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Thank you Cynthia - You DO look after me - breakfast was delicious, as always. <3

It looks a very pleasant day here too at the moment but very cold. It is so nice to see a bright sky though after all the grey we have been seeing for the past several days :-)

I remember when we first had all our double glazed doors and windows put in - I think the Salesman must have been fairly new as he arrived with his Manager and they did the Survey and arrived at a figure well over £12,000,

After a while the Manager left and we were left with the Salesman. Now, we had made it a rule that we would NEVER sign up to buy anything 'on the day' but will always consider after they have gone and make our own decision.

However, the pice, as usual came down a bit and he strugled to persuade us - my husband, for some reason, had left the room and by the time he came back in I had somehow managed to get the price down to just under £5,000 so, as we had other quotes similar to the higher price and this was now for a far superior quality of product, I suggested to my husband that we should accept.

A day or two later we had a phone call from the 'Manager' to say that the windows downstairs at the back and the patio doors (and maybe the back door?) had not been included in the quote !! :-0

I pointed out that I had in my hand a copy of the documentation which proved that all doors and windows were included so the agreement stood !

They were all duly fitted and have lasted well for over 20 years. Last year we had new glass fitted into the frames because a few of them had started to 'mist' but the rest is as sturdy as ever.

I wonder what happened to that poor Salesman? I had been well trained in Sales myself and the poor thing didn't know what hit him. I do hope that he learned from the situation though and didn't get the sack :-(

Dea x

The firm is a family one, local and they don't advertise

All their work comes from recommendations and the price they quoted is way below the big national companies

There was no sales talk, he was here about 15 minutes and left, sending the quote in the post. No pushy sales call either

Gin,

A thing to remember when considering purchasing double glazing is that its salesmen are usually paid commission as a percentage of the price paid for the job. Quite naturally they start with a high quote hoping that the customer doesn't quibble but of course most customers do so the salesman then offers a "Special" discount which he hopes will secure the order. He may even call his sales manager pretending to get the "Best" price. But don't give in.

My own experience is that there is still a lot of margin for haggling as no sale means no commission so it is relatively easy to get the salesman to back pedal a long way before either he will give it up or the customer gets to a price that is acceptable. On one occasion what started out as a job quoted for at almost £5,000 ended up as an order for just over £2,000. It is always fun to haggle when you are holding the whip hand.

In the meantime don't slam any doors. ;-) ;-)

Good morning all.. :-)


Thanks for putting the kettle on Gins.....I'll start on some bacon and mushrooms for Dea and you sound as though you are in need of some eggy bread!


It's absolutely beautiful here at the moment - despite the fact that we are threatened with rain. Hoping to get out for a walk with OH before the deluge comes..... :-)


Meanwhile, the washer is on and so I am hoping to get some out on the line - especially the bedding......... :-D


See you later ~~~

Sylvs

We have a tiny mortgage and a lot of equity in the house but........I can borrow money from the mortgage lender, no problem but it is a loan just like any other

You cant re-mortage, they just offer you a loan to run along side your mortgage!

I thought you could just add onto your existing mortgage loan and was going to pay extra each month, apparently not!

We also have 'pot' of overpayments but that won't cover the cost of the windows

We don't spend or borrow if we haven't got the funds but buying new doors and windows is not rainy day money, it is thousands and thousands :-0

I swear I'll come home from work one day and they will have fallen out. Yes they are THAT bad!

Kettle is on...............

I'm of the same vintage as the others ...... don't buy unless you have the money, unless it is absolutely necessary (like major house repairs!) .


However ............... do you have enough equity in your house to take out a Line of Credit using that equity as the security???


That can sometimes be the way to get access to an amount of money without going through the moneylenders.

We have a Line of Credit with the bank, that was once tied to one of our credit cards ................ it allowed us to go to Europe and the UK for 2 months without having to worry about unpaid credit card payments piling up at exorbitant rates of interest ........................ the amount on the cc statement just rolled over to the LOC (ie, M/C was paid off by the LOC), and we paid then paid that off on our return to Canada at a much lower rate (I think it was 5% instead of 25% :-) )

We still have that LOC available, I think it is for something like $5,000 ......... but haven't used it for about 10 years.

