...but the length of the skirt makes it less so.
I wore this today - the top is vintage and I bought it from the lovely Vix at the Vintage fair I met her at. The skirt is from Henry Holland, shoes from Clarks with Poms by me and old school cardie with holes in!
I'm very confused on the house-buying front. There are 3 houses we quite like and are considering putting another offer on, but it is such a big decision.
House no. 1 is the most expensive
Positive: Very new (only 2 years or so) so the Energy performance is excellent- has solar panels for heating water. It is immaculate, lovely en-suite, living room is a good size. Room for sofa area and a table area too. Has a nice outdoor area with a covered Pagoda so we can sit out there and put washing out if it is raining. Has air-con!
More expensive so less likely to get a bargain.
Negative: Not necessarily negative, but is a bit Essex-bling for us. Over a mile from the station so yet more walking for me which kind of got me down at my old house. Also my train journey will now be another 5 minutes extra compared to now so my journey is likely to be at least another 10-15 mins which makes all the difference when your journey is already an hour.
The 3 bedrooms aren't huge and none have any fitted cupboards. Not much storage, no linen cupboard as it is full of the solar-heater.
Garden is small and overlooked by other houses and it is very zen at the moment with shale, no grass.
House no. 2
Is the cheapest if it goes for asking price. £40k less than other one.
Positive: Fairly modern- was built at the end of the 90's. Lovely and light as it is a corner plot has really nice light windows- good for playing music as living room is away from neighbours side. Small but nice grassy garden. Front garden with parking space. Has linen cupboard. Does have en-suite (as well as main bathroom and downstairs toilet) but is ridiculously small.
Negative: Living room is fairly small- not really room for piano and books plus a table. Dining area is in the kitchen rather than separate. Bedrooms aren't huge. Still quite far from the station- over a mile still. Not relishing that walk.
House no.3
Positives: Is very, very close to the station and to town so I wouldn't have a long dark walk in the winter. Really nicely decorated inside. Living room is a better size than the previous one, Has dining area in the living room and would have room for piano and bookcases. Really attractive kitchen.
Main bedroom is a good size. Has big linen cupboard and wardrobe in the box room. Back garden although small and north facing is quite private
Nice view out of front window to garden- could have raised beds.
Negatives: at present,has no parking space. Single yellow lines all down the road so can't park between 10-12 each day- CBC doesn't drive to work. Would have to pay to have kerb dropped and have part of front garden paved- not sure if definitely allowed as Essex county council have certain criteria. Could be an extra £1000 or more.
Only has the one bathroom BUT we are not bothered about a second one or separate toilet.
Garden is a bit of a mess with overhanging trees (which could be hacked back)
Same price as 1st house BUT a sale recently fell through and because of the kerb-dropping issues and mess of garden might be able to get it for lower.
It is SUCH a big decision. It makes me so nervous to get it wrong. Or put in an offer an then something perfect comes up. Or don't put in an offer and then someone else gets in first. There's a lady going for a second viewing of the last one on Tuesday night as she thinks her husband will like it. Do we put in an offer or do we not and then lose it.
Ahrghj!!!!
xx
nice preppy outfit
ReplyDeletekisses
I know you're probably keen to move out of rented accommodation, & you're right, it is such a big decision, but which (if any) made your heart sing? I would say you shouldn't really "settle" for a house, although I think Kirsty & Phil (of Location x3 fame) say you need to look at what things are essentials and which are "negotiable". So if the walk shouldn't be more than 0.5 of a mile then that is an essential, and not a negotiable point. It sounds to me that the walk is really important for you (could you get a bike to make it easier?) as is room for a piano. Good luck in your decision making.
ReplyDeleteEeek! Thoughts and prayers with you on this one. The last one sounds good to me [you can fix a kerb -but you cannot move the other houses nearer to the station] And in your case, room for a piano is essential- you will be truly miserable without it. Have other houses in the street got parking on their forecourts? Remember, if none of these three works out, there WILL be another. We put in an offer on one house and it fell through - looking back, so glad it did, because what we ended up with far exceeded our wildest dreams. It IS stressful, but hang in there!!! [and don't let the stress cause tension between you and CBC]
ReplyDeleteI pray that your house hunting brings you to just the right cozy house. It's such a big job!
