The things we do for love!

I don't know anyone who hasn't moaned about some aspect of moving house - the stress, the hassle, dealing with the chain, the endless conveyancing paperwork - but then again, I didn't expect our move to take over 7 months to arrange (even though it was unusual in some ways...)

The adventure started with the viewing.  We were in West Dorset at the time, on our summer holiday (this was August 2012).  A few days before leaving for Dorset, I couldn't sleep for thinking about a house I knew had just come onto the market.  Chris and my neighbour thought I was a bit mad for considering it as an option for us, so I quietly packed our clothes and off we went to Bride's Valley - in my opinion the most beautiful spot in the world!  We regularly rent a cottage there which we are very familiar with by now and all was as it should be...apart from the fact that I couldn't sleep - because I was still thinking about that house!  This was the beginning of a love affair!  So I talked to my husband, who knows my mad ways well, and he very sensibly suggested I rang the estate agent to find out a little bit more about it, and perhaps book a viewing for when we returned from our holiday.  While everyone was having fun on the beach I therefore sat in the car-park talking to the estate agent on my mobile phone, feeling more and more sick as I realised that if we wanted a chance to buy this house I would have to drive all the way back to Hampshire in the middle of our holiday to view it!

Chessil Beach in Dorset

So I left Dorset at 7.30 a.m. in the morning, to navigate the rush hour for a 9.30 viewing.  All went smoothly: I arrived at Highfield House and absolutely loved it the moment I walked inside.  I am often described as a calm person who is probably not always 'easy to read', but on this occasion there was no mistaking my jumping up and down for pure excitement - "it is just what we are looking for!" I exclaimed to the estate agent who probably thought I was totally mad for even driving all this way!  Part of the reason for having to drive back in the middle of our holiday was the fact that this sale was going to be decided as a result of sealed bids, and these had to be in by the following Friday. But we were still going to be on holiday then!  So not only did I have to view the house and make a decision on behalf of my husband, I had to arrange solicitors, and a mortgage promise, and submit a bid all on this same Tuesday!

As I said in an earlier post, our bid was accepted. So seven months later, with contracts all signed, we were ready to go.  The Friday before last everything was ready...but there was no exchange of contracts.  Monday came and went...still no exchange. Tuesday passed slowly and it then started to dawn on us that perhaps all was not well with the chain.  Finally, nearly a week later, it was confirmed that the first-time-buyers at the bottom of the chain were pulling out of the sale and our buyers would have to put their house back on the market to find a new buyer before we could all exchange contracts.   Hours later that afternoon, we had another call from the estate agent to say that the first time buyers were back on board and so it was all steam ahead to exchange contracts the next day on Friday, with a view to completing the next week...

Friday came and went...and this was beginning to feel like deja vu!  We eventually had to put a deadline on this saga as the removal company were coming on Monday morning to start packing!  The deadline of noon on Monday arrived, and we received the news we dreaded from our solicitor - the first-time buyers had pulled out yet again!

So we're not quite back at square one, but we do face another period of waiting - and not being sure when we will be able to move to our dream home...

Still dreaming of designs and decor!

Moving with children

All is quiet in the house, the boys are off to karate and my little girl has disappeared off somewhere in the house!  A chance for me to clear out just that little bit more before we move - but first better check on my princess. She has got herself all snug in her brother's bed, dressed up as Scooby Doo and surrounded herself with books about Dragons.  I sneaked a little look at her smiling at the books and then left her in peace - these are the moments to remember about your little ones!

So back to the bin bags - one pile for charity, the other for the tip.  Very therapeutic, this throwing out lark!  I heard on the radio yesterday a piece about the amount of clutter the average Briton hoards: it would fill up a bedroom and if sold would make a profit of thousands of pounds!  I can believe it - we always seem to be having clear-outs but still there is so much stuff!!  The radio presenter said that her rule is to only keep it if it is beautiful, useful or loved!  A good mantra, but still easier said than done - it is funny how easy it is to justify keeping an item as useful, or "just in case" it might come in useful!

