Moving House

OK we have found somewhere at last, had our offer accepted, and it's in "the home of National Hunt racing" .......Cheltenham. We were in the right place at the right time, actually looking in the window of an estate agent as the property was placed in it, took an immediate viewing and had our second offer accepted before anyone else viewed it and the property taken off the market. The (divorced) lady and her partner have already bought a property in Cyprus by virtue of her partner already having sold his property so there is no chain. They are anxious to move there ASAP so we should not have any delay.

We have arranged a small mortgage in principle, not yet signed up for, but would like clarification on the two posts above. The broker is asking for a fee of £200 as he says the commission will not cover his expenses. Given we do not want to proceed without a small mortgage and it allows us to make our dream move I suppose we have to bite the bullet .
 
Have you found a new job, too, DG? How's that going? There's always a lot of divoting to be done at Cheltenham, of course... :lol:

Seriously, if you're within reasonable driving distance of the course, you could do worse than to ask if they need any more members for their raceday team. I'm sure that as a premier course the pay should be around £60 a meeting or more for the Festival days, when the hours are longer, and as it's classed as casual work, you could leave at any time when the right job comes along, if it hasn't already. You can also omit any meetings which clash with family holidays or events, too, which makes it very flexible. I don't know if Chelters chucks in a meal, as do many decent courses, but it they do, all the better. Just a thought for the winter, ducks.
 
I have known people who live in Cheltenham rent out their home for the duration of the Festival and go on a family holiday to the Carribbean on the proceeds, pocketing change into the bargain.
 
Sounds like a deal for the richer forumites to offer you, Diamond G! Lord Hartigan will bag the master suite at £1000 a day, lesser lights can be offered all other rooms and I'll be quite happy with a camp bed in the potting shed for a fiver.
 
I am really pleased for you DG. I hope the move goes well for you. It sounds as if fate may have played a small part in this too, or for the non believers, just being in the right place at the right time has been a godsend.

Let us know when to expect an invite to the Chelter's housewarming! B)
 
It looks as if the move is imminent now, seems to have dragged on for ages, main problem being the property has a conservatory which never ever had planning permission.

Anyway the next question is tipping. Is it common procedure to tip the removal men and how much given the removal fee is relatively generous I feel given some of the quotes we received.
 
DG, I have always tipped *good* workmen, and without exception they have always really appreciated it.

Top tip: Keep them hydrated with lots of tea and biscuits and then depending on how efficient they are, and how flush you are feeling, and how many there are of them, I would normally tip about a tenner each!
 
Good to hear that you're finally moving ahead, DG. At least you'll be in before Christmas now! I take it your friends still haven't found out that you're to become neighbours imminently? Good luck!
 
Originally posted by Diamond Geezer@Dec 3 2006, 05:30 PM
Is it common procedure to tip the removal men and how much given the removal fee is relatively generous I feel given some of the quotes we received.
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I've used removal men twice and I have to say it never occurred to me to tip them. Offering tea and a bite to eat when the job's over would be normal practice for us.

As you say, removal firms charge a fortune for what amounts to a few hours work.
 
As with most things, if you feel that the service is worth it then a tip is appropriate. You might want to check that all your booze has arrived in one piece!
 
Originally posted by Diamond Geezer@Dec 3 2006, 05:30 PM


Anyway the next question is tipping. Is it common procedure to tip the removal men and how much given the removal fee is relatively generous I feel given some of the quotes we received.
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Roger congratulations it's been a long time comming but good luck with your move mate.....

Regards your tipping............ give em a few of your quality horse racing tips??? I'm pretty sure it will suffice?? ;) :P :lol:
 
I've probably spent a fortune in gratuities, given the amount of moves I've made. Always tea, bikkies or cake, or a cold fizzy drink, followed by a tenner each (as per Kathy) if they have been courteous, prompt, and handled things well. Hardly bank-busting stuff, but if you ever need them for small removals (say stuff for the tip) in future, they'll remember you and treat you well.

You'll just about be straight when it's Christmas and New Year, DG, so looks like by the end of January you'll be able to take it easy! I hope you all enjoy the new abode.
 
Good luck with the move, Roger.

I have always tipped the removal team on the three occassions I have moved house.

The amount depended on the care that the team took.
 
A stroke of luck today, we called into our building society to withdraw some funds to finance the solicitor's fees next week which I suppose we could have done any day this week. They were having some sort of promotional day, lots of free food etc and I was "persuaded" to enter a draw. Just had a phone call to say we have won the mega, and I mean mega, Christmas hamper. :P
 
Originally posted by Diamond Geezer@Dec 4 2006, 05:53 PM
Just had a phone call to say we have won the mega, and I mean mega, Christmas hamper. :P
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The bad news is...






It's a Farepak hamper.
 
Well here we are then up and running again at last. The moving day went really well to the extent that the two removal guys arrived at 9.30 AM in Cornwall and by 5.15 PM we were unloaded in Cheltenham. We had a variety of removal quotes, the lowest and highest being £600 apart, we used the third lowest, a family firm local to Cheltenham as they had all the right credentials and actually sounded like human beings when we spoke to them on the phone. The two guys on the lorry were superb, really friendly ( and interested in racing !). We gave them bacon butties and coffee as they had left home at 5AM and driven straight down without stopping and afterwards they had us loaded in a couple of hours, nothing was too much trouble. When we arrived in Cheltenham we had to go into the town centre to obtain the keys to the property and by the time we arrived back on the outskirts where we live they were pulling up outside. Not only that but they had arranged for two more guys from the depot to join us and we were unloaded in no time, all carried out in a jokey relaxed manner, no stress at all. We slipped the two guys who had done the trip a £20 tip, you would have thought we had given them the earth.

We were half unpacked by Christmas which Mrs DG and I spent alone, first time ever we can recall, but very peaceful. We had managed to have Sky installed a couple of days before, so were able to watch most of the racing over Christmas and New Year. We didn't make it to Cheltenham races on New Years day as we had an invite to a New Years Eve party from a neighbour over the road where we were able to meet a lot of our new neighbours who gave us a good welcome, too good as it turned out and Mr DG couldn't have driven legally to the racecourse ! apart from which there was the small matter of a hangover. We will be there for the Pillar though at the end of the month.

We are all unpacked now, all settled in and the broadband was activated today. I am using Sky broadband now as it is free if you subscribe to Sky TV and it is very fast compared to what I had before. Will catch up on the other threads in a few days and be posting again soon, hope everyone had a good Christmas and I wish you all a profitable new year.
 
Great to have you back on board, DG :)

I am pleased your removals men were so helpful. Moving house is stressful enough and if you can find people like those removal people that you did, it certainly makes it all a little easier.
 
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