Rob’s Catch Up
Posted in All by Wob on May 22nd, 2008
In February I had a call out of the blue from our rental agents. They told me that our landlord would be selling the house we live it. They decided not to give us our two months notice immediately, instead waiting for an offer on the house and then give us notice. That suited us. Slowly I began thinking about finding somewhere else to live - not too bad, then about having to actually physically move - not so much fun. My original plan was to live there for a couple more years, then think about buying somewhere. In the end we decided that the 20K we might spend on rent in the next couple of years was probably enough to absorb any potential savings we might make by leaving it a couple of years and buying when the housing market has fallen a little more. Rather than having to move twice in the next couple of years we decided to start looking for a house to buy.
… Boring house hunting paragraph …
Anyway we made an offer around month or two ago which was accepted. There are so many things that can go wrong with all the surveys, the mortgage offer and all that stuff to be sorted out that I’ve been holding out on posting this catch up. Since everything seems like it’s going well, I decided to share the news.
Yesterday we exchanged contracts and we’ll be moving in mid-July. I won’t have to pay someone else’s mortgage anymore, but instead I’ll have to fix my own boiler - It sounds like a reasonable compromise. Of course I’ll probably change my view when the washing machine and the fridge break in the same month!
The place is an ex-rental, so it’s all very neutral and in good condition with not a lot of work required on it. However no one’s been living there for a couple of months, so I guess the garden will take a while to sort out! The previous owner is emigrating, so he’s leaving all the kitchen goods normally provided in rental houses. That means we don’t have to buy anything! It’s a 2 bedroom mid-terrace in the same estate as we are now. So there will, as always, be space for people to visit:).
I’m really looking forward to the simple things like being able to put up spice rack and a picture without having to remember to pollyfiller the holes before we move out! Of course there are bigger things too, maybe an apple tree and a conservatory, but there’s no rush for all that. Unfortunately there has been some muttering about cat flaps and such nonsense. I can only assume that this is leading toward getting a cat.. Any compelling reasons not to do this are more than welcome;)
Well, I’ve said enough for now. I’ll leave you with this thought:
Strangely, I still feel more grown up when I think about the Tesco Clubcard in my wallet than I do about the house I’ve just bought!
8 comments to " Rob’s Catch Up "
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Ben says:
Think about all hair! You’ll never be able to sit down in smart clothes anywhere in your house! Or at least make sure its a black cat. Also, who’ll look after it on your Gib visits? or pay the extortionate vet bills?
Anyway, I’m glad it all went through Ok! Welcome to the grownd up world :)
May 22nd, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Wob says:
Yep, the hair thing is a big problem.. She counters with “we’ll get a short haired one”. Ha, like they don’t lose their hair too! - I haven’t fallen for that one.
The other thing is that they’re basically parasites. They turn up twice(?) a day for food, and you occasionally have to pay for vet bills, but what do you really get out of it?!
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Ben says:
Twice a day! Try any time you go into the kitchen! It’ll only take a matter of days for it to learn to stretch up and paw at you when you’re anywhere near the frisdge just on the off chance you’ll pull out some prawns. Its not that you will ever give, but not everyone has your stealy resolve…
May 23rd, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Dan says:
Wow. Robert Stevenson, Homeowner. Congratulations?
Try countering the feline murmerings with plans for a full Cat6 installation, or something equally destructive and geeky. And think how scared poor kitty will be when you test-fire the old nitro engine? Just be careful not to let that last one turn into a reason to get rid of the Savage…
May 25th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Dan says:
I forgot to add that P thinks you’ll quickly learn to love having a cat around the place, despite any initial hostility. Just be careful:
http://icanhascheezburger.com/2008/05/19/funny-pictures-parentin-yur-doin-it-rong/
May 25th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Andy says:
Get a kitten, and then you’ll see why to have a cat :) My cat sleeps at my feet, keeping them warm, where as the kitten would sleep on my face, trying to kill me.
Cats rock :) Mortgages don’t :( Good news all round though! :)
May 27th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Andy says:
Bad news for the robster?
http://www.chronicle.gi/readarticle.php?id=000013706&title=The%20Gibraltar%20Chronicle
May 30th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Wob says:
Hehe, not too bad yet, I’m not phased by it anyway. I could have waited a few months, but timing any market gets tricky.
Renting for a year would cost £10000 anyway, so if the fall is less than that, I’m still happy. Plus this is only short-term. Give it 10 years and this fluctuation will seem insignificant.
Of course, the other argument is that although I have already paid for the house, it’s still in my interest for prices to fall. At some point I will probably want a bigger house, and a bigger house that falls by 10% loses more value than a smaller house that drops by 10%! Therefore the more house prices fall, the better! That’s assuming I don’t fail to pay the mortgage anyway!
May 30th, 2008 at 10:21 am