Ghostrider Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 anyway ghosty may well enjoy dressing as a frog and its not really important if he wants to. but come on keep your pleasures between yourselves some of use have had a very sheltered lives. :shock: I do?!? Why wasn't I told?? Knew a girl a while ago who would say she was "feeling froggy" when she was in the mood, but other than that, believe me, I really do not have the legs to do an impression of Kermit. Oh yeah, the topic.....my bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unlinkedstudent Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 anyway ghosty may well enjoy dressing as a frog and its not really important if he wants to. but come on keep your pleasures between yourselves some of use have had a very sheltered lives. I blame Koy.^^^ Surely you mean shetlinkered lives eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Inky Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 ^^ Its by no means uncommon for folk to be the epitome of politeness, yet also be obnoxious in the extreme when they appear incapable of taking "No" for an answer, and persist in trying to "persuade" you to change your mind - think door-to-door sales(wo)men, JW's etc.... Neither is it uncommon for folk to become physical without being agressive - You tell someone clearly "No", and attempt to walk away to reinforce your point, and they take hold of your arm/sleeve and attempt to stop you/turn you back around to face them. Yes, folk are generally polite and respectful to others, but having experienced the antics of far more folk than I care to think about standing on the doorstep trying to either sell (be it naff oddsized carpet offcuts or God) or obtain something, I have no doubt that it is a situation that brings out the very worst in a large number of folk. Especially those who are trying to make a killing/obtain a bargain, or are trying to obtain something they have decided they, really, really, really, really, really just must have..... I'm still struggling with the concept that you appear to believe that "don't be so obnoxious that the homeowner is tempted to punch you" is a useful tip to keep in mind while house-hunting. I'm not saying it's bad advice, it's just I thought it would be reasonably obvious to most people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostrider Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 ^^ Not sure I was offering it as a tip, as anyone guilty of it probably only realised (if they ever did) how far they'd gone, after the fact, having become somewhat "carried away" by the situation. I was just pointing out that some of us, having experienced such antics more times than patience can stand, are likely to give any approach from any stranger enquiring about buying/renting/whatever any building/land/whatever that isn't openly advertisted as such, very, very short shrift and no chance to even start getting carried away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmandy Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Thank you for posting right to roam legislation. I take my home and my garden to be off limits then unless asked. My clothes line almost qualifies as a crop but definatly signals occupation and use of the land. Have been wondering what is the difference between derilict and uninhabitable? Are they the same. will proposed legislation on empty houses and council tax help get empty usable houses on crofts back in use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lerwick Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 A house site within about 15 miles of lerwick seems to be worth from £25000 to £30000. With the state of the Uk economy thats a good reason for people for keeping their money in derelict houses rather than the bank or stockmarket, if you offer enough a lot of these houses could be for sale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crofter Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 if you offer enough a lot of these houses could be for sale. That is the issue, I think. People do not realise, or accept, that a site is worth at least 25% of the value of a property which can be built there. I have an old house (ruin) on one of my crofts. Unlike Ghostrider, I do not get very many people pestering me about it, perhaps because I do not live nearby, but there have been a couple of enquiries. I might sell the site (there are services to an occupied house next door), but one person would not say how much she was prepared to offer, and stormed off very offended when I told her what a similar site had sold for some years previously. The other guy offered me £500. "It's just a pile of stones..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulb Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 £500 for a house site of at least 1/4 of an acre. they are p--s taking. between 10-30k would be more reasonable for a decrofted site at a guess maybe 1/2 that for a non decrofted site. it would be better if the sites came with a bit of land. there is a clear oppertunity for some communities to get younger folks to live there. if the cost of the site was met by the commission or some other group. the build cost could be covered by the charity trust or the council one. the new buyer would then get a morgage to cover the cost. they could have a good house for less than 100k and the crofter would have some funds and the community would gain as well. same with the turbines if each community was allowed funds for a large turbine it could be used to run small scale district heating which would help reduce the serious fuel poverty in shetland. its a pity the council always opt for the big expensive ideas which often fail. when there are loads of smaller ideas that would produce a net gain for shetland. and latly can they please stop lending money to themselves it always the same names that crop up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crofter Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 £500 for a house site of at least 1/4 of an acre. they are p--s taking. between 10-30k would be more reasonable for a decrofted site at a guess maybe 1/2 that for a non decrofted site. it would be better if the sites came with a