[NOTE: this post is out now only because I’m still dithering over my 2022 goals!]
In part 1, I covered the financial aspects of buying my house. In this second part, I’ll try to cover all the other stuff, which isn’t really anything to do with FIRE but it all affects me and my FIRE journey, plus I need to get it off my chest!
Since money is such a big part of a house purchase, I apologise in advance for the few monetary mentions which will inevitably sneak in!
What?
When I first started house-hunting, I was looking for a 3-bed semi, with garden and a private driveway, and so it seemed was every other man and his dog at the time! Preferably in a cul-de-sac, which tend to be quieter and provide more privacy.
What I’ve ended up with is a two-up-two-down semi, with a garden, private driveway, in a cul-de-sac. 3 out of 4 aint too bad!
I am however not too far from a main road, so I can sometimes hear big lorries rumbling past, especially when they hit the potholes in the road, and am also near a railway, although the sounds of trains haven’t bothered me so far.
My house is not new and there are numerous things which need repairing and replacing. Unfortunately, several of these are not cosmetic (those were mostly sorted when I had the whole place redecorated and had new carpets fitted before moving in), and some of these things will cost thousands of pounds to sort out.
There have been essential costs/repairs I’ve had done since moving in which I hadn’t budgeted for (hello, emergency funds!) so it’s felt like I’ve been bleeding money recently, including today, when I had to pay to have 3 tiles replaced on my roof, casualties of the storm we had recently.
Where?
Another of my criteria when I was house-hunting was that I didn’t want to move too far away from where I was. I’m a creature of habit and I wanted as little change to my life in that respect as possible.
So it’s just as well that I’ve ended up in a house which is just 2 miles away from where I used to live!
Over the years, I’d driven past it on numerous occasions, never realising that I’d be living there one day.
I have to say that I’m pretty certain that had I not been working from home and been able to view the property at the drop of a hat, I would have missed the opportunity to buy it, so thanks COVID!
Just moving two miles away has had me crossing a border, into another council’s borough, into another city even. Don’t get me started on the different coloured bins now for recycling – I have to keep referring to a post-it note before I throw anything away!
I am now closer to both my sis (only 5 mins drive away) and to my friends. My gym is further away by a couple of miles but I can actually get there quicker as I can hop onto the motorway to reach it now. Manchester city centre is still less than 5 miles away, so still close by for social life and work (when I’m back in the office).
I also have a pub within walking distance from my house! This wasn’t on my wishlist but something I always thought would be nice to have. However, it’s been many years since I’ve been in that particular pub, so I don’t know what the clientele are like now, plus current climate has deterred me from just wandering in for a quick pint and a gander. More on that I’m sure at some point.
Sadly, I’m no longer within walking distance to a tram stop, so public transport will have to be the bus (unless I have time to drive to the tram stop I used to use); buses are not my favourite mode of transport, as I can’t read on them. This might be a time for me to finally embrace podcasts.
Neighbours, Everybody Needs Good Neighbours
“What are the neighbours like?” I had asked, during my second viewing of the property.
“Oh, they’re lovely!” gushed the estate agent.
“She would say that,” commented my sister afterwards. “Who knows, you could end up with nightmare neighbours!” Gee, thanks, sis!
Sadly, it was not just noisy, unfriendly neighbours I had to take into consideration for my house move; although my race and ethnicity has barely been an issue for me in my life and not even something I really think about, in the back of my mind, I couldn’t help but wonder how the people would feel about a non-white person moving into their neighbourhood.
How does one know what one’s new neighbours are like?
By speaking to them of course!
Prior to exchange, I drove over one afternoon to see if the neighbour was in. She was indeed and not only was she friendly, she invited me into her home for a chat!
Box ticked – PHEW! What a huge relief for me, but probably for her too, that she wasn’t going to have a new nightmare neighbour herself!
Two days after I moved in, I invited her round for a cuppa. She’s now no doubt told the neighbourhood about me (she has various friends and family members living on the estate) which is great as it has resulted in a couple of others stopping to say hello and asking me how I’m settling in. I do think it’s worth getting to know neighbours, plus now, I have someone I trust to accept my deliveries when I’m not home!
The neighbours on the other (non-adjoining) side? It’s a rental property and although I’ve been told it’s a couple of beauticians/nail technicians who live there, I haven’t seen or heard a peek from them yet. Their garden (front and back) is a right mess though.
And the old neighbours?
The day before I moved out, both sets of my old neighbours had me round at theirs for a cuppa to say goodbye and in a lovely gesture, both gave me leaving cards and gifts – we had gotten to know each other more during lockdown and I will miss them.
