Prosperous soul, mortgage neutrality & creativity Year 2

jwil

Sorry you had a tough day yesterday, hope you got some good rest and have a better day today.  

Good luck with the viewings.  I am also very amused about wallpaper on the ceiling!

I agree about checking the flood risk for the house by the canal. https://www.gov.uk/check-long-term-flood-risk

savingholmes

Thanks Jwil and KK - it gets checked as part of what the solicitor does - but you are right may as well check before if I think I'll make an offer. It's not a fave property - but it is reasonably local so wanted to check it out.

I woke super early around 5 but after a while got back to sleep. Got up after 8 so that was better. I've done a bit of mini tidying ahead of friend coming and viewer. Need to make myself shower and then finish getting house looking ship shape.

My patio door hinges keep dropping and yesterday it was hard to shut. The handyman had already put it right this week so it's bad that it failed again so quickly.

I saw a few people doing drive and cycle bys this week so it will be interesting to see if any of them turn up at viewings.

I bought a nice green soft cardi in Mr M's last night - only £12 was happy with that.

Blackcats

You sound like you have bounced back after your tough day.
looking forward to your updates on the viewings on your house and the viewings you are doing for your potential new home.

you can't go wrong with a soft cardigan, especially for £12! 

dawnybabes

Eek, flowers on the ceiling ? Cynic in me asks what are they hiding ! 

Would you get rats etc being close to the canal ? I’d sit and watch by the lock on a sunny day to see how busy it gets, the last thing you need is a canal motorway in summer

Merlin's_Beard

sounds like a rough day, although good that you're catching up  with your hours. good luck with the viewings today.

skint_spice

I hope your viewings go well today.

beanielou

Sorry yesterday was not a good day.

savingholmes

Thanks Beanie, Blackcats, Merlin, Skint and Dawn

The viewer hasn't left any feedback yet. I think he would have wanted to offer in line with the previous person. I said I was open to offers near my asking price.

I viewed the canal property. It was dire. Every wall and ceiling would need re-doing. The red flowers on the ceiling - painted artex shaped like a flower !!!!!!!!! The dormer looked at the side wall of someone's house and not out on the canal - what were they thinking?????????????????? So a firm no. I reckon it would have needed £30-50K of work and it wasn't worth it. Houses already done up on that estate were selling for less than it is on for.

I did a drive by yesterday for one I'm due to view a week on Monday that is local to here. It has bifold doors, nice but smallish garden and a very posh looking kitchen. New radiator downstairs but seems to be covers on the rest. It overlooks a golf course - so I'd need golf to stay popular It's a mainly open plan downstairs (looks like a magazine) which is okay if the appliances are super quiet but not otherwise. The washing machine is next to the downstairs loo! There are views of hills and trees as you walk around the estate so it could be a goer. There's no ensuite but that would only be a problem if people came to stay or one of the kids came back to live. I doubt there's room for an ensuite - and no easy way to extend as they've put skylights into a kitchen extension below which looks lovely but prevents you going outwards. All looks freshly painted white.

If I got £300K for this - then  spent £270K for that - I'd have £30K change minus any moving costs not covered by savings. £30K would mean I could have a fully funded EF and still put some extra money into AVCs. They sound in a hurry to move - so may be able to get it for less - BUT ideally they want people ready to go so don't know if they are in financial difficulties. There's another house on the estate/same road for £250K without the work done... 

I then drove an hour or so away to view a property for £250K that backs onto a nature reserve and is relatively close to an NT property. It was small and perfectly formed - but there wasn't good light into the property. The whole estate lacked parking and the houses were all too close together. It felt a little claustrophobic. Her decoration and staging were while not all to my taste - elegantly done. They'd tiled what had been a conservatory - but not thought to add skylights and had too many blinds... so potentially fixable but hassle.

I then drove by a couple of properties - one that I was otherwise going to view today. Again a really cramped estate which lacked parking - so really obviously going to be 'parking wars' scenarios so I cancelled that viewing. I did go and look at the other - and again parking would be tight but the views were spectacular. If the local house doesn't work out - I'll ask to view that one.

Unsurprisingly I was completely exhausted by the time I returned from all that. Taking it easy today. Still not dressed.

savingholmes

@SuperSecretSquirrel has worked out their financial net worth and are now paper half millionaires. If I use a fire calc on my DB pension of x25 and add in home equity, savings and other mini-pension pots and excluding SP - I am too which was nice to know. I'd love to get to £1M. If I carry on working until 67 I should reach that - but my true goal is to work out how to free up more time not just £. I therefore need to accept that it's a goal I may never meet - or meet later in life when it no longer feels relevant.

I've not found any property yet that makes me feel the way the valley one did. If / when I sell this I'd like to revisit that unless I fall in love with the local property I mentioned at £270k. It's hard balancing practicality and trying not to compromise. My heart is still with the valley one - it's my phone saver. When I was driving back yesterday in the rain from the property an hour away the more local one seemed very attractive though...

If I don't find the right place - or if I don't get the price I want for this - I won't move - as again seeing the other properties does make my current home seem amazing - especially now it all looks staged / pretty. It is really convenient for work and means I'm local if DD needs me, has great transport links etc. I just wish it was less overlooked to the rear.

I read yesterday that it takes between 9-11 viewings to get a decent offer and that my rate of viewings is normal - so trying to chillax.

jwil

You had a really productive day yesterday and sounds like you are really clarifying on what you want and what is not acceptable to you.  I find a lot of new build estates claustrophobic because the houses all seem very close together and with inadequate parking.  Did you ever find out why the valley property went off the market?

Things are very volatile in the mortgage markets at the moment, so it might mean that selling may take longer than normal. 

Is there anything you could do to yours to make it feel less overlooked?  Plant a couple of trees/shrubs? Pergola?

Congrats on being a paper half-millionaire!  I'm definitely valuing time more than money in my plans, but I need to be realistic about what I will need and not jump too early.