Friday 7 May:

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!