house hunting

It hasn't been long since my last property update and, two days ago, I was stumped as to what I would write about in this week's blog - frankly I didn't feel that much had changed. But, as luck would have it, something has now changed and in fact, when I ponder on it, I've learned quite a bit more in a short space of time.

Two weeks ago, I was bitterly unsatisfied about the properties I was viewing. Why? Mostly because the ones in my price range were too small, in a shocking state or in a not-so desirable area.

However, with budget restrictions I know I won't get everything I want, and in my mind I had resigned myself to the house hunt for the long haul. But weirdly, out of the blue last weekend - the one Saturday I had a ramming hangover - every house I viewed, I liked.

It could have been the beer still running around my system, or it could have been that I just hit it lucky, either way I was happily surprised. So to move the process along, I arranged a second viewing, just to see if the properties really were that nice, and, wow, is it weird what the second viewing throws up... but maybe my mum had something to do with that because I brought her along for a second opinion.

My mum, who has bought and sold properties on a number of occasions, noticed stuff I definitely didn't and hated the two properties I liked. In fact, just for the hell of it, I had also arranged to revisit a property I really didn't like AT ALL just to show her how bad some places are and how little you get for your money. That obviously backfired.

What happens? This is the property she loves... somehow in what I saw as a ‘tip', she saw as ‘potential' and, after a few hours of thinking, I was sat on the couch looking at the price of bathrooms on my laptop for this ‘tip', to see how much it would cost to do up. In fact, I even found myself getting excited about it.

Yes, it would be a lot of work, but then it would be an exciting project too. So, at 9am the next morning, I got on the phone to the estate agent and made my offer. In all honesty, I doubt it will be accepted as it was below the asking price - though an offer I feel was founded given the amount of work the neglected and previously student-tenanted property requires.

Now I just have to wait, but perhaps in my favour is the fact that the seller was apparently holding out until my viewing, and if nothing came of that he was going to put the house back on the rental market again. I have no idea how this will turn out, but I'll be a lot wiser next time I write this blog I'm sure.