We also now have a LOC set up with another financial institution using the equity in our house ..................... as we own the house outright (no mortgage), and as house prices are obscene here, that is a much much larger LOC ...................... but it is aimed at providing money if one or both of us need expensive medical care or care home.

In that event, it would be paid off when the house is sold ...... at the rate house prices are rising, it will probably be around one-quarter of the house's value!

It reduces daughter's inheritance .................... but it means we can afford whatever care we need.

hi all
xxx



a lovely sunny day here .......... but the temperatures are falling as the Arctic front moves down from the north!



s
xx

Jonesey? I didn't go to the school for naughty children, so it's only Dea that you can remember...... :-D :-D :-D :-D


A horrible grey day here with lots of rain but thankfully, we don't flood.


Still tussling with a friend's tree but have given up for the night now........and watching Jack and the Beanstalk......as you do!!!

I hate borrowing money too, JB is the same. We don't have any debt, except the mortgage, hence me being a bit iffy on borrowing

I have thought that because our investments are are rising higher than the savings/borrowing rate, it might be best to borrow and leave the investments to raise

We can always fall back on them if need be

We save a little cash each month, that pays for breaks and Christmas, so don't get into debt

Still thinking......................and open to suggestions



Just to add........... an hour ago I paid a huge VAT bill, a big PAYE bill and a Self assessment I don't want to think about

I am always annoyed by something that happened when we took out our last mortgage (over 30 years ago).

We could afford to pay the amount required on what we borrowed (by being VERY frugal) but because the mortgage lender did not share our view, they agreed to give us the mortgage we wanted but we would have to pay 1% more for the priviledge - How does that work ??? :-S - They were charging us extra because they thought we couldn't afford the lower payments ??????????? :-S :-S

The rate at that time was already around 14% - 15% so when the rates started to fall we would never lower our premium and even, when we could, we paid a little more each month. - This meant that we paid off our mortgage some 9 years before we should have done................... Joy !!! :-D

After that, while we were still working, I used to put that same amount into savings each month which gave us our 'security' and paid for holidays and any extras which we wanted. - If you are used to managing without that sum of money each month, you don't miss it ! ;-)

I should follow Jonesey's very wise advice Ginns.

Dea x

Gin,

I obviously went to the same school as Cyn and Dea as I too have only ever borrowed money as a last resort to acquire something that I needed (Rather than just wanted). I have only once entered into a hire purchase agreement (To buy a car) and although I needed a mortgage (My largest mortgage £7,000) to be able to purchase my 1st, 2nd and 3rd homes I borrowed only exactly what I needed, resisting the temptation to borrow the maximum the lender was prepared to advance me. When in the late 1980's interest rates rose to high levels I paid off my outstanding mortgage quickly as it was costing me more in interest to have a mortgage than I was getting in interest on the more than enough money I had sitting in the bank to enable me to pay off the mortgage. Since then my dealings have always been by cash only whether I was buying a car or a house.

The reason for telling you that was to suggest that before you look to borrow funds from any source it is important to check that you actually need to do so. Interest rates are currently quite low for borrowers but obscenely low for investors meaning that if you do have some spare cash lying around earning 0.5 ~ 2.0% PA interest it is better to use that rather than to take out some form of loan at 3.0 ~ 4.9% PA interest. If it is possible for you and JB to do that then ensure that each month you put an amount equal to what would have been your monthly payment to the lender back into your deposit account and before you know it your balance will be restored. You will have new windows and cash, the money lender on the other hand won't be anywhere as near as comfortable as you and JB. :-D

Thank you Cynthia - that is delicious <3 <3

With regard to your financial quandry Ginns - I was brought up in exactly the same manner as Cynths. The only debt I ever had was the mortgage as I absolutely hate to owe money. I would rather do without...

