Quit everything , and start again over 50?

Tuesday_Tenor

Hi AC and all,

Returned home yesterday from the week's holiday in Dorset and the party weekend in Devon. All great fun in largely perfect weather.

Perfect weather for walking in that it was largely fine, often cloudy so not TOO hot, got tanned without much risk of burning, had just one wet morning as predicted, got rained on by a couple of UNpredicted showers, but they were short-lived and the warm air dried everything very quickly. Had taken swimsuit as back-up for swimming pool if dreadful weather, and instead used it for sunbathing one EVENING, and the sun shone on the 70th birthday party in a field (thank goodness, or could have been a quagmire!).

Did a favourite walk on the South Dorset Ridgeway, and could see right across Weymouth to St. Adhelm's Head, so I guess we were looking at Poole somewhere over beyond the Wareham forest area.

It really is a lovely area, and you're going to have all this on your doorstep, AC. I'm quite envious ... And I already have Southern Snowdonian on my own...!

Did some long walks, 10 miles and 7 miles. Very easy walking though, compared to the mountains at home! Despite a very active week, have lost precisely 0 lbs, as we were also enjoying good food!! For most of my 50+years I've been with Smodlet on the cream issue, it didn't do anything for me ... But last week I was attracted to creme brûl!e (twice!) and malteser pavlova .....! I think it's my attempt to avoid stodgy cakes .....! . All yummy, anyway, and allowed on holiday!

Just catching up with the thread ....

Tuesday_Tenor

While the suggested reduction in price is unsettling, I don't really understand your reaction:

another_casualty wrote: »

...I'm devastated, and if it's on here much longer , I will pull out and take property off the market.

That sounds like cutting off your nose to spite your face ...
One minute your impatience to move is a bit OTT.
The next minute you're thinking of pulling the plug on the whole idea.
I don't really get your thinking, and indeed want to challenge it.
(That's part of what you want from the board, support and, where appropriate, challenge, OK?)

Can you really not hold on to The Plan for your new debt-free life away form London just because of a little fly in the ointment? I was going to write 'The Dream' of moving, but it really is much more than that, you are in a strong position with this real, practical plan. You will probably see the fruition of this plan this year, or circumstances might mean you have to wait till next year (though I doubt it). Why give up on the plan so quickly and easily?

You seem prone to 'catastrophic' or 'all-or-nothing' thinking. The slightest shadow or blip seems to be devastating, when really it's just thought-provoking, and may not even lead to you wanting or needing to change your ideas.

I'm with the others on this. I wouldn't drop your price just now.
Just because CB are a bit panicky, and naturally want to maximise their sales, doesn't mean you have to be so jumpy.
Wait and see what happens locally, what happens in Poole.
Ultimately it might become clear that The Plan remains achievable, and is best effected, by reducing your price below £400k, and you'll be OK with that. But it's not clear at the moment, so don't reduce price as a knee-jerk reaction.

Smodlet

Welcome back, Tuesday and I am glad you enjoyed your hols. Malteser pavlova, hey? LL is a bad influence... y'all need to watch you do not get your just desserts

AC, TT and LL seem to me to be the voice of reason. LL has mentioned the need for nerves of steel. Breathe, AC! Why do you have to have completed and moved by August? I would suggest that life in general and the property market in particular are very seldom improved by panicking. Those with cooler heads always seem to come out ahead, whether financially or just looking better than those who gave in to pressure.

I'll be honest, I am a panicker by nature but can honestly say I can't remember the last time it got me anywhere. Good thing OH is somewhat more stoic. While you do not have a significant other at present, you do have us.

I hope you do not feel we are in any way ganging up on you, we have only your best interests at heart. Unlike face-to-face conversations, there is a written record of everything we have all said: No two-faced types or backstabbers here, from what I can tell. Now, chin(s) up, breathe slowly and chill. Remember you are a :cool: dude. It will be those who panic and drastically reduce their asking prices who will repent at leisure. Maybe you will find some such sorry soul in Poole, who knows? If you do, I hope they are not an MSE forum member!

elona

LL

Go with your instincts. The bungalow I am in felt right when I viewed it even though the downstairs needed a new bathroom, new kitchen and a couple of walls knocked down. Never mind the bodged electrics and plumbing that I did not know about.

