FAO Deanatrois

Rosieandjim

Hi, just wondered whether you moved from the flat you were in to the one that was bigger and was an exchange with blind couple and how are you finding it now?

G_M

Prsonal dialogue might best be conducted via Private Message (PM). Right click the poster's name.

societys_child

. . . I have to left click the posters name to access their details/ send a pm :whistle:

Davesnave

Surely one can get to a person's profile by right or left clicking?

Well, I can......:D

societys_child

Agh.
Yes indeed, you're correct, right click gives me the option to "open link in new tab" . . . and click through to pm.

It's two extra clicks though

comeandgo

If you find a post by Deanatrois then click on her name you will be able to see her past postings and you will see she did move.

[Deleted User]

I did move, The other couple were deaf and dumb with other special needs, one child. I have two children, we all have ASD.

We did manage to do a quick viewing a week before actually moving but I can't remember much of it because was trying very hard to concentrate totally on what the other couple were saying and wanted to know. I did have my son's social worker with me but it wasn't overly easy to communicate even so. The gentleman in the other party was very 'jumpy' so it was a bit distracting. I can't do BSL and apparently BSL doesn't have words for all that we would use so even writing things down didn't help (try explaining 'I pay by DD for gas and electric' to someone who doesn't understand you lol). They saw our maisonette (they had a maisonette as well).

Still don't know where the stop !!!! is (BSL doesn't cover that either I imagine)! Have looked. Suspect its a shared water supply with the upper level maisonette so may not have one so can't get a water meter put in (means I am paying double but such is life).

Not a usual boiler but it is new as are radiators so although I haven't got a clue how the system works (hit and miss if we have hot water or not after someone has had a bath) hopefully I will eventually work out how to get the central heating working. I did get it working once. I'm sure I can do it again. Have asked for help with understanding it but nothing happened (council). A neighbour has the same system as well and says she doesn't understand it either.

The place was very dirty, my place was spotless. But not a lot i can do about that. It does have three bedrooms but I've actually got mould again (I got rid of the mould in my place by putting insulating wallpaper up and keeping it well ventilated, scrubbing it down etc) so I spend most nights awake coughing and/or sleep on the sofa (bathroom and bedroom affected). Because the place wasn't inspected, even though a surveyor came round in the first week supposedly to make a list of the repairs needed, not a single repair has been done.

We changed the locks the day we moved in. Should have been done by the council but wasn't so sorted it ourselves.

But the place IS a lot quieter, kids are a lot more settled and it is a permanent move so we count ourselves lucky. It most definitely could be a lot worse. We have good neighbours as well. Only a couple of minutes from the bus stop so I can go out even when my breathing is bad. As the kitchen front door and lounge are all on the ground floor I am not having to go up and downstairs multiple times a day so that is an enormous improvement. In far less pain than I was.

So I still think the council did the right thing but totally in the wrong way. The empty place two doors up I begged for was let three weeks after I moved in. (I was told it needed serious repairs and wasn't in a lettable state and wouldn't be for some time).

My younger son has a lovely large bedroom, that is nearly decorated. Solar system mural on one wall, globe map mural on the other, all blue walls just like he has always wanted. He has a tent bed and is sleeping much better than he ever has (makes him feel safe). Its a delight to be able to have him in a bedroom and be able to decorate it to his taste. I can't tell you how much we value that. Seeing him do a dance of delight, jumping all over the place when he saw the murals up was something I will never forget. Getting the rest of the place decorated is a bit more problematic as some eejit has put patterns all over the walls in a loose plaster (white powder) that is coming away from the walls in patches so needs to be removed. Council say its decorating not building work (I would argue differently) so its up to me. I can't do the dust (asthma) that removing it brings so its going to be a very very slow job doing the walls.

The other couple did have some problems after moving in (they were being picked on by some youths in the block), I contacted social services (my son's social worker and their support worker all are in the same room) to suggest there was a cause for concern, but they seem to be settling in a bit more now. I hope so.

bouicca21

Deanna, I have a shared water supply but the water company came round to see if it were possible to install a meter inside the property. This had the added advantage that they found the stopcock for me (I didn't know where it was either).

It turned out that there wasn't enough room for a meter so I am now 'deemed' to have one. According to water meter man this is a bit more expensive than having a real meter but it still means that my bills have nearly halved.

TBagpuss

Glad to hear you moved in and it is generally good.

Re; central heating system - if you know the make of the boiler you might be able to google instructions and clarify how it works?

Water - have you asked neighbours? When I moved house I couldn't find mine but my next door neighbour knew exactly where it was and showed me.

It may be worth writing to the council / HA specifically asking about this and the central heating, especially if you have only phoned before.

Rosieandjim

:j thank you for the update, I am really pleased that it has all worked out for you and your children. Hope the damp issues get sorted and shame on the housing dept for not doing the maintenance work they should.

[Deleted User]

Having just watched professor Green's programme on childhood poverty (a lot of it was about homelessness and its effects on children) it makes what I have experienced sound like nothing lolol. I suppose I expect too much perhaps.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p059b6sp/professor-green-living-in-poverty

I am now getting down to sending an email to the Housing officer with pics and querying if any of the repairs are going to be done (politely). I haven't even got a closable kitchen door (previous tenants removed the ?lock? mechanism) let alone a fire door lol.