bit of land. I am guessing this ^^^ is what has Ghostrider fit for tying? there is a clear oppertunity for some communities to get younger folks to live there. if the cost of the site was met by the commission or some other group. the build cost could be covered by the charity trust or the council one. the new buyer would then get a morgage to cover the cost. they could have a good house for less than 100k and the crofter would have some funds and the community would gain as well. same with the turbines if each community was allowed funds for a large turbine it could be used to run small scale district heating which would help reduce the serious fuel poverty in shetland. its a pity the council always opt for the big expensive ideas which often fail. when there are loads of smaller ideas that would produce a net gain for shetland. and latly can they please stop lending money to themselves it always the same names that crop up. Unfortunately, this is much too sensible. Affordable homes, affordable power, a return on money invested locally.... not a chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unlinkedstudent Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 ^ You'd be pushed even at £100k to build a two-three bed property though wouldn't you, unless self-build? Perhaps those in the building industry would be better placed to comment? Besides, isn't it the case that the majority of those on the housing waiting list will not live outside town? Reasons given are sometimes lack of commuting facilities which is most definitely the case for some parts of Shetland but not all. Perhaps they just don't fancy the idea of travelling on a bus each day for an hour where there is a reasonable service, yet it is not uncommon elsewhere in the UK for peeps to commute further distances. Is the house in question a croft house with land, a de-crofted croft house or simply an old croft-house style house/fisherman's cottage in a non-rural location? It could well be the case that there is no owner - aah, but if someone died and didn't bequeath it to anyone/no family, wouldn't ownership go to the Crown? Is that the case in Scotland because in England ownership would go to the Treasury/Gov after a certain period. Isn't there a case of a very large building in Shetland where the Crown declined ownership and the SIC are doing piddly with that; granted, it is a historic building ... ... perhaps before looking at ruins/old croft houses/whatever in the countryside, those properties falling under the scope of the legal definition of derelict in built-up areas should be those where the SIC takes the necessary action to bring them back into use first? Town has the longest waiting list. But the SIC can't, they say they don't have the dosh. In any event, if a property falls under the scope of the legislation, it is a long, drawn-out process. If Scotland is like England (and from what I've read I think it is or on similar lines but I could well be wrong), only a Local Authority can take legal steps to "re-claim" the property. Now if they do so, they incur costs and wouldn't they have a duty to make as much money as possible should they choose to sell the property on? Then there's Building Control/Planning. Many old houses don't have a corridor separating living room from kitchen and might have a bedroom going off the living room. Again, someone in the building trade is going to know a lot more about this than me. Dependent upon the state of the building, you might have to reconfigure the rooms in order to meet current legislation whereby a more suitable means of escape in case of fire is provided; not sure how this applies and to what extent with refurbishments/rebuilds. Oops, the costs are mounting up - demolition may well be a better option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulb Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 again your jumping in with the law. there is no need to go down that route. you get each crofting area to devise a plan of what they feel that needs to be done to encourange incoming families(these could just be there younger family members that can't get on the housing market.) they look at their assets work out if there are any viable sites and they go on from there. (obviously if the old building is to far gone then pull it down and resuse the stone in the building). at the same time people are invited to put a bid in for a chance to live in there area of preferance . there would not need to be any long legal battles as it would all be done by agreement and not by force(forcing a sale and then moving a family in would not work) http://www.homebuilding.co.uk/feature/Budget-Breakdownthis build is roughly a 140m2. the costs could be cut if the builds were used as training for the build trade. if you were to buy the same from a developer then you have to add on roughy 50% profit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unlinkedstudent Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 again your jumping in with the law. there is no need to go down that route. The OP already did! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nortower Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 This is exactly the sort of reponse I expect from shetlanders and the reason i left the place. Angel ask's a simple question and gets a tirade of negative responses. Angel, I hope you have some luck with the house. But by the theme of the posts on here what will probably happen is you'll knock on some crofters door and he'll shoot you through his letter box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lerwick Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 I only see a lot of good advice not negative response. Houses that are for sale are advertised so. If you want to buy a house that is not actively for sale you will have to offer more than the value to tempt the owner to sell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Inky Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 I only see a lot of good advice not negative response.Did you miss the macho posturing about punching people in the mouth and waving shotguns about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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