SOLD .... almost

The idea of moving first came to us during one of those moments when the wine was flowing and we were lounging in our conservatory one summer's evening. I think it started with ... is this it? We have always been great fans of making our own food, whether it was jam, wine or bread. I said that I would really like more space to grow a whole packet of seed and raise some animals. We had already experienced the joy of choosing the veg for a meal from whatever was ready in the garden. We have also been blessed to have a variety of fruit trees and enjoyed both fresh and preserved fruit. So what next? The obvious answer was to move for a bigger garden. In the meantime we added back yard chickens to our current garden and have enjoyed fresh eggs.

The next stage in the plan was .... where to? In this local vicinity house prices with land have spiralled out of our budget so we could go northwards or France. Now anyone who knows me will tell you that I don't do languages very well and there could be a possibility of me being on my own somewhere in France on a farm whilst my husband worked from the UK or Paris and I would struggle to cope. Also I keep seeing stories of people buying properties abroad and being stitched up by 'local' rules and regulations. Northwards towards Suffolk looked like a definite possibility for some time. We even took a drive to view a property which sold before we had a chance to make an offer. 

Before we lived in Tillingham we lived our on Burnham marshes for two years. It is a wild and sometimes cruel landscape with uninterrupted views - definitely big sky country. We lived with my inlaws in a converted farmhouse. The children were very small and had just started to go to school. It didn't suit us at the time and we moved to Tillingham 15 years ago, leaving the inlaws to the farmhouse. Time passed and it keep niggling at me that what we want to do, we could do out there. With the passing of various elderly family members from both sides comes the problem of being a long way away and having to cope with making decisions from a distance. We came to the conclusion that moving back to the Marshes would be the only answer.

After various negotiations plans were approved and building work began in April this year to create the ageing inlaws their own space, leaving the farmhouse for us and we would divide the two and a half acres of outside space. The original time quote was 8-12 weeks for the build.  In July we put our house on the market expecting a quick sale and that we could be in by September ... or at least we hoped.

Many things were packed up to declutter our house to put it on the market. Photos were taken and we were on. The EPC and floor plans were completed and added to the website. The summer holidays came and went without a single viewing. We reduced the asking price for the house and then almost the day the children went back to school, we had our first viewing. It was the standard sort of thing. A young couple looking for their nest to create a family ..... but the rooms were too small. A week passed and I was wandering around Southminster when my phone started ringing. It was the estate agents. There are people (without an appointment) at your house now and they want to view your house. I rushed back to find no one there. I went into show house mode and about an hour later was showing my house to a couple who had sold their house and had seen ours on the website. Apparently of all the houses they had looked at on the website, ours was actually bigger than the pictures had suggested.

Another week went past and we had new neighbours moving in opposite. I wandered over and welcomed them to the road only to be greeted with, "Our son wants to view your house" ....  O. K. A few hours later Couple No. 3 were getting the tour. Meanwhile couple No. 2 had made an offer on the house way off from the lowered asking price. It was dismissed. Couple no. 3 said that they wanted a property with space to the side of the house, which was don't have.

Another week passed and we had another phone call from the agents announcing Couple No. 4 would like to look at our house. Now these two didn't really look right from the start. They were a young couple with the lady very, very pregnant. My priorities at 8 months would have been to stay put and have a baby - not move house. They had the tour and I was chatting with them at the end. I remarked that I would be getting lots of rest before the baby came out and she said, "Oh my employer doesn't let me rest". I asked what she did for a job and she said that she worked for the regulators who check that estate agents are selling houses accurately and honestly. ! ! ! ! !  Needless to say, they didn't make an offer.

Couple No. 2 were definitely still nibbling as they made a counter offer, still short of the lowered asking price, which was dismissed again. We were now nearly at the end of September. We made a counter offer which was accepted after a nervy weekend of waiting and we went to SOLD.  In the meantime the building site was still very much a building site and a long way from being finished. There had been problems along the way which had been sorted but it was now 5 months into a 12 week build.

Then came the surveys. They had two for reasons which I still struggle with, almost on consecutive days. And then the paperwork from the Solicitors arrived .... many, many pages of questions and a contract. Interestingly enough, if your property is the home of anyone who is aged 17 or over, they must sign the contract too to say they will be moving. The idea of leaving one's children behind to live with the new owners is a strange one, but ours duly signed and the contract has been returned along with the questionnaires.

We are now over half way through November. The building work is still not finished. The builder needs to have an operation that could put him out of action for a few months, regardless of the state of the build. It is nearly to the point where a competent DIY-er could finish the job but I think he was expecting to have finished by now.

Our chain is only 3 parties long. We are at the top with our buyers nestling very nicely in the middle. Their buyer has gone into rented accommodation and is itching to move. Packing has been sporadic as I identify things which I could do without ... or could I? We had Remembrance Day a few weeks ago and I couldn't find my black boots ..... packed in July as we were hoping to move in September. I did have the foresight to keep some coats back.

We have started to make contingency plans for how to cope if the building work has not been completed. Could we be ready to move in a few weeks time?  Christmas is looming on the horizon as our house fills with packing boxes. Neighbours have started erecting outside christmas decorations (in November) but I can't really even contemplate still being here at Christmas.

What has happened to the knitting, spinning, weaving? Most of it was packed in July leaving the jumper made from Lauriston wool (see earlier post) still being knitted. It is very nearly finished and will be a present for hubby's 50th on 15th December.

In two days time it will be the 7 month anniversary of the start of the building work. It is very frustrating waiting for the cogs to turn and the move to complete. Then to add insult to injury, another house that has sold in the village had removal vans outside today. I wished them luck, secretly longing for it to be us .... one day soon.