"Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it."

greenbee

Mortgage term reduced again, and redemption date is now June 2037 (it was originally August 2038) so slow but steady progress. 

Work WILL cover travel expenses based on mileage, so I just need to find someone who can drive me from my mum's to the office (or the other way round) and I can then get a date in the diary. 

Yoga therapy this afternoon, so I need to get on and get ready for that - mostly by tidying/cleaning and a bit of furniture rearranging.  

greenbee

HMRC have FINALLY noticed they overpaid me and asked for the money back. Which I've paid them. It means not quite so much into savings this month, but I think i've managed to cashflow it which is helpful.

As a result of seeing a house that is actually what I'm looking for on RM last week, I've finally got on with dealing with some of the jobs that need doing. So damp marks have all been stain blocked and painted over. The second half of the landing bookcase is nearly done (should be done by wednesday). The stainblock is in the bathroom ready to do the marks on the wall there (bath oil) which i can then paint over. And I have a comprehensive list of everything else that needs doing and a plan for most of it. 

I just need to make a shortlist of estate agents to call for valuations and a discussion about what actually needs dealing with in order to get the house on the market.

Yoga therapy seems to be helping. And work is interesting at the moment, even if complicated. 

Karmacat

Doing the repayment from cashflow is a great thing, well done you  

greenbee

Thanks KC

I've been getting on nicely with the painting etc - all the damp marks have been dealt with (I can just about see them, not sure about anyone else, hopefully not - if they can, I'll do a couple more coats), and the bath oil stains in the bathroom. There's a plan for putting a new curtain pole up in the bedroom (waiting for a friend, some batten and a curtain pole).

This morning, after painting another coat on the bathroom wall and putting the books away I decided to do an online valuation... as a result of which I requested a personalised valuation. And did a bit more tidying. The agent rang around 10ish, and has made an appointment for 11am on Friday. So I've done some prioritisation - fill the holes where the curtain pole was (I've just removed the fixings and plugs) as we'll need to do this anyway before the batten goes up, and paint over them. I've got a couple of other small bits of filling where the paint is the same colour that I'll do at the same time. Filling will be done in the morning, painting later in the day to avoid fumes in the bedroom overnight. So tonight I need to do some different filling and possibly a bit of different painting too. 

EssexHebridean

I’ve caught up! The story of the house is just so impressive - your drive to bring it all together, well, let’s just say I wish we had it, rather than the tendency to decide things “will do for now”! 😂

Also great news on cashflowing the HMRC refund - that’s got to feel better than having to take it back out of savings! I’ll go to extraordinary lengths to avoid having to rob the savings or the EF for anything, much to MrEH’s frustration sometimes! 

Good news on the valuation too - remember to get the agent to tell you the stuff that it isn’t worth doing, at this stage - no sense in putting effort in where there will be no real gain now. 

greenbee

Thanks for dropping in! 

I'm having a bit of a wobble about selling when I'm so close to having finished the house and being able to concentrate on the garden. But a lot of friends are moving away and back closer to family. 

Like you I make a huge effort to only let the savings work one way... but sometimes I have to remember that I saved to get work done. 

I'll definitely be asking the agent what is and isn't worth doing, but some things I'm committed to, and want to get done in case I don't sell immediately. I've put off a lot of things that would have made my life easier, so will carry on with getting the drive/garden/gate done. They'll make a huge difference to the impression that people get when they arrive, as well as improving privacy in the garden for however long I'm here for. 

Tonight/tomorrow needs to be tidying, so I that the agent can get a reasonable idea of what the house is like. Rather than seeing all the paint cans and brushes.. 

greenbee

End of month money shuffle resulted in a reasonable OP and a lump into savings. Nothing into PBs as I did a large lump last month.

Agent came and did the valuation, which was higher than I expected. He also said that the garden work is worth doing... and fortuitously it is going on right now! The guy doing it is lovely, and he's making good progress. He's also making a real effort to keep costs down - we've reused the topsoil from the new bit of drive to fill in the bit that will be grass, and he's also happy to put my not-particularly-well-rotted compost in the bottom of the trench for the hedge rather than buy lots. He'll also reuse as much stone as he can and use the weed matting and windbreak I'm bringing back from my mum's. Even better, he may well be able to dispose of my old doors for me, as he has a skip up the road so isn't bothering with one here (he said he'd check first whether anyone he knows would be able to use them). 

Work is having a big reorg, so that's taking up some time. And in between I've managed to do a lot of painting that I've been putting off for ages, so bar a couple of small things the house is pretty much 'done'. If I stay beyond spring a lot of the decorating will need redoing... I need to sort out something for the floor threshold between the sitting room and hall, and make sure I'm ready to do exterior paintwork as soon as theres a warm spell of two or three days. 

Family wedding this weekend, which will be lovely, although means expense in terms of getting taxis there and back as I still can't drive for more than 30 minutes in one go. And although I'm taking a lot of clothes with me to my mum's, I have ordered a couple of new items, just in case!

EssexHebridean

So many positives there greenbee - well done! Higher valuation than expected is also very good news - as is the helpful chap doing the gardening who's happy to work with you to keep costs lower. 

greenbee

25p in interest on my current account also went to the mortgage. It all helps 😎 I’m hoping that as the rain looks like clearing later today that the landscapers may be back to do a bit more before the weekend. The security cameras are a bit misty this morning, but I can see that the brickwork is done, and it looks like they might have done the porch paving. Or at least removed the old slabs. So plenty of progress. 

greenbee

Garden is really starting to look good. If a bit soggy…  most of it should be done before I go to my mum’s for Christmas, and hopefully we’ll have some dry-ish weather so that the sub-base can dry out properly, the current layer of shingle can be compacted, and new gravel can go down in the NY. 

The landscaper is taking away some stuff that would otherwise have needed a skip, which is helpful. He hasn’t needed to remove any soil or other material from site, so I’m hoping there will be a saving on disposal compared to the quote, although I’m sure there will be other things that are more expensive.

I’ve seen the gate/fencing guy, who is going to send photos so I can work out what I want. He’s working on a 5 week lead time, so hopefully end Jan/early Feb for that. 

I’m expecting some chairs to be delivered on Monday which I plan to paint - and then I should be done with painting until the spring when I’ll find a professional to do the outside. I need to make a list of outstanding jobs and work out what’s important to get booked in now. Cleaning the oven immediately after NY could be one item worth doing.

It’s going to be an expensive month or two getting all the work done, but definitely worth it, looking at the improvement outside already. And as the decorator and gardener never got back to me and I no longer need them, I’ve saved there.