As usual the week has rushed by and now October only has one week left. I've not been far at all as the man from the removal company brought me a big heap of boxes so I've started packing and took two more bags of all-sorts to charity shops. Plus grandchildren's toys they've grown out of are also on their way out of the house.
The buyers of my bungalow had a survey done here during the week. We never bothered in any of our umpteen moves reckoning that Col would fix anything that goes wrong and if a property has been standing for 30 or 40 years it's not likely to fall down! And once we'd done up a very, very, old house back to it's timber frame and dirt floor anything else would be easy.
I'd never seen a surveyor in action and I couldn't believe how long it took as he went round tapping all the walls, taking photos outside of roof and inside of ceilings and switching lights on and off as well as opening, locking and unlocking all the doors. It's a 1983 bungalow, standard construction and really not much to go wrong - I wonder how much the buyers are being charged?
First named storm of the season arrived yesterday. Worse in the south-west of the country, but lots of rain here then another storm arriving today, this time worse up north but with more rain forecast everywhere for later. Almost all week has been a bit gloomy although I managed to get washing more or less dry on Thursday. Hopefully this rainy spell will help fill the reservoirs and the ground water.
Good news about a detective drama returning on BBC in November -Return to Paradise which is the Australian spin-off of Death in Paradise, will be back for a 3rd series. I've never watched Beyond Paradise which is the UK spin off as it seemed a bit silly.
Info about the NCIS Origins series also keeps popping up, but we can't get it here for free.
Have a good weekend - hope you get power back if you lost it in the South-west and hope you don't lose electric in storm Boleo if you are in the north.
You are so brave tackling this move Sue but it is probably for the best being nearer family, especially at the cost of diesel.
ReplyDeleteNearer youngest daughter but further from everyone else although Son etc are also hoping to move towards coast - if they can sell their house.
DeleteI think people have a survey done in order to get their mortgage approved. Or maybe I remember it differently. The last house we sold the woman buyer turned up with "her builder" to do survey. She reported back that he had found a problem with the roof. The said builder later came back and warned us that she did this every purchase, take no notice. We took his advice. Carole R
ReplyDeleteThe buyers don't have a mortgage they are downsizing a lot
DeleteWe had to have a survey done for selling my father’s flat, which I thought was a bit mean.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to 'Return to Paradise'.
I like Return to Paradise better than the original
DeleteWe’ ve only bought two homes in 55 years a d had a survey done both times because our lender required it. Ourr current house showed a number of faults and some of the mortgage was witheld until they were remedied. The bungalow next door to us has just gone on the market so we are expecting a flood of viewers very soon as it’s in a magnet school area. Well done on starting to sort and pack-a good task for this weather. Catriona
ReplyDeleteI guess we must have had basic surveys done way back when we had a mortgage, I'd forgotten that would have been needed.
DeleteWe didn't have a survey done here. Having done up Ynyswen, we knew what to look for. Only thing we did do was check for damp with a gizmo wot does that!
ReplyDeleteWell done with getting cracking with the packing and doing the essential "I don't need this" clearance. I hope your son is able to sell his house and move closer to you. All mine are about 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 hrs away from me. Not ideal, especially when I am babysitting.
P.S. The people who bought Ynyswen for us ended up having 3 surveys done. One by the Lime company chap who was probably soundest of all as he knew old houses and limework and the brilliant builder who had done all the lime work and renovations on the house. Then he paid a company who came out and said it needed £150,000 spending on it (we had actually forked out a similar amount to get the house renovated!) Buyer complained about that company to the powers that be. Then finally one who gave a sensible report.
ReplyDeleteWe like Return to and Beyond Paradise, nice light hearted winter viewing.
ReplyDeleteI understand the need for surveys where there is an obvious reason for potential structural issues but most of the time they feel like an expensive tick box exercise .
Packing to move is exciting.
Alison in Devon x
I am also considering a move . The family home in Fulham is really far too big for me - it felt small when there were 6 of us living here , but now it feels quiet and empty . Only one of my children lives in London , and he’s not interested in returning to live here . One son in the South West - settled and happy and not interested in moving back . Younger son is in the US and has just decide to take Citizenship- so his future lies there - and my daughter trying to decide what to do and where to go after completing her Phd. My sister lives in Essex - you may know it - Frinton on Sea -
ReplyDeleteand is very happy there - she is also widowed and is suggesting that I move nearer to her .
I think I would prefer to stay in London . It’s been my home for over 40 years .
Miriam
I've been in my house in Hertfordshire for 43 years. I really appreciate the fact that I know so many people here and have a good support network.
DeleteI remember surveys always being done around here but I've been in my home for 39 years so I am not sure what is required now. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, it was very rainy here yesterday -- and I had tree trimmers working in the garden. I felt so bad for them!
ReplyDeleteSurveys are standard for real estate transactions in the states, no matter how old (or new) the property. You'd be surprised what they turn up sometimes!
The whole process of buying and selling houses seems unnecessarily complicated in this country. Although I can understand the requirement of getting a survey. The storm has just arrived here, this afternoon. We're staying cosy beneath a blanket, beside the fire. X
ReplyDeleteStorm yesterday was worse than today ( Dorset) but I'm quite enjoying hunkering down at home and getting through some jobs.
ReplyDeleteMoving is a great way to do a thorough clutter bust.
Penny
We call what I think you're describing "inspections" abd its to ensure there's no unexpected repair ir problem and usually is a protection to the buyer, but also at their expense. Its not a requirement, but can if written into the offer, subject to inspection, give the buyer an out if seller won't fix anything found and buyer can't afford the fix themselves. It's just part of final negotiation. When my son bought his condo this spring, the inspector found issues in the bathroom that he then added to the "offer" to be fixed at sellers expense. What was thought to be minor turned out to be a costly repair, that he'd have been stuck with without the inspection. Alternatively, seller can refuse to make repair and keep on market, or not approve the fix, but accept a lower offer. It was all amicable in his case. Seller wanted to move on and he didn't have a spare extra $2,000. Good luck with your move.
ReplyDeleteNot needing a mortgage these days we don't bother having surveys. Obvious problems are usually obvious and anything else can be sorted, probably for less than the survey cost! There are so many disclaimers by surveyors that they usually aren't worth the very expensive paper they're written on.
ReplyDeleteIt is standard here to have a building and pest inspection during a cooling off period. We actually had one done on the house we were selling, as we didn't want any surprises for the buyers - we did one here and a few things have turned up that were not noted so we are not very pleased. Its nice to know what you are getting and what you have to do.
ReplyDeleteI wish you a smooth move. We have lived in our house for 30 years now but moved a lot before that with hubby being in the navy. Every two years for the first 15 years of our marriage. I am happy I won’t be moving any more. I hope your weather over there calms down. I remember my dad’s fence blowing down all the time until he decided he’d have enough and built a solid brick wall. We lived in the south west. I remember the inspection on our move from California. Enjoy the end of October and may it be storm free from now on.
ReplyDeleteI missed the original post when you said you were moving! I'm glad you labeled them so I could go back and read. How exciting! I'd love to live near the sea. It will be lovely to be so close to family too.
ReplyDeleteWe have dreams of moving when husband retires but we'll see. We'd love to go up north where it's quieter - and brrr colder - but it would suit us to be around less people lol
Our buyers have only just had their survey done on our house, it seemed a bit late to us as we have already exchanged contracts. It was a really nice young lad that did it ... and he even knew why we had conkers everywhere as his girlfriend is scared of spiders and does the same!!
ReplyDeleteNeither of us like Return to Paradise, but we both love Beyond Paradise.