Nice people thread part 4 - sugar and spice and all things

lostinrates

re houses...I'm sure everyone knows....bought a year and a bit ago...32 I think...or hang on...oh help, I've forgotten how old I am....somewhere in early thirties anyway.

JonnyBravo

Bought first house in 1998 (when 28). A 2 bed Victorian terrace and converted loft in 2000 to make it 4 bed. Still only has one bathroom.

Bought 2nd house in 2004 and had substantial work done converting it from a 2 1/2 bed semi to a large 4 bed semi whilst still living in the other to avoid the disruption.. 3 bathrooms now. Luxury. . Moved in in 2005 and rented out the old place.

Mortgage on the one we live in but tied for tax purposes to the rental. Original one is MF.

lostinrates

I wonder how fc123 is and whethe rshe'll be watchine the mary portas thing tonight. Which is also making me wonder what I'll wear to this thing at the weekend. I need a top...unless its cold enough to get away with a smart jumper. with no heating I should be praying for mild weather but wardrobe means I'm wishing for cold.

eta: dh is finally sampling beer in Brussels. I'm so pleased and hoping he's going to let off some steam and have a bit of a night.

michaels

I'm the same age as Lydia, was mortgage free after I moved a year ago but not any more having done the extension - now wondering if marble floor tiles in the en-suite could be described as extravagant?

Davesnave

First house, 3 bed end terrace needing serious update purchased whilst still single in 1977 (aged 28) Probate sale, sealed bids and all done in 48hours!
In 1981, a year after we were married, much of that house was wrecked by a fire while we were away visiting. Achieved a much better update then!

Sold first house privately and bought friends' 3 bed semi in 1987.
Extended second house on ground floor in 1989, adding utility, cloaks and bedroom/office.

Inherited small bungalow with a mortgage still secured on it in 2005. Ironic, as we'd just cleared our own mortgage. Gutted bungalow, refurbed and then sold it in 2006. Paid off that mortgage.

Sold semi in 2008 and went into rented. Retained 1/3 garden land for storage and future sale (ongoing.)

Bought Devon smallholding (4 bed bungalow, barn and 5.5 acres) in mid 2009. Cash purchase from 'highly motivated' seller. Still working on plans for sorting it. The structure is sound. We want an upstairs as there's an incredible view, only half of it visible at ground floor level. Too many choices and not enough £££!

vivatifosi

I bought my starter home in 1988. Current house bought 2006, hence the electrical checks and stuff being five years old. It's not the biggest house, but we'd rather have a second home at some point than a big first house. We quite like the idea of Spain, but not as a British expat who speaks no Spanish. We'd rather learn Spanish and Catalan and live somewhere near Barcelona.

SingleSue

lostinrates wrote: »

nope!

I think its wuite funny. But I have put some clean knickers on just in case, .

That made me laugh as it brought back a memory of my late nan. She was hit by a bus one day and instead of staying where she landed, she got someone to carry her back to her house so she could put her posh knickers on....the red frilly french knickers!

She was about 85 at the time but still wanted to impress the lovely man in x ray and the doctors :rotfl:

SingleSue

lemonjelly wrote: »

I don't think of it as the royal "we" - does it come across that way?
I talk about friends as "they" rather than he/she too. Not sure why.

Chuckled at your post, as I've always had a long standing debate with friends that none of us are individuals. More we are a series of characters, depending on what role we are "playing" at the time (eg am in 1 role at work, another at home with parents, and yet another with friends). I think this helps explain how you can see a different side to peoples character sometimes. For example, I am quite outspoken at work - never afraid to come forward with an opinion. But of course, that is my role, & to an extent the work character I've "created". Whereas socially, I am nowhere near as forward.

Where it gets interesting (& for interesting, I mean my friends think I'm an out & out wierdo) is that when I am struggling to make a decision, the differing roles in my "head" have a kind of conversation bouncing around pro's & con's, until I settle on a solution. That's kinda my theory on voices in your head, but like I say, most friends look at me wierd & suggest I keep quiet about talking about the voices in my head...:o

You and me are so alike.

I have various online personas depending on which site I am on, on here, I am more serious and normal, on my own, I am a mixture of big boss lady and slightly flighty (and rude!), on another, I am the rule knower...and so on.

There are not really very many people who see the real me, I have occasionally let it out here when my guard has been down but most of the time, I hide the real me in layers and layers of pretend confidence and happiness....it would be too depressing for everyone else otherwise.

I also have the personal arguement about things with one side of me telling me something would be a good idea and the other saying "Not on your blooming nelly!" and some can find that a bit weird but as eldest says (and it has taken me a while to get my head around this) "It is good to be weird, means you are not a sheeple"

SingleSue

michaels wrote: »

Off Topic I know but as we are on the discuss house prices board I was wondering how many of the nice people own their own house and indeed have bought it recently despite the threat of a price crash.

I'll go first, I bought my first house in 2001 and traded up in March last year.

Purchased in 1990 at age 20 (by one week).......but don't own now.

SingleSue

lostinrates wrote: »

I wonder how fc123 is and whethe rshe'll be watchine the mary portas thing tonight. Which is also making me wonder what I'll wear to this thing at the weekend. I need a top...unless its cold enough to get away with a smart jumper. with no heating I should be praying for mild weather but wardrobe means I'm wishing for cold.

eta: dh is finally sampling beer in Brussels. I'm so pleased and hoping he's going to let off some steam and have a bit of a night.

We're out at the weekend too...James' 18th birthday party (courtesy of bank of mum and dad). I have actually purchased a new outfit!

I had had my eye on an outfit online for some while but it was more of a dream than anything else as it was £115 and there is no way I could justify paying that much for an item of clothing (even before being on benefits - I had palpitations paying £186 for my wedding dress in 1990). Anyway, the kids dragged me into a charity shop a couple of weeks back and what do I see? Only the same blooming outfit in their ex catalogue section....for £24!

Couldn't really afford it but decided to just the once treat myself as I have been wearing the same outfit to special occasions for the last 4 years and it gets a little embarrassing when people are going through the photos and there is me in my posh black and white blouse and black trousers with a slight sparkle in them.

So, if the new outfit lasts anywhere near what the old outfit has lasted, it will be money well spent.