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A P Green Maintenance, Folkestone (2026)

Emergency plumbing, taps, showers and shower pumps, toilets, water heaters, plumbing for new kitchens, toilets, macerators, radiators and radiator valves, outside taps and many other small plumbing services.

31/03/2026

Had to cancel my new van yesterday. The lease company first got the wrong colour, then the wrong spec, then after getting the right van spec and colour, took the registration fee in January, the deposit beginning of March, and were supposed to deliver in up to 10 days, over 20 days later still no delivery date, told the van has a warranty recall for the water pump, checked with main dealer, no recall on that registration and chassis number, called again yesterday, told it was the seat belts not water pump and then told the recall was wrongly passed on to then, but they couldn’t even tell me why it took 20 days and nobody contacted me to let me know of any delay, nobody contacted me about a recall and nobody returned my calls to find out what was happening. No confidence in a company that couldn’t check if there was a recall and what it was to let me know, it took me 2 minutes to call a main dealer and check their database to find there was no recall, they still insisted there was.

Canceled the order, if they can’t get it right before delivery what are they going to be like if there’s any other problems. Last company I leased a van with, Vanarama, were excellent, right van, right colour and spec, no issues with delivery, 5 years of happy motoring and I extended a year and upped the yearly mileage at no extra cost, until it got written off by a woman who went through a red light without even slowing down, still waiting for the payout from that, not the lease company’s fault but I did forget to insure against my extra losses from the extra mileage I’d done, doh!

It’s a shame, was looking forward to the new van, and it being automatic this time to help my knackered knee, but if you loose the trust in the people supplying it, get blanked or ignored, not informed of delivery issues and it took three goes to get the right spec van ordered in the first place, it’s time to walk away and find a supplier who can do their job ☹️

21/03/2026

Well this isn’t easy, buying a property has challenged so much since last time. Set up a limited company and an SPV company last year, fees. Changed the name for the new property, fees. Auction, fees and deposit up front. Finance company wanted a survey, fees up front. Auction company had to let in surveyor, fees up front. My Solisitor, fees up front, and more fees as borrowing against two properties. Surveyor report requested structural engineers report, fees up front. Endless paperwork, online and face to face as the online stuff wouldn’t work for me and my issues with paperwork.

Waiting to see if they accept my surveyor and his report as because they didn’t send me a copy of the survey I didn’t know the structural surveyor needed to be ‘Chartered’, mine isn’t, although fully qualified with 40 years experience, so might have to do that again, more fees, and more fees for auction to let them in, more delay… was meant to exchange on 25th March, another extension and no doubt, more fees…

Still not got the delivery date for the new van too, but at least all the paperwork on that was right this time, and it’s the right specs and colour, but also automatic, which is a change and is going to help my dodgy left knee. Just hope it arrives soon so I can get the tow bar fitted for the work trailer to be used instead of being shackled to my car or left in storage.

I just want to get in the property and strip out all the ‘nasty’ so I can get on with making it a modernised functional home again for somebody, a buyer, or if the valuation at finish is high enough, a tenant. Either way, until all the paperwork is finished, I’m feeling stressed and like a runner waiting for the starting gun…

10/02/2026

This time last year I set up a new Ltd company, and a second ‘SPV’ Ltd company to purchase a property to renovate and sell. That fell through at the 11th hour when the seller withdrew, gutted after spending many days planning and pricing the work, and having other trades look at the property and quote for their part in the renovation. Well now I’m back to it, the Ltd companies are in place, bank accounts in place, Solisitor and accountant in place, finance with renovation finance built in in place and a property, or two, in mind.

In 24 hours I will know if it’s been successful, and that’s when the real work will start. I’m not understating things when I say it’s scaring the crap out of me doing this, borrowing so much, using every penny of my own, much of it as a directors loan to the company to pay the initial costs of the purchase.

They say any in property deal the profit is made in the initial purchase, not overpaying or getting into a bidding war in an auction, and I’ve done that many times in my hobbies when an item I want has gone well over my original limit. It’s fine when it’s a few pounds or even a few hundred on something I want for my collection, but with property, it’s got to make financial sence, and not cut into the profit margins at the end, especialy if I’ve got to bring in other trades to do work too.

The line has been drawn, my final offer or bid will be my final figure, and if the worst comes to the worst there will be another property, there always is, it’s not like I’m looking for a home for myself that ticks all the boxes, that’s for the people who I hope to sell it too, I’ll just add the boxes they want to tick and move on to the next property 😉

24/01/2026

After a couple of, shall we say, ‘difficult years’, a leased van being writen off, the replacement van I bought having endless mechanical issues and then being stolen, a knee replacement after having to lose about seven stone to have it, two big customers going under owing around £7k unpaid, the property I was buying to renovate falling through at the 11th hour was a blow too but I managed to put it behind me with only a few days and the legal costs of setting up a new company to buy and sell properties.

This year will be my 20th year self employed come July. I’ve a few good comercial customers, many regulars both domestic and air b&b/holiday lets as well as a growing number of new customers I’ve been recommended to by existing customers.

Looking forward to the new van being delivered in a couple of weeks, new new not just new to me, and fingers crossed it will coincide with my re-entry to the property renovation business, more on that and the new Ltd company later, exciting times, exciting projects, but still looking after all the customers who have supported me so far.

Address

Folkestone

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