Apologies for not having a lot of time for reading and commenting on other blogs this week the reason being that things have changed since I last posted. The company building the new houses where I planned to move to don't yet have a sales office there, so I had to trek to the other side of Bury St Edmunds to look at specifications and choose extras etc. And there was a hitch..... the house I wanted at first had been reserved, other similar houses in the same road on the edge of the site turned out to have a row of large oak trees just over the boundary fence, and one so big it was almost touching a house I could have chosen. Several of these trees had preservation orders on them and I realised the gardens would have no sun in summer because of the trees and in winter because of the shade of the houses .....not good. Plus the roots of the trees would take all the moisture from the garden all summer. And growing stuff in the garden is something I have to do for my sanity!
So now I'm urgently visiting everything else that's for sale, trying to find something without too much of a chain that I can get into before March to save moving twice.
I want to be in one of 4 villages - all of which I know but all have virtually nothing for sale........ Very Worrying.
My head is buzzing from spending too much time on-line studying floor plans and photos, too much time speaking to staff of Estate Agencies, too much time doing drive by viewings looking at where houses are actually situated and too much time trying to fill in the forms for selling!
It's exhausting
Meanwhile............
Earlier this week Brother-in-Law came over to work outside cutting up the fallen tree branch and having a big bonfire. Meanwhile I've done lot's of sorting in the big workshop and garage and now need Campsea Ash auction house to open in December so I can take some crates of workshop stuff and two old wooden ladders there. There are several containers and tins full of old nails, screws, bolts and other metal bits which I can't decide if they are worth taking to the scrap metal place or not, and I've sorted more things for a tip run sometime.
And is it just me? or does anyone else watch a trailer for a new programme and think................ Looks a load of rubbish. That's what I thought when I saw Michael McIntyre promoting his new quiz The Wheel. "I'm going to be the arrow" he said dramatically, lying down on a spinning turntable with screeching celebs on seats around the edge. No I WON'T be watching tonight.
And again is it just me? or does anyone else think all the reporting furore about the death of a footballer from Argentina to be completely over the top?
So just a few days of lock-down left ........thank goodness, but I really
don't agree with Suffolk being in tier 2. There are still very few
cases and very few deaths. I think the majority of people will ignore
some of the rules as they just appear too strict for what's actually
happening on the ground and virtually impossible to comply with after all these months.
This week I'm Grateful for
- What seems to be an easy house sale even if I don't know where I'm going!
- A Lovely gift of a book from a blog reader
- Good news from one part of the family about a work situation
- A Gift of an online advent calendar from a blogging friend - hope I can work out what to do with it!
Hope you all have a good weekend I expect to back Monday, stress permitting.......... but who knows!
Sue
Good spot about the trees. hopefully something will come up in one of your villages.
ReplyDeleteI had exactly the same reaction as you about McIntyre being the wheel. I like quiz shows but there is usually too much faff and chat and too few questions for me.
I hope people do stick to the tier requirements. We have come so far and it seems silly to undo everything when a vaccine is on the horizon.
Have a great weekend
It's a pity quizzes aren't just kept simple!
DeleteI'm not keen on MM anyway - marching up and down the stage whenever he is talking - puts me off
It's the same here Sue regarding covid - Tier 2 yet hardly any cases, I suppose it's because there are quite a few in Bristol and a couple of other big towns. But in this rural area where we live we know of no-one at all who's had it. Feels so unfair. Sorry you missed out on your first choice of house, but good that you spotted the potential problems with the others. Hope you find somewhere suitable soon...or else perhaps it's not the right time for you to move after all!
ReplyDeleteIpswich hospital in Suffolk is now joined up with the Colchester hospital in Essex where cases were higher at one time and they always lump both together when they give cases and deaths so we don't know if the are Ipswich or Colchester.
DeleteSomeone said it was connected to the number of chicken processing factories and prisons we have in Suffolk too.
And I hope it is the right time to move! with such an easy sale - don't want to come off the market and then back on again in a few years time!
The right place will turn up. Just keep on decluttering and don't let this put you off. MMs show looks daft.
ReplyDeleteMaybe there are people already grieving who find the death of a 'public' figure gives them the opportunity to express their sadness more easily. I don't know.
OH had to go to a shop for something yesterday and he said people were behaving as if there were no virus. Families crowding in to buy Christmas items, ignoring one way signs, pushing in...
Just waiting for charity shops and auction place to open to clear out the last things.
