So. What was yesterday? It wasn't Margaret Thatcher's Birthday. It wasn't the anniversary of me and Ellen's first meeting (that's November 13th, the same night I saw Jane's Addiction's last proper show, by the way). Nor is it the day Ellen came to the UK. That was April 16th. Nor is it the day Xander was concieved. That was July 17th. Nor is it the day we found him - that was August 5th, and the reason we chose August 5th to get married upon.

Yesterday was the day I spent more money than I have ever had.

We put an offer in on a house, and it was accepted.

Sometime before Christmas, our entire lives will be put in boxes and driven some 70 or so miles down and East. We'll be about an hour from London on the train, at a Eurostar terminal, and about 12 miles from the coast. We'll be living in a three bedroomed house, with a 150 foot garden (2550 sq ft), a 300 sq ft living room, a conservatory, and best of all - we paid under market rate. The owner has lived there forty years, and wants the house to go to a good home. As a result we'll probably be getting all the appliances and existing furniture we want, and a ton of garden equipment. I really hope so - it's 99% our dream home. And no chain. So we can move right in once we exchange.

It was a bit touch and go for a while. Someone Else saw it the morning and we saw the afternoon. The Someone Else also put in an offer in. The Someone Else was an investor : and all they want to do is maximise profit from the property. Sit on for a few years, wait til the house prices shoot up - very likely, given the high speed rail link due in 2007 - and flog it off. Investors often bid much below the asking price. We think Someone Else offered between £10-£15,000 underneath the market price. We offered £5k below the asking price. It was a tense few hours. But we have the place we love.

When we walked in the door, it felt right. Once I walked into the living room, it felt like home. And the decor is ace. All original retro-kitsch 70's internal decortaions and deep deep carpets. Double glazing all over the place. So old-fashioned it's probably in fashion.

Of course, all the legal stuff needs to be sorted out, but everything is agreed, we just need to sort out the paperwork. It's five minutes from the town centre, two minutes from an International Eurostar train station. In 2007 the high speed rail link will be complete : and it will take 37 minutes to get to London. Right now it takes 70 minutes, but I go into London maybe once a week, and I need more time to read my books anyway.

And it'll be about 40% of the price a similar place would cost here, where we live now. Where we live now, a similar house would cost over £300,000. And our house has a blue plaque on the front. Because it is where Sir Malcolm Sargent was born.


- posted by Mark @ 10:16 pm