This is my first blog entry in our new home! We started looking at houses last July, so it's such a relief to finally be home-owners. We managed to simultaneously exchange and complete contracts last Thursday at five to five, when the deadline was five. Thursday was an extremely stressful day, as it was touch and go all day as to whether we would be able to move before all of the Easter bank holidays at all. We were literally sitting in the removal van with all our furniture waiting for a 'yes' or 'no'. But luckily it all just worked out (no thanks to our solicitors) and we were able to finish moving on Friday, with lots of help from our families.
The new house is great. We've not fully unpacked yet but the good thing is that it is so much bigger than the house we were renting. There's three bedrooms, and I've already chosen which one is going to be my library :) The living area downstairs is bigger and the kitchen is enormous compared to what we had before. It's the first time we've had a house where we've been able to put a large dining table comfortably in the kitchen. The other big change is how quiet the house is - we've gone from a terraced house on a main road to a semi-detached one in a peaceful cul-de-sac. There's a forest to the rear of the property and it's lovely waking up to birds rather than cars and lorries.
Of course, the reason we were able to afford this large (for our budget) house is because it's in need of serious modernisation/decoration. I'm talking 70s style blue bathrooms and gold fitted wardrobes. The kitchen is modern but the rest hasn't been touched for at least ten years and it shows. I'm looking forward to rolling my sleeves up and getting painting. The plan is to do one room at a time, as our finances allow. I can't wait to make it into a beautiful house.
I haven't had time to check anyone's blog since Thursday and I'm on a rubbish three network dongle for the internet as our wi-fi isn't getting installed until April 16th. But as it's Easter Sunday (happy Easter!), I plan to relax this afternoon and have a bit of a catch-up. Have I missed anything?
Congratulations! I know how incredibly stressful (but exciting!) the whole process can be, so I bet it feels great to be at least somewhat settled. My husband and I bought a 98 year old home almost 3 years ago and have slowly been bringing it together. It takes time but can be really rewarding. Hope you enjoy your relaxing afternoon! (Did you hear about GoodReads? *gasp*)
ReplyDeleteThankfully the stressful part is over now, time for the exciting parts! Our rental cottage was built in the late 1700s but this house is more modern, it was built in the 1950s. I can't wait to start decorating :)
DeleteOh, congratulations on finally completing and moving in! I remember how stressful it all is and then the little things when you move it that you start cataloguing on the to do list...I've been in my place over 2 years no and still haven't got a proper shower put in! I have gotten very used to long baths and a book though! :-)
ReplyDeleteMy to do list actually fills a whole notebook, but that's OK because we will take our time! I have a feeling that the 70s retro blue & pink bathroom will be with us for quite some time, until our bank balances recover! We didn't have a shower in the old place and you're right, long baths with a book can be lovely :)
DeleteCongratulations! I'm super jealous! :] Have fun fixing up your house (the library comes first, right?!).
ReplyDeleteThe library really only needs painting so I'm hoping to get to it soon. I have many boxes of books waiting to be unpacked :)
DeleteCongratulations! Have fun fixing up your house for the coming months. What an awesome achievement and feeling owning a semi-detached!
ReplyDeleteI feel like a real grown up now! I can't wait to start fixing it up :)
DeleteYay, I'm so, so happy, Sam! I see in the above comments you feel like grown-up now :D Can't wait to go through the same changes myself although I must admit I'm a little bit scared!
ReplyDeleteIt is scary but definitely worth it. It's a wonderful feeling to be paying each month towards owning a home outright, rather than paying a landlord.
DeleteA huge congrats to you! There's nothing more exciting than setting up your very own home, have fun with it!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations!! It must be so exciting to finally own a house! I got excited in September moving into my first rented apartment so I can't even imagine how excited I'd be about a house :) Enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteI remember the excitement of my first rented flat, I loved that place even though it was cramped and had an issue with damp! Thanks for the congratulations :)
DeleteCongratulations - hope you have a Happy Easter in your new home!
ReplyDeleteThank you, we had a lovely Easter :)
DeleteSo glad that you are so happy with your new house! We just sold our house built in 1989 and moved to a two bedroom retirement apartment. I don't understand it but now I have a whole room devoted to books. I love to go there. If I could, I would hug the room. Also happy!
ReplyDeleteI love my room devoted to books too, it's my space in the house and I can't wait to decorate it.
DeleteCongratulations! House-buying is incredibly stressful. Well, so is home ownership in general, but once you're actually moved in you can mostly decide the pace of home improvements so the stress can be portioned out over time :) Good luck getting settled in!
ReplyDeleteIt was stressful, far more so than planning a wedding or getting married. Budget constraints will mean we will improve the house slowly, one room at a time, so hopefully that will be less stressful.
DeleteSo happy for you. Enjoy your new home.
ReplyDeleteThanks Nancy :)
DeleteWonderful, Sam!
ReplyDeleteWe've been in rented apartments for ages now - and dream of a house...with a room for a library of course!! My apologies - your copy of The Red Book will be in the post this week - I've been completely swamped by Easter prep at work so haven't managed to get to the post office. Do I need a new address to send it to? Email me when you get a minute...
K
Thanks Kaz :)
DeleteHopefully your dream of a house will come true sooner than you think. I'll email you with my new address :)
Yay, finally! I'm so happy for you. Enjoy getting settled and your lovely forest with singing birds.
ReplyDeleteThank you :)
DeleteThe birds make a nice change from traffic noise!
Happy Easter, and congratulations on the new house.
ReplyDeleteThank you :)
DeleteCongratulations, moving can be sooo stressful. Enjoy the fresh start!
ReplyDeleteThanks Joanne! It was stressful, but it all seems worth it now we have actually moved.
DeleteHooray for your new house!! :D It sounds lovely and OMG you'll have a LIBRARY ROOM!! And it'll be hard work to give it a make-over, but then it'll be exactly how you want it and that'll be wonderful :)
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your house and the extra day off!
Thank you :)
DeleteI had a sort of library room before, but it was also the storage room so it wasn't very comfy at all - this library room will be better! And I'm actually at the start of a 2 week Easter break now, which feels wonderful.
Let the adventure begin. Congratulations :)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the house move :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad the stress of house-buying is finally behind you. And the kitchen is the most important and expensive room to renovate--so at least that one is fine.
ReplyDeleteSO glad you got moved!!! Enjoy the new place and all the fixer-uppering!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! I remember what a wonderful feeling that was we bought our first (and only) house. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteOnly four months short to call it a year. I'm glad you didn't spend that long looking for a house though. :) Congratulations! And I think it's a blessing that you got a large house despite the needed updates and repairs. It is easier to manage the renovations than a land expansion, after all. :) -->Abdul
ReplyDeleteA new house with a lot of potential suggests a lot of fun time renovating it and making it your own. Buying a house can be tiring and frustrating at times, but with help of your families and people you trust, there's nothing too difficult that you can't overcome. So, how are your house projects going?
ReplyDeleteCalvin @ City Block Team