If you are able to sell some shares to pay 'up front' then that is what I would do ;-)

Dea Xxx

Morning all.... :-D


Bacon barm cakes, eggy bread, cereal and lots of toast. Hope that will keep you going for a while Dea..... ;-)


Jonesey dear, I don't care if the snowflakes fall in formation....I just don't want them......ever...... :-(


Gins, can't help you with your query I'm afraid. I think it's because I was brought up in the "if you can't afford it, you go without it" kind of way.

We have always saved up if there was something we wanted. On the rare occasion, for something which has been fairly essential, and out of out budget range, we would pay for it over a matter of months as quickly as we could. We never use our overdraft either.

Just be careful......there are a lot of loan sharks out there........ :-(


Off to Tesco for daughter soon and then, hopefully, lunch out. See you later ~~~

Mornin all~~~~~~


I agree Jonesey, it looks beautiful and quietens the noise BUT it is horrid!

Thinking about how to pay for the windows, I remembered that Eon have reduced my monthly DD from £131 to £50...........just trying to work out a budget and where to eek money from!

My mortgage lender are offering 2.9% with a fee on top of £99. Looked at a personal loan and they are around 4.5% but the repayments are only about £4 a month extra (same term) and I can get the money a lot quicker

Mortgage lender wants all the usual paperwork and it can take up to 8 weeks!

Finance does my ed in.............off to put the kettle on


Any money experts out there to advise?

No chance of sledging I'm afraid as the snow only fell for about 10 minutes. Mind you it was that large fluffy type of snowflakes that were falling gracefully from the sky.

It reminded me of a day that I remembered from my youth. On that occasion the same type of snow fell for about an hour and at the end of that time it lay at least 6" deep. Freshly fallen snow transforms even the most dreary industrial landscape into a a beautiful scene. :-)

Snow? Not here thank goodness....... :-D


I've been thinking about new windows but they sound horribly expensive :-(


I'm with DET on this one.......either be upfront and honest or don't bother calling!!


Jonesey, just you be careful on that sledge of yours.......you know how you feel the cold these days......;-)


Went round a camping type shop this morning......we don't go camping obviously, but OH fancied a look round. I nearly had to give him gas and air when he saw the prices of some of the clothes........he couldn't get over anyone paying £200+ for a walking jacket.....hahahahaha......he really needs to get out more!


Quick browse and then bed I think.........night night.......xx

hi all
xxx


rainy here ............. but the cold weather is coming, again




s
xx

Det

I had a quote from a company, quite big here in the north (good reputation but
expensive) but the other, near quote was from Saf # Sty#e

What a load of old HARD sell from the latter

Rip offs

Don’t talk to me about the ‘big’ double glazing companies. :-|

We’ve recently had a new front door and porch window replaced. We’d already got a quote from a local company when a young lad knocked on the door canvassing. As he said he got paid for referrals, and it was a county based company anyway, I agreed.

We told the Salesman exactly what we wanted but he still spent nearly 2 hours going through his spiel even after we’d repeated that we didn't want a window that opens!

Eventually he worked out a quote, double the local company’s. After ‘taking to the manager’ he knocked off a thousand, but it still didn’t match it.
A couple of months later (we take our time over things like that!!!) a letter comes in under-cutting the local company by £50.

If they can’t play straight from the get-go, they aren't having our custom. :-| :-|

NB - the local company gives a fantastic after-sales service. last year the bathroom window handle came off in me 'hand. As it was still covered by 'FENSA', JIm was round within 10 minutes and fitted a new one. Even if it wasn't still covered, I rather think they'd have done their best at a minimal cost to rectify it.

We had snow too..........not settled

Just got the quote through for new windows and doors, it's half the price we were quoted from another firm

They are local, make and fit all their windows and came through recommendation from two students of mine

Now................how to pay for them! Checked the loan rates with various companies but am thinking of selling some shares and paying cash

I HATE borrowing money