We’re
currently living in ‘house-move limbo land’. Things
seem to be progressing well as far as our solicitor is concerned – although
we’re still currently awaiting details from the vendors’ solicitor (outlining
the various management charges and maintenance schedules etc). But the crucial
element is the forthcoming building survey of number40 (due to be undertaken on
Thursday 27th). We’re only too aware of the key areas on the house
that require expenditure… damp-proofing of basement loo/steps; kitchen
extension insulation+heating; and roof insulation etc. But the list is pretty
long and I have absolutely no doubt that the surveyor will have a field day in
listing every defect of our 170+ year house! We’ve not tried to hide any of the
defects AND we’ve undertaken an awful lot of improvements over the past 18
years… but we have an obvious fear that our ‘buyer’ will be frightened away
(there may be mortgage implications too?). Moira and I both anticipated having
to reduce the price of the house in the impending negotiating process following
the survey. Moira sees this as a fairly modest price adjustment, whereas I see
it as a potentially fairly hefty amount. I just hope that there’ll be an
opportunity to negotiate sensibly with our prospective purchaser (either
through Laurence or directly). We ended
up agreeing a price of £375K for Deanery Road (although things might crop up
that mean we try to negotiate a slightly lower figure?). The good news is that
the Deanery Road price is slightly less than the price we thought we might have
to pay in order to find a suitable apartment (we’ve accepted an offer of £495K
for number40). In our airy-fairy way, we’d aimed at securing a £75K price
difference… and, as things stand, this price difference is currently some
£120K. In order words, in theory (and on the basis of our back-of-an-envelope
assessment), we might be able to allow a £45K reduction on number40 and still
achieve our financial ‘objective’. So, the
next week feels hugely significant (and, frankly, incredibly stressful!). I’m glad
that Moira and I have each other to help keep our emotions in perspective… but
it’s a critical and somewhat worrying phase. Fingers crossed. Image: old
number40 logo…
I’m
posting this just a week after my last ‘reflection’ comments. Yes, it’s
still very early days in the process, but we’ve now had our offer for a two-bed
apartment in Deanery Road (in the heart of the city centre – less than 100m
from the cathedral and a two minute walk to the harbourside). The diary
of ‘events’ has been pretty incredible: Friday 30
April: our house went on the market. Thursday
6 May: we accepted an offer of £495K (the asking price) from a prospective buyer
(he had £175K cash and needed a mortgage for the remainder; no chain). Saturday
8 May: we viewed the Deanery Road apartment and put in offer later that
afternoon for £365K (asking price £375K). Monday 10
May: two other parties had put in offers for Deanery Road; we ended up
increasing ours to the asking price (no chain involved). Tuesday
11 May: our offer was duly accepted! So, once
again (with fingers firmly crossed – because we all know how easily these
things fall down!), it seems that the Broadways have bought and sold their
homes in ridiculously short time. I seem to recall us selling Percy Street
within a matter of days (certainly less than a week); Windmill Road the same
(the man who owned the High Street bakery bought it); Kings Road was sold
quickly too… and we also managed to buy Mount Pleasant Terrace without fuss. But, we’re
left feeling as if we’re living in a world of uncertainty… plans all falling
into place and yet which could collapse at any time. We’ll know more after the
building survey on MPT on 27 May. Anxious times! Image:
Estate Agent’s photograph of Deanery Road (the decoration/lights/pictures probably put
off most punters!).
We’re
currently in a strange limbo land. The house went on the market a week ago (30
April). There have been perhaps five groups of viewers since then and ,
yesterday, we learnt that one of them (George Burgess) has put in an offer for
the asking price (£495K), subject to full building survey. This obviously
represents excellent news… (I’d convinced myself that no one would be
interested in what is effectively a 2-bed house for that sort of price). But I’m
also very conscious that this represents just a small (albeit significant) step
in the process… there are bound to be frustrations and irritations ahead… an
emotional roller-coaster… preparing ourselves for inevitable bumps in the road. I have
absolutely no doubt that the building survey will reveal a long list of items
requiring action (we’re only too aware of them ourselves – waterproofing/upgrading
basement loo and ceiling; insulation/heating to kitchen plus a whole list of
incidental things). We’ve not tried to hide the building’s deficiencies… and it’s
therefore reflected in the price (even if we regard house prices as something
akin to Monopoly money!). By the
same token, we’re also aware that we need to start the process of finding
somewhere to move to. Although we have specific ‘search criteria’ (2-bed
apartment within easy reach of harbourside and, ideally, Southville), our
budget is limited… maybe £375K? Will
there be ‘chains’ involved? ‘George’ doesn’t have to sell a property and is
able to move at a pace to suit us. What about the place(s) we ended up targeting? We always
knew this was going to be a time of continuing uncertainty… living with uncertainty
is the one thing the pandemic has taught us! I’m
conscious that Moira and I will need to remain positive and smiling (and as
relaxed as possible) during it all. It’s going to be difficult, but we’ve just
got to be prepared to let things happen/go with the flow. I know it’s much
easier to say these things than to actually implement them, but we just need to
keep reminding ourselves that this is what we NEED to do! Image:
one of the Estate Agent’s photographs of our house details!
