After writing about how were were searching to find our new family home I have a bit of an update.
Drum roll please…
We’ve found it!
I don’t want to temp fate too much by giving away too many details, but the hours and hours that I spent on RightMove looking at houses and then scouring maps to work out exactly where they were before moving on to Google Street View and spying on the whole neighbourhood finally paid off.
I ended up finding somewhere and just as soon as I looked at the floorpan I just knew that we could make the place work. It gave us the three bedrooms that we want and need upstairs, but then there was an additional room downstairs too. Labelled as a dining room, it was so easy to see from where it was in the house that there was no way that it would be a successful dining room. To get to it you’d have to leave the kitchen (which is already large enough to have a table allowing a family of at least four to eat in there!), walk through the large lounge (20 foot, so again large enough to have a dining table in as well as a sofa) and then through the hall, past the front door and round a corner to get to the door for it.
Short of being the kind of family that decides to regular host dinner parties whilst the lounge is mum use by someone else, I just couldn’t see how that room would ever work as a dining room. But, I could tell that it would make a perfect bedroom for my step-daughter, Tucked out of the way a bit so that she can have some privacy, but close enough to the rest of the family that she can feel part of what is going on whenever she wants to.
So there we were, a layout that seemed to work for us and I’m our price bracket too. What was wrong with it?
Then I looked at the photographs and started to read the estate agents blurb. Just as soon as you see them use the work “project” you know there is going to be work involved.
But the good news is that this house requires work that B and I are more than prepared to take on. It’s an empty property at the moment, but I think it fair to call the decor “dated”. And that may be putting it politely. My guess is that an elderly woman lived in this property for a while, possibly with a husband and family initially, and I don’t think much has been updated in it since she moved in.
Every room requires redecoration, and also new carpets throughout. The kitchen and bathroom are in working order, but definitely in need of some updating. It’s likely that the electrics need some work too. Possibly as much as rewiring throughout. Add to that the fact that we’re not yet sure ion the boiler works perfectly. Oh and that much of the double glazing is also in need of attention.
But, on the flip side, a survey has told us that the roof and chimney are in good condition and there is no sign of any damp anywhere in the property. All it really needs is cosmetic work and that’s something that we’re actually looking forward to. We want to turn this house into our family home. One that we’ve created together and having a blank canvas like this allows us to do just that.
We were so excited to find the property and then get the offer accepted, but then things happened and it looked like we might have to pull out of the purchase. A day of desperately trying to sort things out and get the right amount of money to make it all work didn’t do much for my nerves or stress levels, but finally we’re now in the position where the solicitors are doing their work and we’re allowing ourselves to actually get excited and make plans for the future.
There’s so much that we want to get done to the property, but much it will have too wait until we have the money to actually make it happen. Luckily we’re prepared to put up with peeling wallpaper and dodgy carpets for a while. The electrics and windows can’t really wait that long though. For me, sorting the electrics is a bit of a no brainer. They need to be safe and work. Simple. The windows are also important to keep the property secure and warm. I’m in the process of trying to find local companies to give us quotes, but also trying to decide exactly what we want. Some windows are an obvious like for like replacement, but where there is a sliding patio door at the back of the lounge we can now decide whether to replace that with the same, or consider folding doors instead. The latter would certainly give it a more modern feel, but would also allow us to link the room up with the garden more – have I even mentioned that the house has a lovely garden too? I also like the idea that you could then just open up one end like a regular door if you just want to pop out for something quickly.
So many decisions to be made and choices to consider. But they’re decisions and choices that we’re excited to be having to make. Life feels like it’s been on hold these last few months and finally I can see a light at the end of the tunnel and a future family life where we’re not all living on top of each other. I just have to cross my fingers that the solicitors do their jobs quickly and efficiently so that we can move on to the next stage of our family life together as quickly as possible.
Bifold doors image credit.
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