Now we are nearly finished I feel happy and it feels like home as it is lovely and quiet with nice neighbours, near bus routes and some shops. I had the family round at the weekend and when they saw me cooking in the new kitchen they said "Now that's my Mum!"

Tuesday_Tenor

Hi AC

This is info for you future in Poole.

I frequent the 'Public transport ...' Forum here on MSE a bit, and through it have discovered the following:

There is an extremely good-value rail Rover ticket for the area:
3 in 7 'Freedom of the Severn and Solent'.
For a total of about £46 you can travel on 3 separate days in a seven-day period, across a large and interesting area covering Southampton, Portsmouth, Weymouth, Tiverton, Bristol, Cardiff, Gloucester, Bath, Worcester, Swindon and Salisbury. So, for example, if you want to go to a gig in say, Bristol, you can make that a 2-day break with a basic B&B there, AND have another day trip somewhere a few days later. All on the same Freedom pass.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/rangers_and_rovers.aspx

Day trips by train don't just have to be for the cities, you can get to the smaller historic places like Sherborne and Dorchester as well, pleasant towns with access to country walks. You can even taste my beloved South Dorset Ridgeway, as you can get onto it by walking just 1 mile from Upwey, which is on the rail line (and also served by 4 buses an hour from Weymouth/Dorchester!). Just a couple of mies and back is a lovely easy walk with superb views; you don't have to do the whole 7 miles we did to Winterborne Abbas (or the 24 miles of the whole Ridgeway long distance path to Bridport).

Just keeping you focused on the goodies in store when you get there!

Tuesday_Tenor

Smodlet wrote: »

y'all need to watch you do not get your just desserts

Well, if it's just desserts you're interested in ... I could tell you about ALL the ones we had ...

No?? OK, just the first one I had, which was delicious and so rather encouraged the 'cream theme' of the week.

Raspberry cranachan, and I've just found the recipe online:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/648633/cranachan

AC, please ignore, neither you nor I are eating such things while we're not on holiday, right? Just the raspberries, OK?

Smodlet

That's terriffic, thanks, TT. You can still keep the cream, for some reason just the thought of it inspires eewwwiness in me. Back in the day, when OH and I still had those things called holidays, we frequented Devon and Cornwall; I had to sit there like a proverbial lemon while he tucked in to cream teas. I made up for it later with the :beer: though. To each, his/her own.

AC, eyes on the prize as TT says; how very helpful that info is. Faint heart never won fair flat/other property.

another_casualty

My god , things are happening thick and fast on here today .
Tuesday - welcome back! Glad you enjoyed your break
Thanks for the additional valuable info- very useful!;)

LL - it doesn't seem like that bungalow is fir you IMHO .
In time , you'll get the right one

Smodlet -it takes a lot to upset me . Everyone on here is great .

Now , back to my situation :
I'm doing nothing , and going to hold out for £400k
Dexter will see me on Friday . I have another 6 weeks with chase , so I may get both in the case in 6 weeks time .
Could be double commission to pay , so I have to be careful.

Sorry if I appeared jumpy . I'm normally laid back , but yesterday was a shock . 2 weeks ago , I was told to relax . Then I'm asked to take a £25k reduction .
I am not gonna take my flat off the market . I just said that to chase , to let them know I'm not a mug . If they see I'm not always smiley smiley, always praising them ( which is what I have been doing ), then they know where they can stick their reduction .

I have told some people in work ' this year recovery , next year I'm going for a life changing experience '.
I want it to be this year . I don't ask for much .
It's just that my body language is dead, the no is dead & im stale and angry .Plus my brother wants me to do things again , and I cannot be bothered anymore .
Other than that all's good;)

Anna , hang on in there . You'll get there

another_casualty

Forgot to mention ...6 weeks of eating crisps and Pringles has stopped from today . However, chocolate ice cream and tiny cans of ginger ale and coke are in ..for now . Blaming the not weather;)

Tuesday_Tenor

another_casualty wrote: »

Sorry if I appeared jumpy . I'm normally laid back , but yesterday was a shock . 2 weeks ago , I was told to relax . Then I'm asked to take a £25k reduction .
I am not gonna take my flat off the market .

All sounds fine, reasonable, understandable.
Think I mis-read the tone of yesterday's 'written-in-slight-shock' posts a bit.
Hold on, be patient, your eventual buyer will be someone who views the flat and location as you do. There may not be hundreds like you but there will be someone.

'Hold on tight to your dreams' :whistle: