Our House.

[addicted]

Following the palaver of our move to  East Anglia in 2000  when emptying the loft presented a real challenge  I vowed never again!I  so I've banned use of  the loft for storage.

 

 

Carole

[Chelsea14Ian]

Just back from the recycling site.Cleared lots. That said we've  got about 8 black sacks of Teddy bears.Will try to pass them onto charity's. 

[YnysMon]

That's a lot of teddies Ian!

I think you've got the right idea there Carole, I'm just not certain I would have the will power!

Helen

[Chelsea14Ian]

From Nicola,Alan and my Mum.Whats not going is Marina's Steiff bears,of which she's  got lots. She's got a loyalty card at the teddy bear shop Norwich. 

 

 

[Chelsea14Ian]

Heading up to Weeting,then to check out Brandon. 

[Chelsea14Ian]

Not long back from Weeting,saw the owner and he's son. Both very nice,got a better idea what needs doing in the house.We have the benefit of money  spare to do any work required. Then we popped into Brandon,saw the estate agent. Had a look at the high Street, then Thetford. Alls going well.Some photos. One of our American friends  close by.

[oldgregg]

Yes you'll see a lot of US vehicles round there, the service folk get them flown out in US-spec and often they are sold locally afterwards so the older stuff is around too. 

I believe it used to be the case that they could have them tax and shipping free so it was an absolute no-brainer. Although it's mostly USDM stuff, sometimes you see US-spec versions of cars that are sold here but with their different lighting and trim.

[OldBerkshireBoy]

18 minutes ago, oldgregg said:

Yes you'll see a lot of US vehicles round there, the service folk get them flown out in US-spec and often they are sold locally afterwards so the older stuff is around too. 

I believe it used to be the case that they could have them tax and shipping free so it was an absolute no-brainer. Although it's mostly USDM stuff, sometimes you see US-spec versions of cars that are sold here but with their different lighting and trim.

Nice to see the old stuff from the 50`s and the 60`s onwards now and then

[Chelsea14Ian]

Monday we re looked at our wills.Made some changes which should ultimately help Nicola and Alan.Slow but sure sorting out stuff from the loft.Lots of memories, a fair few sad many happy and some we forgot about.lots of stuff from my dad when he was in the RAF.I'm thinking of putting together a srap book of memories. 

Nothing to do with the move or perhaps yes.Some kind soul in a white car grazed the front of our brand new 21 reg car.No damage but will require work.The same happened to our last car,which was also new.That cost £600 to put right.Think this too will cost the same.At least our new house  has a driveway and garage. 

[SwanR]

It's easy to get distracted when you're trying to sort things out. I know that somewhere I've got a box of memories that I intended to go through again after we moved. I started to sort it out when we were packing but kept more than I needed to!

[Chelsea14Ian]

Regarding  the car.Booked in on the 2 June.Will cost £350.Not happy,would  have hoped the person who did it would  own up!Not much happening at the moment, all is going through. Most days we are reducing what we are taking,so lots of trips to recycle centre and charity shops.Today I had to get a new paper shredder. Think I killed the old one!This morning  we had a removal company  round to give us a quote. Two more to come,then see which one we like best

[Chelsea14Ian]

Things  have slowed down a  bit.Answered questions  from our buyer via her solicitor. Some work to be done on the new house, need to get quotes  from builders, then a decision with the estate agents there.Thought our buyers survey was done.Then yesterday had a phone call from a surveyors PA to arrange  a survey on 13 July.Why it's taken  so long is a surprise. The first one was for her mortgage. All a bit annoying. We've  cleared alot of unwanted stuff from the house.Sunday if weather's okay we will do a boot fair.Not someone that we're  looking forward  to,but good to clear out and hopefully earn a few Bob.

[Mouldy]

Due to Covid and the relaxation of stamp duty for a while, the housing market has been very busy.  The legal process is holding up transactions and I was told by our estate agents that the average time between sale and completion is running at about five to six months.

I know that for us, we agreed a price on our bungalow on 2nd November last year and eventually moved on 1st April.

[Chelsea14Ian]

Our solicitor said on average 12 to 16 weeks.So about normal. I'm a bit confused  way our buyer  waited a month  for a survey. Think it should  complete some time in August. 

[ExSurveyor]

It is not unknown for buyers to leave surveys to the last minute and then be a pain in the butt chasing every five minutes for the report.

What many miss is the fact that they have already paid for the valuation report, these can be upgraded to a Home buyers report and they save the initial valuation fee.

My son is working Saturday's to keep up with demand.

Stamp duty allowances drop from £500k to £250k at the end of the month and then to £125k in September. Demand is still high.

I have a sale that has been ongoing since August 2019. An error by solicitors on a lease extension in 2012 came to light during the sale. The original solicitors are still as incompetent and have failed to action any remedy. They are now facing a claim approaching £20k. They have finally appointed a consultant to sort it out but I have doubts it will be completed any time soon. Dealing with incompetent solicitors can be very frustrating.

A good firm is worth their weight in gold.

[Spray]

Having been in the mortgage business for more years than I like to remember, it is not unknown for buyers to wait until they have the mortgage offer to hand before instructing a full building survey or Homebuyers Report. The initial mortgage valuation is normally free so they may not want to pay out the money until they are sure they have the mortgage.

I could go on forever about this but best I leave it there !! 

[Chelsea14Ian]

We had a home buyers so too our buyer. We are mortgage free our buyer  a first time buyer. I spoke with our estate agent, she contacted the buyer, she said the buyer  intends doing an extension. 

[SwanR]

Hope things pick up for you soon Ian. We have some neighbours who are moving and there's no sign yet of when that will be, though it feels as if they have been sold for a while!

[ranworthbreeze]

Hello Ian please wish Marina a Happy Birthday.

Regards

Alan

[Chelsea14Ian]

She said thanks Alan

Best wishes  Ian and Marina. 

[Chelsea14Ian]

While I was in hospital, we had a survey  done on our house (kent).Before  I went into hospital, I arranged  for a builder to quote on some of the points  raised  in the survey  on our new house. Got the quote today.All good.Just be glad when things move on a bit quicker. We also arranged  a funeral plan  today.Not that we want to go just yet,but means Nicola and Alan won't have to pay out any money

[SwanR]

Sounds as if everything is progressing with the move Ian. Hope you can keep the momentum and soon be drawing closer to a moving date. 

[Chelsea14Ian]

A quick visit up to Norfolk. Seems our sellers in Suffolk  are dragging  there feet.We spoke with our solicitor and our estate agents at home then agents  in Suffolk .Seems the house  they are looking  to  buy is at very early  stages .As for our house  we have exchange papers.So we are looking  at a house  in Norfolk  in case.What is very annoying every time we asked how things were progressing, we were told oh it's all going  well.Clearly not.Anyway a flying  visit. Let's see how it goes. Health wise.I feel better, improved alot this week.Not quite ready for the Olympics yet.

[YnysMon]

Hope the visit goes well. 

[vanessan]

1 hour ago, Chelsea14Ian said:

Not quite ready for the Olympics yet.

Maybe the next lot?