We're buying a house!
So I mentioned in my last post that it's been a bit quiet around here lately, and it's not just been because I've been busy - it's because I've been dying to tell you that we're buying a house!
We actually had our offer accepted two weeks ago, but we've been keeping it pretty quiet while we've been finalising everything just in case it all fell through, and it's been driving me crazy not being able to blog about or tell everyone! But today we decided it was time to spill the beans!
To be honest, the whole thing happened pretty quickly. We started viewing houses in August time, even though we're not due to move out of our flat until February, just to get an idea of what was out there and what we could get for our money in the areas we liked. It was pretty exhausting to be honest - one day we saw five houses in three different areas - and we weren't seeing anything close to what we wanted. Nothing was checking all of our boxes.
So we decided we'd go away to Spain and start looking again when we got back, but while we were away, Phil found a couple of houses on RightMove that we liked the look of, so when we got home we arranged to view them.
When we first viewed our house (our house! Our house! I can't believe it's going to be ours!) we actually weren't sure. Everyone always tells you "when you know, you know" but this was not the case at all for us on our first viewing! It needed a bit of work, and as it had been rented before, it was a house, not a home. It ticked all of our boxes structurally (huge kitchen! Three bedrooms! Big garden! Hallway!), but Phil wasn't quite sure about it, so I resigned myself to the idea that if he didn't think it was right, it wasn't meant to be.
But we stopped at my parents' on the way home (yep, we're buying a house a whole mile and a half away from my parents!) and when we told them about the house, my Mum really pushed us to reconsider and go have a second viewing, insisting that we took my Dad, who's a builder, to see how much work really needed doing. We were reluctant, but we managed to get a second viewing for that afternoon.
Our second viewing was completely different. We managed to view it with both my parents, and Phil's parents who could thankfully make it, and instantly it felt different. We could see past the minor work that needed doing, and could see the potential that the house had to be our home. We could see what the garden could be like, how the back living room could be a gorgeous dining room, how the small box room could be an office. Sure, my Dad confirmed, it would need work, but it would also be an excellent blank slate for us to put our stamp on.
And the second time, we did know.
I have a memory of us - my parents, Phil, Phil's parents and his brother - all stood around in the bedroom, talking about the house, and I knew. I knew this was our home. I saw the smiles on everyone's faces and I knew. This was going to be our home.
And I knew when I was in a state of panic all day waiting to hear if we'd have our offer accepted. And when my phone rang, Phil's name flashing up, moments before I was about to go on a call at work.
"I'm really sorry, I'm about to go into a meeting. Can you tell me, yes or no?"
And Phil responding, "Do you want to buy a house with me?"
If I'd not been at work I would have burst into tears.
And now it's all the stress and excitement and frustration and oh-my-god-I'm-so-overwhelmed. There is so much to do, so much to think about, so, so so many conversations about money.
There's also so much that could go wrong. We've had two meetings with the mortgage advisor and things seem to be going well, but of course, anything can go wrong, but we've got our fingers and toes crossed that it all goes smoothly!
And of course, it's stressful, but it's great fun too! I've got Phil pinning sofas onto my Pinterest board and talking about French doors and how we'll store all our books and DVDs and feature walls and trips to IKEA. It's such an exciting big step for us!
I'm absolutely gutted to be moving out of our city centre flat next year (and there will definitely be dozens of blog posts about this coming up in the next few months) but I'm so excited to have found our home.
We have a lot to sort out until we get the keys, and even then we have a lot of decisions to make about what we want (as in, we have no idea what we want!) but I can't wait to show you our home when it's finished!
Charlotte x
To be honest, the whole thing happened pretty quickly. We started viewing houses in August time, even though we're not due to move out of our flat until February, just to get an idea of what was out there and what we could get for our money in the areas we liked. It was pretty exhausting to be honest - one day we saw five houses in three different areas - and we weren't seeing anything close to what we wanted. Nothing was checking all of our boxes.
So we decided we'd go away to Spain and start looking again when we got back, but while we were away, Phil found a couple of houses on RightMove that we liked the look of, so when we got home we arranged to view them.
When we first viewed our house (our house! Our house! I can't believe it's going to be ours!) we actually weren't sure. Everyone always tells you "when you know, you know" but this was not the case at all for us on our first viewing! It needed a bit of work, and as it had been rented before, it was a house, not a home. It ticked all of our boxes structurally (huge kitchen! Three bedrooms! Big garden! Hallway!), but Phil wasn't quite sure about it, so I resigned myself to the idea that if he didn't think it was right, it wasn't meant to be.
But we stopped at my parents' on the way home (yep, we're buying a house a whole mile and a half away from my parents!) and when we told them about the house, my Mum really pushed us to reconsider and go have a second viewing, insisting that we took my Dad, who's a builder, to see how much work really needed doing. We were reluctant, but we managed to get a second viewing for that afternoon.
Our second viewing was completely different. We managed to view it with both my parents, and Phil's parents who could thankfully make it, and instantly it felt different. We could see past the minor work that needed doing, and could see the potential that the house had to be our home. We could see what the garden could be like, how the back living room could be a gorgeous dining room, how the small box room could be an office. Sure, my Dad confirmed, it would need work, but it would also be an excellent blank slate for us to put our stamp on.
And the second time, we did know.
I have a memory of us - my parents, Phil, Phil's parents and his brother - all stood around in the bedroom, talking about the house, and I knew. I knew this was our home. I saw the smiles on everyone's faces and I knew. This was going to be our home.
And I knew when I was in a state of panic all day waiting to hear if we'd have our offer accepted. And when my phone rang, Phil's name flashing up, moments before I was about to go on a call at work.
"I'm really sorry, I'm about to go into a meeting. Can you tell me, yes or no?"
And Phil responding, "Do you want to buy a house with me?"
If I'd not been at work I would have burst into tears.
And now it's all the stress and excitement and frustration and oh-my-god-I'm-so-overwhelmed. There is so much to do, so much to think about, so, so so many conversations about money.
There's also so much that could go wrong. We've had two meetings with the mortgage advisor and things seem to be going well, but of course, anything can go wrong, but we've got our fingers and toes crossed that it all goes smoothly!
And of course, it's stressful, but it's great fun too! I've got Phil pinning sofas onto my Pinterest board and talking about French doors and how we'll store all our books and DVDs and feature walls and trips to IKEA. It's such an exciting big step for us!
I'm absolutely gutted to be moving out of our city centre flat next year (and there will definitely be dozens of blog posts about this coming up in the next few months) but I'm so excited to have found our home.
We have a lot to sort out until we get the keys, and even then we have a lot of decisions to make about what we want (as in, we have no idea what we want!) but I can't wait to show you our home when it's finished!
Charlotte x
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