Quit everything , and start again over 50?

bettyboo71

LL, good news about the windfall, and you're off on your holidays, so hopefully today has turned out as well as you might hope for. Thinking of you.

AC, I tried to write a long post yesterday but somehow got logged out in the middle then lost it when I tried to log back in. I finally got round to looking at your property and the competition, and agree with most of what has been written. Your garden seems to be the one real difference between yours and similarly priced properties. And I do think you need better photos, with a bit of colour. As others have said, you don't need to spend a lot, you could even have a look in charity shops or pound shops. Pick a colour scheme for each room then get a couple of cheap prints, a rug, or an ornament (something fairly plain and simple). My old flat had a cream/beige sitting room, but I had a large red canvas and a red patterned rug which really brightened it up. (I also had an apple green bedroom, lilac study/3rd bed, and a kitchen the colour of tomat soup. Not to everyone's taste, but I suspect it at least got their attention!)

But, given the number of viewings, these are all small things that shouldn't put people off. So I do hope that you/we/LL (!) can find whatever it is that seems to be putting them off. Is there anything in the street/neighbouring gardens that might put them off?

I can't be of much help, but I am still sending moral support. Because I have been there, and I know how much of an improement my move made, so I totally support your goals.

Smodlet

Hi all,

Well, LL, that must have brightened the day up for you a bit... and to be forced to remain in the land of chocolate against your will, it's a hard life for some, isn't it, guys? (chocolate-licking icon)

AC, I am sure you know LL (and GG, Betty, I, et al) have all been trying to get you to realise that the interior of your pad needs to aspire to be like those pictures. Your place may have several other things going for it that they do not, but the fact remains it is not selling.

There is a thread I have been reading you might be interested in:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5507210

Someone is trying to sell their father's house and does not understand why no-one wants it at the price they want to sell it at. This has been addressed ad nauseum but the OP does not seem as ready to open their mind as you. It is in no way as... refined as this thread, IYSWIM. (I've caught basic textese, now) :rotfl:

I think, if it is not too presumptuous of me, that you might just, being objective about their house, perhaps gain something from giving it a look. I have, for once, refrained from commenting as everything I would say has been said, and then some. HTH

patchwork_cat

Are you spending any money on dressing? Cushions, throws, rugs?

lessonlearned

Smodlet......thanks for the link to that thread........hilarious. I won't bother wasting my time posting any advice though.

Reminds me of my dad.

Mum went into care, dad went into sheltered housing in the same complex to be near her. Estate agent valued their cottage at £125. I told dad it was nearer £110k but too late, the damage was done, the seed had been planted. All Dad could say was but the EA says £125k.

Fast forward a year whilst it stood empty and their once lovely home stank of damp and mould, plaster falling off the walls. He had to let it go for £101k in the end. Much longer and it would have fallen down.

Houses cannot be left standing empty, especially 400 year old cottages. Nature will reclaim them.

My sister kept trying to get me to take it on and keep it in the family. I was very tempted but I knew it would hurt dad to watch me rip it to bits and rebuild it. Which is what the new owner has done. They are making a superb job of it.

Shame because I would have loved to buy it but me gutting it would have just caused huge family rows because dad just couldnt see what was wrong. He would have been constantly watching over my shoulder and nagging me.

I can understand how he felt. They had lived there for nearly 40 years and loved the old place. The truth though was that it was falling to bits.

My first renovation project was a probate house. It had stood empty for three years. Miraculously although the downstairs was very damp and needed gutting the rest of the house was "reasonable".

I couldnt afford to do it up and rent at the same time, so I moved in and set to. It was January and freezing......I lived in one bedroom for three months, with a toaster, a kettle and a camping gas stove. No hot water, no heating, just an electric radiator.

Three years later I sold for more than double the price I had paid for it. But by golly I earned my profit........;)

Mmmmmm. Belgian chocolate, waffles, sumptuous cakes, French fries with garlic mayonnaise.

The diet starts when I get back........:rotfl:

Smodlet

LL, I am so glad to have been the source of amusement for you, today of all days.

I did not want to say how funny I thought it was because I did not want to be seen as b!tchy. I do understand the OP's grief but there has to be a time to let go or, as you say, move in yourself and preserve what has become a shrine... makes you seem downright flexible, AC! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: You know we are all rooting for you; you listen, at least to LL.

Now you take care and have fun in chocland... I'm pretty sure you can get chips and mayo here, too, you know but of course, you'll be on a diet, won't you? :D

S xxx

another_casualty

Wow! So much going on here, in such a short time .
Thanks to all again;)
LL, congrats on inheritance . That Belgian stuff sounds good ,except garlic and mayonnaise

Not feeling too good today . Tired, lethargic and bloated. Bloody myasthenia!

Just been down to the garden again . Saturday , it will look much better, with or without bark. All the weeds will be pulled out, and the three plants have to be trimmed . There were 4 , but the neighbours poisonous overgrown "plant" killed one. I forget the name of it, "columbine ??"

LL, will probably have a heart attack when she sees the other pics.
I am ( and will still be ), listening to your advice..and I will do what I'm told when I can .

