Prosperous soul, mortgage neutrality & creativity Year 2

savingholmes

Merlin's_Beard said:

Definitely make sure you're leaving room to look after yourself if work is getting stressful - look after your health or you'll be forced to look after your sickness and all that.

Trying to look after me. Went to a quiet pub Thursday night for a
meal (with ear defenders on). Yesterday things seemed to improve. During this workload peak I have gone from owing a day Flexi to 18+ hours up.

Looking forward to when I can take time off. I am in the hands of others waiting for them to do their jobs now. I've booked a meeting with my boss to discuss other outstanding workload.

Had hair done. Hairdresser gave me a half hug in front of his wife which was sweet.

Really hoping this house is good this afternoon and that they accept a much lower offer. My sis wants me to consider floor joists, depth of stairs and electrics. It has garden tiers so need to check they are secure and that any hand rails, walls, steps are safe. It does look like they changed from a dark frame conservatory to a white one since it last sold...

savingholmes

Thanks Lucielle and Skint. As far as I know sis isn't free but she saw where it is and outside of it Monday and has seen EA details.

Blackcats

Looking forward to hearing about your viewing.

beanielou

Hope viewing goes well 😊

savingholmes

Thanks Beanie and Blackcats. It could be the right house if they are willing to negotiate. It's been on nearly 4 months and they have had only 6 or 7 viewers which suggests over priced.

No upward chain beyond them. They have another rental property and a motorhome and want to go travelling. The views are gorgeous. It's smaller than mine but has a good layout.

A lot less maintenance than mine. Looks like everything has been done. 

I will ring EA Monday and see what they say.

TallGirl

Sounds really positive just be firm and offer what you think is right. Obviously be prepared to walk away if it’s a no. You’re in a good position with a mortgage at low rates. 

jwil

That sounds really promising

savingholmes

If it came off - price negotiation wise I'd be swapping:

4 double bedroom house with two receptions, kitchen diner, family bathroom, ensuite, downstairs cloakroom, utility, full size garage, a coat cupboard, understairs cupboard and airing cupboard and separate large shed. Parking for 1-2 cars. Large gardens. Two of my existing bedrooms upstairs have views of college fields.

For 3 theoretical bedrooms - but one could only take a single bed and would be more likely to be used as a small study (with amazing views), a decent size double bedroom at the back with views - which I'd probably use - I could potentially even face the bed towards the amazing views and wake up to them in the morning. There's a decent ensuite to the master but I'd probably use it as the guest bedroom as it's overlooked. Unless - I did some kind of murphy bed solution in which case most of the time it could be an art / craft room.

A small but quality kitchen with granite worktops (front of the house overlooked), a big utility that has been nicked off the garage (no window) - it would also need to store things like the dys0n, coats etc,  a downstairs cloakroom, a decent family bathroom. There's an airing cupboard upstairs that was freed up by the combi boiler which is now in the garage. Downstairs there's an open plan lounge diner that goes widthways across the house with two sets of doors leading to a large conservatory overlooking stunning views. The garden is in 4 narrow tiers and other than a couple of trees borrows from its neighbours in terms of greenery rather than having it's own. Parking for 4 or more cars at the front.

The top tier is mainly flags but has brick pavers leading from the drive to a side gate and there's a section there for bin and other storage. I have two outdoor storage units I could take and my mini arbour. There's a mini wall at the top layer to discourage people taking a header off the top tier. The brick pavers lead down with shallow but wide steps down to a wider wooden decking area - this has decent quality protection to prevent a little falling off, and is a good visual barrier (but will need maintenance), the next layer down just has rope between posts to discourage falls and has some grass. The bottom layer has the concrete foundations of a previous shed, a couple of trees and a little grass.

I have pots I would be taking with me but would want to add some structure to the garden. I don't like the idea of being solely reliant on neighbours for greenery and privacy to the sides so would want to add some of my own even if it was with the help of pots or maybe even made to measure wooden planters. I'd also want some greenery I could see from my kitchen window and the drive is quite deep so I reckon that should be easily resolvable.

I'd need to think what furniture I'd ditch and what I'd take with me. If I use the smallest bedroom as a study - where would I make art? It would have to be the lounge/diner or the conservatory so need to think how I'd do that without wrecking the high quality floors. Alternatively I could presumably put a garden building on tier 2 on the decking? That could help me maximise the views - while not making the main house messy. I'd need water and electric though. There is an electric point there - like commando sockets so in theory should be doable. There are options anyway.

I think I need to list my furniture by room and consider what I'd take and what I'd potentially sell or leave. Just hope it comes off.

Chrystal

Playing devils advocate here.
Are the views visible from the conservatory, or do you need to climb the garden to access them?  As you have stability problems the garden sounds as though it may cause you problems, in the future if not immediately. 
It sounds to me as though you are giving up a lot, and paying more, for something that doesn't  give you the space you really need to achieve the life you're looking for.  Please think with your head and not your heart, because once done there's no going back.
This is coming from a place that really wants the best for you,  and the housing market will look totally different in the spring of next year, perhaps with the ideal home for you.  (((hugs))) XXXX

savingholmes

Thanks Jwil, Tall Girl and Crystal

The views are visible from the conservatory, the lounge diner and the back two bedrooms - so pretty good TBF. Better than the other ones I've looked at. I don't think I'd particularly use the lower tiers of the garden - I'd make them pretty to look at rather than go down to them much. I think they would be more for visitors like my sister's kids.

I've inventoried on a spreadsheet the main contents of my rooms and what I might need to let go of. It would be a downsize for me without an equity saving - and maybe an increased cost - but practically everything is done and I'd get the amazing views I've been craving for decades. I hate how overlooked I am at the rear here. I'd repaint a couple of walls but the rest on the surface looks fine/done. They used far better spec materials than I ever would have done - so the quality for the flooring and the kitchen is higher than I've ever had. The conservatory was redone last year and is a really decent size. Most of what I'd end up letting go of is furniture at its end of life or FB buys anyway which I could probably resell for what I paid.

There would be far less maintenance than here and it should be easier to clean as it's smaller. That would free up both money and more time for art and writing which is a bonus. It's near an NT place I really like that has lovely gardens. There's a country park close by. It's had a new combi boiler and new radiators downstairs so should be efficient to heat. It has an electronic door to the garage storage area like I have here which is nice. The drive is 3-4 times the size of my current one - although I have lawn here I could have used for a drive. There's good medical provision there. 

Council tax is lower by £400 per year before single person discount.

It is 15 miles away from my official base, 8 miles away from another site I sometimes go to so pretty good - and only about 19 miles from where I am now. It would take pretty much as long to get to sis or my parents I'd just go a different way. Train station is further away but that could mean I don't hear trains through the night which would be lovely. It would be 6 miles from DD's new address which is closer than I am here.