, ego stroking, hypocritical, self absorbed, pretentious, chin stroking, Guardian reading, tree hugging, hemp wearing, namby pamby, PC, liberal apologist do gooders!
On 15 Apr 2010 at 1:47pm Clifford wrote:
No Expat, no surprise at all. Who can forget the people who had the ugly 'sustainable' house built in Pinwell Road, got themselves a bundle of publicity for their commitment to the 'environment' and then promptly sold it to buy a Georgian or Victorian house elsewhere in Lewes? Hypocrisy seem to go with the territory.
On 15 Apr 2010 at 5:12pm Expat wrote:
Well, this house comes with a "free range" chicken. Honestly. And all for only £565,000.
On 15 Apr 2010 at 5:23pm Down and Out wrote:
I don't know this person, but I don't really see what you're bleating about Expat. Are you saying that if you get involved with Transition Towns you:
a) are not allowed to move house, or
b) are not allowed to do your house up, or
c) are obliged to sell your house below market value?
Please explain where you think hypocrisy comes into it.
On 15 Apr 2010 at 7:06pm Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
I heard that the sustainable house in Pinwell Road was insulated with eco-friendly sheep's wool that wasn't properly treated and it got moths! Don't know if it's true, but it made me laugh.
On 15 Apr 2010 at 9:21pm The Tooth Fairy wrote:
Are these the same people who think Tesco shouldn't make a profit D a O? The same people who think we should all use the laughable 'Lewes Pound' but probably wouldn't accept five hundred and sixty five thousand of them for his house. The same people who prattle on about 'affordable' housing?
Sorry, I assumed you knew what the word 'hypocrisy' meant.
On 15 Apr 2010 at 10:26pm Down and Out wrote:
Tooth Fairy - you still aren't making any sense at all. If you pursue your argument to its logical conclusion you're basically saying that anyone who lives in a fair size house in an older part of Lewes is either not entitled to any political opinion or can only be a Conservative - otherwise they are a 'hypocrite'. That's just stupid. Are you only allowed to have an opinion about affordable housing if you're skint? To repeat my earlier query - what would those people be allowed to do if they are to avoid being called a hypocrite.
On 15 Apr 2010 at 10:32pm Long Distance Whelker wrote:
ACT is quite correct, the insulation in the Pinwell Lane house was not treated and moths hatched and caused chaos.
I always wondered about how "green" any family were when they chose to have five children? Surely, to be truely environmentally friendly one should not have any small fry?
On 15 Apr 2010 at 10:45pm Brixtonbelle wrote:
If it's the house on St Johns Hill, it doesn't look 'done up to an inch of its life' . It does look incredibly overpriced, though, but it is being marketed by lewes estates who are notorious for overpricing and whose properties stay on the market for months and months and months. In fact some of their properties have been hanging around for over a year - I know cos we've looked at half of them !
On 15 Apr 2010 at 11:15pm Clifford wrote:
Where does 'jealousy' come into it aaron? Tell us the story about the sustainable house in Pinwell Road. How long did you stay there? Was it a Victorian or a Georgian house you moved to?
On 16 Apr 2010 at 4:17am expat wrote:
Oi! Who's using my name? it's not me. How many of us expats are out there?
On 16 Apr 2010 at 7:15am Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
I think it's undeniable that greed on the part of owners (aided and abetted by estate agents) is a factor in pushing up prices, but I don't see any ideological gulf between living in an expensive house and believing there should be affordable housing for those who can't afford it.
I don't know about Lewes Estates over-valuing. Chez Twitcher was valued recently, and Roland Gorringe gave a figure 10% higher than all the others. I do know they operate on a "sole selling rights" basis, so if your house is with them and you sell it your mate, you can still be liable to pay them a fee.
Aaron, thanks for telling us the story. I shall steer clear of woolly insulation from now on. (I've been collecting sheeps wool from the barbed wire fences, hoping to get enough to do the loft, I shall chuck it away now)
On 16 Apr 2010 at 7:17am Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
Sorry, just realised that was a little unclear: it's Lewes Estates that operate on sole selling rights, not Roland Gorringe.
On 16 Apr 2010 at 9:13am Hilary Oss wrote:
Aaron, what an unfortunate name to have associated with bad wool products. The irony made me laugh (sorry)!
On 16 Apr 2010 at 9:35am Down and Out wrote:
The less said about Lewes estate agents the better. Since I moved here four years ago I can't believe how many stories, from different sources, I've heard about backhanders and questionable practices involving independent Lewes agencies - none of which I would dare put in writing on a public forum, obviously. If I ever sold a house here I think I'd go via someone in Brighton or Uckfield just to be on the safe side.
On 16 Apr 2010 at 9:45am Another Expat wrote:
Sorry Expat - didn't mean to steal your identity.
As one of Thatcher's children and a believer in free market economy I take my hat off to anyone who buys a poky terraced house, installs such eco-friendly accoutrements as "deep fill double ended bath tubs", luxury wetrooms and mirrored bathroom tiles, and manages to find some gullible person to flog it to for nearly double what they paid for it initially. If however one is a supporter of an initiative that is committed to using "less energy and resources" and "giving what they can and asking what they need for", then it seems rather contradictory behaviour. The said house is under offer with Lewes Estates so I suppose the market has decided the price, although it would be interesting to hear what a mortgage valuer has to say.
On 16 Apr 2010 at 11:01am Clifford wrote:
aaron wrote: Our new (old) house is Victorian, if that is of interest to you?
The interest is that having had an eyesore that looks like a pre-1989 East German factory constructed in Pinwell Road you then move on to what I assume is a traditionally attractive house.
On 16 Apr 2010 at 11:32am Down and Out wrote:
Clifford - the house in Pinwell Road won design awards but don't let that worry you. I'm sure you're right and everyone who thinks different is wrong. It must be another one of those damned liberal conspiracies.
On 16 Apr 2010 at 11:36am Clifford wrote:
'Design awards'? I've been around long enough to have realised that design awards have nothing to do with good design and everything to do with what is fashionable at that moment. If you like the house, fine.