Looking back , I'm beginning to ask " was I hasty, in making the decision to move etc??"

Looking at everything , the flat has only properly been mine for half the 14 years I have lived here. I never normally blame anybody for anything, but 6 and a half years with a difficult brother, plus letting his boss stay with me ( with a dog who constantly barked)for a year and a half, plus my job and my financial mess , I blame all this in giving me myasthenia.
What I'm also trying to say here , is that I've been pushed from pillar to post and this obviously caused me to neglect my home .
That has now come to bite me on the ...se!
Btw : my brother stayed with me 3 different times . The last being 5years June 2010- 2015. I won't bore you with any more detail about that.

I say I "painted " the place last year, and finished in January . It is an appalling job. I've painted before, but the job here is abysmal.
TBH , I'm not well enough to do it again.

Now , chase Buchanan ( and all the other e a 's):
I'm told 'leave it /We've sold places in worse condition ./ it's only a matter of time / and it goes on.
I agree with you all on here .. Presentation, presentation , presentation .

I'm getting stuck in now, with the things I can do.
Yesterday , I bumped into my brother. I asked him to leave a hammer out, so I can do the borders in the garden. 'Don't worry about the outside! It'll sell in the spring .' He took all my tools btw, when he was with me .

The situations I've been in for the last 10 years , are changing my personality. Being stuck, like a bluebottle in a glass bottle is peeing me off.

Hindsight . I should've tried to go years ago, but didn't realise.
I'm convinced though, that if I do sell up , this whiny side of me is going

I must say, I admire you for sticking with me through this .
Can't believe , I still attract new people to this long thread. That's good though;)
I read this from the start the other day. It took a while. I repeated stuff a lot .
I think I don't need to do that any more .

Now , to annoy L L ..

another_casualty

Forgot to mention one thing , which may be a factor .

The eaves are rotting, and the fascia board is grubby.

This is a job, which the four residents pay an equal share to get it done .
It involves small scaffolding to be erected etc.

When the 'neighbour'( escapee fromjeremy Kyle ), snapped at me to get it done . I put a polite note in her door, telling her I'm willing to , but the cost is to be shared by the 4 of us . She did not respond .

It could be a small thing, it could be a big thing ...

lessonlearned

Aha.......eureka. I think we have your problem right there.

Ouch, ouch, ouch ......I am afraid.this is the one of the big things that puts me off buying apartments, especially the one I fell in love with a few weeks ago.....the one with the huge tree - it also needed work on the Windows, fascia boards and guttering. ..For once I made a buying decision with my head rather than my heart. I really wanted that flat but I walked. It's still on the market.

If it had been a house I would have taken it but as part of an apartment block it was just too much for me to swallow.

Sorry to gave to break this but you are looking at a rather hefty bill and I'm assuming that with such low service charges there's no mo ey in the kitty.

How much?.. Well scaffolding alone will run into thousands. We paid £3k for my house, so Lord knows how much for your building. Fascia boards for an average three/for bed house - another £3k - so again I would assume considerably more.

The thing us your building was constructed in the 70s or 80s I think so yes probably time for some heavy duty exterior maintenance if it's not been done yet. We are talking about a building that's 30 to 40 years old.

Looks like that might be your Achilles heel.

gallygirl

another_casualty wrote: »

Now , to annoy L L ..

lessonlearned wrote: »

Aha.......eureka. I think we have your problem right there.

Ouch, ouch, ouch ......I am afraid.this is the one of the big things that puts me off buying apartments, especially the one I fell in love with a few weeks ago.....the one with the huge tree - it also needed work on the Windows, fascia boards and guttering. ..For once I made a buying decision with my head rather than my heart. I really wanted that flat but I walked. It's still on the market.

If it had been a house I would have taken it but as part of an apartment block it was just too much for me to swallow.

Sorry to gave to break this but you are looking at a rather hefty bill and I'm assuming that with such low service charges there's no mo ey in the kitty.

How much?.. Well scaffolding alone will run into thousands. We paid £3k for my house, so Lord knows how much for your building. Fascia boards for an average three/for bed house - another £3k - so again I would assume considerably more.

The thing us your building was constructed in the 70s or 80s I think so yes probably time for some heavy duty exterior maintenance if it's not been done yet. We are talking about a building that's 30 to 40 years old.

Looks like that might be your Achilles heel.

Maybe you should see the other pics first LL :rotfl:.

LL have a wonderful time and please have some moules frite for me. Oh, if you insist, some chocolate as well .

savingmore

Hi AC,

i have been reading your thread over the past weeks and just got to the end. Well done on all the progress you have made and for being willing to take the advise given you.

i wasn't intending to post, but i just wanted to say that scaffolding doesn't have to cost that much. we had some work done on our roof last year (which came to about £1,200) and the builders put up scaffolding and took it down and i still only paid £1,200 for the job, and they did quite a bit including new facia boards and guttering. get a couple of quotes and between 4 flats it could be quite affordable and make a big difference to you and selling, especially after taking all the advise given to you. (btw, i used to be a estate agent too).
best of luck, poole is lovely, i come from Dorset myself, although don't live there now.