Nice people thread part 7 - a thread in its prime

CKhalvashi

vivatifosi wrote: »

Just got off the phone from HMRC.

To recap, I put a figure in the tax underpaid box which represented the amount of tax I had underpaid. It instead paid me this.

When I made the amendment they suggested to the form, it told me to pay back a different amount, not the far bigger sum they had chucked in my bank account.

So called up, very nice woman so not blaming her, just the system. Apparently I did owe back all the money (no s**t Sherlock), but the system is not capable of realising this. What a load of rubbish... GRRRRR!!!!!!!!

Sorry for the vent... (deep breathes... and relax...)

You're speaking to the person that had 46 tax codes in 3 days when I changed my car in September!

Methinks that my next one will be my own!

CK

lostinrates

Not keeping up ATM. Funk of doing some not very nice things sent me off the read 13 books in about two days. Now have reading indigestion and fury and the lack of quality in lots of what I read.

I was very pro what the Internet could do for music and musicians (as we already had tripe -music) but the same isn't translating to literature IMO. Read a few free ones on amazon, which are usually the first in a series of books, and this seems to happen a lot in children's or teen fiction, and the quality control in my small sample was ....very poor.

I am getting dangerously used to one click purchase e books though.
I still prefer books.....you know those things where things like editing happens.

Doozergirl

So can I ask a question in the name of research? It might be a little close to being on topic so maybe I will also post a picture of Twoozer dog as a sort of antidote. Seeing as several of you have already extended your homes and some are considering making changes at some point...
What sort of things do you/would you worry about before you start? I keep reading the same old articles about adding value and the cost of moving versus improving but there must be more practical, or even heartfelt questions that go through people's minds once they've decided it's something they want to do?

Doozergirl

Dog pictures

Doozerdog


and Twoozerdog

sss555s

Doozergirl wrote: »

What sort of things do you/would you worry about before you start? I keep reading the same old articles about adding value and the cost of moving versus improving but there must be more practical, or even heartfelt questions that go through people's minds once they've decided it's something they want to do?

To be worth it for me, it was any 2 between the following 3...

• Need the extra space rather than just desire it
• Add more value than the cost
• Be able to responsibly finance the work

Cost has to be a worry for most, as projects can run over by quite a bit. It seems to be the biggest problem on Grand Designs.

Another thing may be worrying is where you are staying while the work is being done, or if you have to move out or not.

lostinrates

Ours wasn't about needing extra space, it was about utilising what we had better

The utility room nice builder did for us made sense, as he said, it would only be more expensive to do it later than at the same time.

Getting things in the right order is not always as logical as it appears IMO. E.g. For me after the bathroom is done, I want to set to saving like billio for the 'big' extension, which will be some time away. We don't need the extra reception room, but do want the spare bedrooms, but I am not too worried about the attic rooms, though it makes sense to get the stairs in up to there at the same time.


Alternatively, we have to 'rebuild' a coach house. It's tempting to that first as it would be cheaper, but I think getting the main house done is the priority.

chewmylegoff

Had a better candidate at second interview today so may not be able to nepotise job to missk...

I also got a call from a recruiter trying to persuade me that moving to a bank for a 50% pay cut would be a great opportunity...

kabayiri

chewmylegoff wrote: »

...
I also got a call from a recruiter trying to persuade me that moving to a bank for a 50% pay cut would be a great opportunity...

Sounds like
- an exciting opportunity
- a dynamic forward-looking enterprise looking to grow at an unprecedented rate
- challenging yet rewarding
- not for the faint hearted
- yada yada

Yep, I think I've been listening to recruitment agents too much over the years.

I file them under the "necessary evil" tab in my phonebook.
:rotfl:

kabayiri

sss555s wrote: »

...
Cost has to be a worry for most, as projects can run over by quite a bit. It seems to be the biggest problem on Grand Designs.
...

The trouble comes when you have high standards. It's not difficult for a builder to fit cheap windows in a new build, he won't have to live with them for the next however many years.

I remember a discussion on a simple shower door with a bathroom specialist back in the late 90s.

"How much?" I said
"what do you want to spend?" came back the reply

As with all things there is the cheap option from B&Q, and the BMW of all shower doors. I invariably get drawn to the higher cost options!

Budget? Such a notional complex :rotfl:

misskool

lostinrates wrote: »

Not keeping up ATM. Funk of doing some not very nice things sent me off the read 13 books in about two days. Now have reading indigestion and fury and the lack of quality in lots of what I read.

I was very pro what the Internet could do for music and musicians (as we already had tripe -music) but the same isn't translating to literature IMO. Read a few free ones on amazon, which are usually the first in a series of books, and this seems to happen a lot in children's or teen fiction, and the quality control in my small sample was ....very poor.

I am getting dangerously used to one click purchase e books though.
I still prefer books.....you know those things where things like editing happens.

I found that free books aren't great

One-click is great for reading prolific authors as it remembers them in sequence.

Wish I could have time to read that many books! what a luxury.