ReplyDeleteOh that pea brooch is adorable! I've noticed these past weeks so many people have been slightly out of sorts. Autumn is such a shift - much more so than Spring. We're saying goodbye to so many things, summer, warm days, light, the end of the year is coming and there's often confusion. Hold on and I feel it will hopefully pass for you and you'll rekindle the love. Ebb and flow, ebb and flow.
ReplyDeleteSounds like location is important. I have a walk to the station and there are some days when 20 minutes feels like two hours, especially when at the end of the day you're dog tired!
http://petitesilvervixen.blogspot.co.uk
1. I love that pea pod brooch. So cute!
ReplyDelete2. I'm feeling a bit gloomy/irritated myself. I think the weather is getting to us all!
3. I know nothing about house-buying, but from what you said about the 3 houses I think house #3 sounds best for you - like everybody says, location is really important!
1.Not sure I'm voting for any of these. Sounds like you two need to push yourselves a bit at this stage and invest, but you do seem to need entertaining space.
ReplyDelete2. You could never be prim and proper, nor would we want you to be.
3. Our house is in a real struggle muddle just now. Persevere. Run your race x
Argh, don't envy your decision making on this. You're right it IS such a big thing. I'm terrible for realising how badly I want something once it's gone, which for shoes is no big deal, but a house isn't going to magically reappear in a day or so!! I love the pom poms and as a sidenote, I was actually shopping last week (first time in several years) and was sorely disappointed with the HH stuff in Debenhams. Just not my style at all now and I used to buy all my dresses there. I was a bit sad about it. There was a nice print (cats IIRC) but it was a style of blouse I'd never wear.
ReplyDeleteThat top looks so lovely with the pea pod brooch and the pom pom shoes!
ReplyDeleteWhat a decision! Reading your descriptions I get the feeling that number three might be your favourite and the positives (the proximity of the station and space for a piano) far out weigh the negatives. xxx
That outfit is not prim at all in my book! As for the house hunting, I don't envy you at all, I remember from when we were doing it how stressful it can be. From your description, house no. 3 sounds the best option, if the parking problem could be solved. Good luck! xxx
ReplyDeleteYou look gorgeous, as always!
ReplyDeleteAaah... looking for a place to live is always such a huge decision, and it must be even more so if you plan to actually own the place. I feel like none of those three are really what you have your heart set on, but how likely are you to find a fourth that meets all your criteria? Hmmm! It does sound like location is probably your top criterion, so based on that house 3 seems like the best of these, but obviously the parking situation is not ideal. Where do other people that live there park?
Oh Kezzie, house buying decisions are hard! I think the 3rd one sounds best, less walking to and from the station, but the parking doesn't sound great. Are you likely to find something else in your budget that might be better? I know when we were house hunting there were so few 3 bed houses in our budget, and I'm picky about the area we live in because I've lived here all my life I know where the good places are! We just had to chose the best one for us, even if it wasn't a complete dream house (ie. it needed a lot of work doing to it and 12 months later I still have no kitchen!!!)
ReplyDeleteGood luck xx
I have this skirt too - I love it!
ReplyDeleteEek, the house buying thing is a minefield (she says - I fell in love with, offered on and bought the first house I viewed, haha!), I really don't envy you. But there are always compromises to be made... I hope you're able to figure out which ones you're happy to make. Fwiw, I like the sound of the 3rd one best.
I always find that decisions such as these have a habit of working themselves out. Are you in a hurry to move? If not, why not stay where you are and wait for something you know you love? It's a big decision, you'll be living there do you have to be happy with it.
ReplyDeleteHope this feeling off goes away soon - it's the worst!
Im with 14 shades of grey on everything Kezzie. My daughter hates the long dark walk home at the end of the day, and as that's for 6 months of the year, than maybe that's more important than the kerb issue. Good luck with all of that. I realise that it's a week since this was posted so things might have moved on...
ReplyDeleteGood luck x
Anna
Sending positive thoughts for successful house hunting and purchase - a very stressful time.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
Love the pea pod brooch very much.
ReplyDeleteWhich house do you think you would be happiest calling home?
When you're talking about spending all that money on a home the extra for the drop kerb really isn't much more and if it solves the parking issue then it's got to be a strong contender.
It's really such a big decision as you do want to get it right so I understand the nervousness.
Lisa x