julicorn's journey 2 - Moving Up

julicorn

Alrightio, I'm sure you're all waiting with bated breath for today's update! This might be a bit of a disappointment for the 'money saving' aspect of the forum, but here we go:

Marlborough Mews: Viewing got cancelled because the estate agent's key didn't work. Whoops!
Howard Road: Nice enough house, but silly layout, and riiiiight next to a fairly busy pub. It's a no no. 
Me: 57, Mr: 58
Hangleton doer-upper: Probate property, 2 bed bungalow in a pretty bad state, nice enough area and heaps of potential for extension, but we weren't really that excited about it. 
Me: 58, Mr: 50
Portslade 4 bed house: This one has somewhat entered the running now. Very lovely house, the kitchen is wonderful, heaps of living space and nice, spacious bedrooms. The garden and the bathroom were maybe a teeny tiny bit smaller than what I was hoping for, but still a good one. The real downside with this one is the location, it would more than double Mr julicorn's commute from where we live now, and we'd probably have to throw the towel at some point and get a car. 
Me: 79, Mr: 78
The kitten twitten cottage: Good grief, it is utterly perfect. The kitchen/dining bit is way bigger than what we thought (there's even a dishwasher, plus a massive freezer, the island is huge, it can fit a big table, and the washing machine and dryer are kept in a cupboard in a little courtyard which I like a lot), the lounge had enough space for Mr julicorn's decks, mixer and records, the bedrooms are both a lovely size, the loft satisfies Mr julicorn's desire for storage, there's built in wardrobes, new boiler with thermostat, most windows have secondary glazing, the garden and location are an utter dream. We loved it. So much. 
Me: 90, Mr: 74 (although he got almost angry at the spreadsheet because this was his favourite as well - the rating system has failed us )

So we'll need to come up with some sort of strategy to get this one, will make an offer on Monday. Please send thoughts, prayers and 'how to beat the competition' advise, we really need it. 

South_coast

Woooo! You really were smitten with the kitten twitten 😀! Good luck 🍀

julicorn

South_coast said:

Woooo! You really were smitten with the kitten twitten 😀! Good luck 🍀

We really were, I was really surprised with how much Mr julicorn loved it as well. We can really see ourselves there, for the long term as well. Feeling slightly nauseous just thinking about a potential bidding war with this one. Why couldn't we just fall for something way under budget with lots of wiggle room to outbid others?  

smetf

Good luck with the house. There's a lot of heart involved with the home buying process as well as head I think. Have to say it's worked for us so far. 

julicorn

Thank you @smetf

Paspatur

Good luck.  I was also smitten by the twitten. Not so much the kitten part. 19 cats! I am allergic and even more allergic to them crapping in my flower and vegetable beds so bear this in mind if a part of your future vision involves growing your own. I often wonder how many people would have cats if they crapped in their own gardens?
I now only grow veg in my greenhouse as I refuse to eat anything infected with cat !!!!!!

julicorn

Paspatur said:

Good luck.  I was also smitten by the twitten. Not so much the kitten part. 19 cats! I am allergic and even more allergic to them crapping in my flower and vegetable beds so bear this in mind if a part of your future vision involves growing your own. I often wonder how many people would have cats if they crapped in their own gardens?
I now only grow veg in my greenhouse as I refuse to eat anything infected with cat !!!!!!

Thank you! We have probably around that many cats passing through our back garden at the moment, haha! Although our downstairs neighbours used to have a super cute kitten which used to hang out in our flat all the time because she didn't like the dog those neighbours also had. They moved out in 2019, and I still miss that cat daily. 

As for garden cat poop, we've had reasonably good success keeping them away from beds with garlic granules and lavender+rosemary bushes. 

LadyGnome

How exciting - very best of luck with the offer.

julicorn

Thanks so much @LadyGnome

jenni_fer

@julicorn I thought I recognised your username on the home buying board!
I enjoyed your original diary when I was also on the MFW journey, have just caught up on this one having stumbled across it this evening.
LOVE the twitten house, everything crossed for you.
House buying is crazy, crazy complicated and stressful at the moment!