 My sister gave me a very useful book on the topic of how to de-clutter.  I guess it is generally common sense, but things with such sentimental attachment are hard to part with.  So having a book that explains in a clinical and systematic way how to do each room has been a great help.

I do find the children's toys the hardest job when it comes to clearing out.  It is impossible to do while they are around as the oldest, babiest toy becomes the favourite as soon as there is the slightest mention of taking it to the charity shop!  They also seem to have amazing memories for all the hundreds of cuddly toys that they accumulate - so surreptitiously removing items doesn't seem to work either.  In the end it was bribery and corruption which miraculously removed any hesitation or resistance on the children's part to sorting through their toys!  A sweet was awarded for each proper handful of toys to be given away.  Needless to say this was my husband's idea, and although I was not entirely comfortable with the methods, it did work!

So now we have a home which is spotlessly clean (almost), void of clutter and ready for the move.  Just waiting for the go-ahead now - nearly there!

Bureaucracy gone mad!

So the waiting began...

When we found out about our new house, and expressed an interest to the estate agents, we were initially told that there were 12 parties interested. As it was being sold through the Council, it would all take place through sealed bids. We were told that 4 parties had actually submitted sealed bids;  so we knew we had a 25% chance of being successful!

25th October was the date we were supposed to find out if our bid had been chosen. Well, the 25th came and went and it wasn't until the  following week that it was confirmed that our bid had been successful - and approved by the Council - and so the property was now officially sold subject to contract - yippee!

And then the waiting continued...

Our our house sold quickly, and so apart from the constant battle of tidying up after three children while perspective buyers came to view our 'lived-in' house, that part was fairly straightforward.  The next hurdle was to submit plans to the Parish Council for a 'change of use' for the property: we wanted to turn it from a care home into a family dwelling. We were hoping for a decision just before Christmas, but it finally came on 25th January.  Surely, now, we must be nearly there! But no, it turned out that the conveyancing couldn't really get very far without the go-ahead from the Parish Council. So we found out we still had to wait another 6-12 weeks!

Finally, everyone is nearly ready to go; the usual legal enquiries appear to have been resolved; the removal quotes are done; we now just need a final date to actually move!

All the frustrations and stress were nearly over, we now just needed to actually move in before we could embark on crafting our home.  More news next week, hopefully!

Moving day approaches!

I have had my eye on this house for years, so I am not sure when you can say when this journey/ love affair with this house began...

Highfield House

I first spotted it on one of my weekly walks with my neighbour.  It is on a hill - a beautiful double-fronted Victorian detached house opposite a field with horses.  So, it is not a 'shrinking violet' of a house, but it is bolder than that as attached to the old house is a fantastic, modern extension contrasting with the traditional brick house with its expanse of glass, metal and wood.  As I passed it for the first time, I noticed what a lovely house it was and my first thought was that it would make a wonderful family home.  I then discovered from my neighbour who is a font of all knowledge on all things local, that it belonged to a council and served as a care home to those with learning and mental difficulties.  So, it was not meant to be at that time - a home for my family as I dreamt about, but served a worthwhile community purpose.

Years later, after viewing many houses ourselves, and finally admitting that I would stay in our local area if we could find the right house -  I spotted the above building for sale last August, 2012.  So after thinking that what we needed was countryside views, a remote location and a cosy, country cottage, when actually my heart was still with Victorian architecture: the high ceilings, spacious rooms and beautiful features such as the picture rails, fireplaces etc. as our current (soon to be old) house displays :

The Armstrong's family home since 2006

 For me, that was it - Highfield House was the home I was looking for: for me and my family.  My husband didn't have the same 'love at first sight' feeling that I had, but after seeing it advertised on the internet a few times agreed that it would be a lovely home, and was extremely reasonably priced.  I viewed it as perfect - plenty of room, the Victorian features that we love, a modern extension that would enable us to have fun and experiment with décor  countryside steps away from our gate yet still in familiar surroundings and within walking distance of town, railway station and leisure centre.

Little did I know that this was not going to be any normal, usual house-moving process and here we are with March 2013 approaching, still waiting to move into our dream home!