DeleteI haven't been anywhere except food shops all month so haven't noticed whats happening elsewhere
Oh Sue, I can hear your brain working overtime from here😱. I don't blame you for not wanting something with trees at the back. People don't give enough thought to what direction the garden faces or how daylight will change throughout the year. I almost lose the all sun in the garden at this time of year because the bungalow shadows are so long. But give another few weeks and it's back. Fingers crossed you find something, you are in a very good position and I positive you'll get something very soon.
ReplyDeleteMy Brain HURTS!
DeleteIt was so disappointing to have a look at the proper plans at the sales office and then at the actual site itself on my way home and find the size of the oak trees.(not visible from the road) Apparently all the houses on that side of the road had to have extra deep footings. Hope they don't have problems in a dry summer with land movement
Moving is always stressful, as you will know from having done it so often :-) At least it takes your mind off Covid and Christmas.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was looking for somewhere to downsize to, everybody said, 'You'll just know when you walk in.' and it was true. Good hunting!
I remember how easy moving was in the 1980s!
DeleteCovid has made things so complicated with solicitors and estate agents not letting anyone into their offices
Hi Sue,I think Suffolk was put into tier 2 because the cases are rising in Ipswich, so everyone has to suffer because of the covidiots will not do what has been asked of them. Veronica
ReplyDeleteLuckily I don't need to do Christmas shopping in town this year so probably won't even see whats happening!
DeleteAlthough I'd like to do a tour of charity shops to look at their Christmassy stuff when they all re-open
Sorry about the setback over the house. Thank you for finding the time to let us know about your week.
ReplyDeleteWhat a week it was!
DeleteI love writing the blog so will keep going
Campsea Ashe will be open again on 2nd December and life will have some normality in as much as we know it now. Scrap metal prices are not particularly high currently so you would need several kilos to get even a fiver. As for Maradona I have noticed a few programmes on his life but not been bothered by it nor watched any of them, they were just there in the schedules and the tv companies need viewers and he was popular and in football one of the greats with lots of footage available and I am sure many people enjoyed watching. As for Covid and tiers, the Government are damned if they do and damned if they don't.
ReplyDeleteCampsea Ash hope to take things in for selling from mid month as they already have stock for first Monday in December.
DeleteI might as well take the metal bits to scrap yard as if I take them to the metal skip I'll have to carry them up all the steps to their skip which then goes to the same scrapyard anyway. Means I get the money rather than the council!
I can understand your feelings of worry about the house move. It is not good to be feeling anxious about taking something in a hurry but at least you discovered the tree issue in good time.
ReplyDeleteWe seem to be in a similar position...we appear to have a buyer for ours but nothing on the market for us to move to.
I think I might end up renting after all although there's nothing to rent either!
DeleteWill the savings on stamp duty be enough to warrant you making a hasty decision just to avoid it? As you are doing this house move on your own you will have to have your wits about you regarding all the pit-falls, which it seems you have, (wits that is).
ReplyDeleteWe watch The Chase as we like quiz programmes, but I've realised that a lot of questions are to do with 'celebrity', ie music, sport, reality winners, oscars etc, etc. I don't do too well on those and we've stopped watching the celebrity version as most of their questions are celebrity related. The Michael McIntyre programme sounds ridiculous and I'm surprised he's doing it. Are there any programmes without celebrity in them?
You may have gathered I'm not a celebrity fan so Maradona means nothing to me and I find that people do go ott when one of them dies.
It's more to do with the people who are moving here and want to be in ASAP to avoid the stamp duty after end of March.
DeleteI'm no good on film,celeb,most pop and reality winner questions either!
Oh, that really is a nuisance for you b8ut I totally agree about the trees. I love trees but not so close that they block the sun. Sending 'new home' vibes in your direction in hopes that something will turn up just at the right time. xx
ReplyDeleteThey let me go on site with hard hat and High Viz to see the trees - HUGE..... beautiful but much too close to the houses. I doubt a private individual would have got permission to build so close!
DeleteAs a person who has spent last week cleaning up the damage from two trees falling on a house, I would say that you are wise. Very wise.
ReplyDeleteYes I saw the photos on your blog - not a good idea to be that close to trees I think!
DeleteGood luck with your house search. I remember well the panic, frustration and excitement when we were looking for a new home in the UK after selling our French house.
ReplyDeletePanic seems to be the predominant feeling at the moment! I never expected such a quick sale
DeleteWhat a lot of bother for you and it all seemed to be falling into place when your house sold so fast. Something will turn up. Could you move in with a daughter in the meantime if there's a gap between selling yours and buying the next? Here in US there's rarely "the chain" that you mention. Learned about that from friend whose son just sold his house to purchase another in Reading. Everything had to happen on the same day which is strange for us here in US. It worked out for them last week despite Covid restrictions.
ReplyDeleteChains can sometimes be very long - it makes things crazy when everyone has to complete their sale on the same day.
DeleteOne day someone will think of a better idea but it's been like this forever although it seemed less hassle in the 1970s and 80s
The population was smaller. Fewer people were on the move. People were more likely to live in the same house for their entire life.
DeleteSorry about your worries with the house and moving. If the house you wanted was not available then maybe it wasn't meant for you after all. Maybe this will lead you to find an even better situation. I know this is all stressful for you. I hope you can take a little time each day just for you to relax.
ReplyDeleteYes I'm a big believer in there being a reason for everything, so hope a suitable house will pop up for sale soon
DeleteI became really down when we found out that Devon was in tier 2...seems as though I might be in the first wave of vaccinated population even though I’ve just had it. x
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping for a back bench revolt and Bojo et al made to think again
DeleteHope things work out for you sue
ReplyDeleteMe too - house hunting is hard work
DeleteAlso meant to say ‘oh fiddle’ on the house buying...these things are certainly sent to try us. x
ReplyDeleteSo true
DeleteAh, welcome to my world as it was back in September/early October. What looked perfect on paper, turned out to have significant no-no's attached when seen in the flesh. We had to compromise on size and location, but that said we actually ended up offering on a house which does actually have everything we needed and I had put on my mental tick-list.
ReplyDeleteI think "location" is the only slightly elastic want (it was crucial that it could be compromised for us or we'd have still been looking!) so I would say try not to be too rigid in the "where".
Hoping your dream house turns up a.s.a.p. so that you can take advantage of the Stamp Duty holiday. Of course, in Wales we didn't get much of one! If you don't mind going into rented, then you can wait until the perfect place appears. GOOD LUCK.
There are 4 villages I could live in plus 2 more if I had to - hope something appears soon
DeleteMaybe it's time to consider contacting channel 4 and asking for Phil and Kirsty's help on Location, Location, Location!!
ReplyDeleteEveryone thinks that looking for a new property will be exciting....until they do it. It's so stressful. I do hope it all works out well for you.
Even K and P couldn't magic up a house for sale where I want to move to!
DeleteOh, Sue! How disappointing, and how exhausting! I pray the right place pops up with your name on it, immediately, if not sooner. In New Zealand there is no gazzumping or whatever you call it, and almost all sales are “Cash, unconditional”, or perhaps conditional upon a Builder's report... which anyone wanting a good fast sale should have organised themselves and made available to purchasers.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Zcovid restrictions, be strong, and keep safe.
It's certainly more difficult to buy a house than in the 70's and 80's. Back then one found a house one wanted then put your own house up for sale. Now your own house needs to have been sold subject to contract before you can offer on another
DeleteHow disappointing for you. I do hope you find something in one of the villages you wish to live in. I am keeping my fingers crossed for you.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Thank you
DeleteI wish your move could be easier. Good luck carrying on next week.
ReplyDeleteI'm viewing 2 houses next week - one has been for sale for over a year so there must be something wrong with it!
DeleteNot necessarily Sue. Sometimes it's just the location, but most often just the "wrong" people viewing it. If it's been sold and put back on a few times (Zoopla should give you the low-down on it) then perhaps it does have a problem. We had a lot of "WRONG" people viewing our house!
DeleteI hope you find something in one of the villages you're looking at. There are so many beautiful places in Suffolk. I am really envious of you! I'm hoping I can get back next year. I'm feeling pretty homesick right now. Usually I can keep it at bay with my six week dose of England, family and food, but this year...well,
ReplyDeletePerhaps limiting my choice to 4 or 5 villages will have to change but I hope not
DeleteSorry to hear about your moving woes Sue. Thurston has the rail link and quite a few shops and an active community centre, U3A, etc. There's probably even those rare things - buses!
ReplyDeleteAs your search area is so restricted it might be worth doing the Kirstie and Phil thing and put leaflets through letterboxes to see if anyone is thinking of selling.
ReplyDeleteRe. the tier you're in, the spread can escalate very quickly and once it has a hold on an area it can be very hard to get rid of. I'm on the border between tier 3 and tier 2 and it has spread very quickly from a hotspot out to rural areas where it has stuck around. I do feel desperately sorry for cafes and pubs in tier three though.