Moving and Settling In
The day of the move (an Auspicious Day no less, something important to my family which I was happy to go along with), all went smoothly and as the removal van didn’t have very far to go, the whole process from loading up everything to emptying it all into my house took just under two hours! I was fully packed and ready the night before so there was no waiting time at all for them and they were really quick about their business.
As I wasn’t in a chain, I only moved bulky items, furniture and essential stuff – enough to fill the removal van but not to the brim! Since then, I’ve been back at the old house to pick up bits and pieces, things I want to keep but I wasn’t sure if I would have the space.
I’ve effectively downsized from a 4-bed house to a 2-bed (dropping three Council Tax bands in the process!) so wasn’t sure until I moved in and unpacked whether I could take all of the nice-to-have stuff left behind, or if they were destined for charity or the recycling tip.
In the old house, I used to make use of two of the spare rooms (for laundry and extended wardrobe purposes, ahem!), a study (for WFH), a shed, a utility room and garage.
Now, my spare room is the spare bedroom-cum-study-cum-laundry room and my shed will also have to store the things that I have in the garage, which has yet to be emptied – me and sis are putting this off til the last minute, probably will start panicking as the sale of the old house progresses!
Most things at the new place were set up easily, apart from my broadband, which inexplicably took a month to connect (fortunately I had use of a wifi mini hub so work wasn’t disrupted) and over 10 hours on the phone to sort out with BT, although they have given me a £20 credit because of my complaints…
I’m still trying to get used to buying my groceries from a different supermarket and actually miss my old Tesco’s, where the layout made sense (to me) so I could be in and out really quickly.
Morrissons on the other hand seems to be laid out to trap unsuspecting shoppers down random aisles, inviting and tempting me to make purchases I shouldn’t make, but I have to say that I do like their fresh meat and fish counters.
Forever Home?
I’ve lived here for less than a month so have no idea if this will be the case. I have however already planted some shrubs (shrubs I’ve dug up from the old place which won’t be missed!) which won’t mature for many years so that might be me thinking long term!
It still doesn’t quite feel like home yet; I can’t yet get used to how different it sounds from the old house, the different creaks and rattles. That said, my only restless night was the night I moved in, as I was sleeping in a ‘strange house’ – I’ve slept very well since.
A few friends (and colleagues) have asked for photos but I’ve declined – it’s my private dwelling and if I invite them round, they’ll see what it looks like. Only my family have seen photos of it (they obviously recognise all the furniture from the old place!), plus I did a little video tour to show them the size of the place – it was a very short video, haha!
After years of being used to living in a big cold house, I’m finding this cosy one a little on the warm side as it heats up really quickly when the heating comes on (my thermostat is set at 19 degrees). I’m sure I’ll get used to this and at least this means lower bills, a good thing with energy costs going up. The first thing I did when I moved in was get a water meter fitted as I saw that the previous owner’s water bill was more than double what I paid at the old house (including when sis and nephew were living with me!)
And that’s it really on my ‘home sweet home’.
Aptly, this pic shows the 3 new tiles I got on my roof!
I do hope that as time goes by and I settle in some more, I will stop possessing this ‘critical eye’ as I can’t help but see things which need doing up around the place.
How long until I will stop this ‘seeing’ and just start being content to just live with these imperfections, so I can maintain my focus on FIRE?
I guess it’s just as well that I’m not one of those types who strives to maintain a beautiful home with all the mod cons, fit to grace the front cover of ‘Ideal Home’ magazine, otherwise my FIRE plans would be well and truly stuffed!
I have a couple of friends who do have such wonderful and beautiful homes, but they’re also the ones who mysteriously claim that ‘their house is their pension’, whatever that means.
In any case, I’ve banned myself from going to B&Q for the rest of the month and I think I need to do the same for the Amazon website!
Thank you for a wonderful insight into your world. A lot of your thoughts resonate with me, both for past experience and the near future – I’m planning to move this year, expecting to put the house on the market in March.
Yeah, creaks and rattles. I’m hearing so many in my current house (e.g. some creaky floorboards), I keep thinking if they will put off potential purchasers!
Your friends whose houses are their pension: maybe they are planning to downsize? But then wouldn’t they blow five-figure sums in upgrading wherever they go to next?
Hi NewInvestor
Glad you enjoyed the post!
I was used to the creaky floorboards at the old place – the ones at my current place are just unexpected so still throw me when I hear them!
Perhaps the intention of my friends with the nice houses is to release equity in the house for retirement income, though my guess is that they probably haven’t really read into it and have just heard of people doing that, without realising what the implications are.
Good luck with your house move!
Good to hear the move went well and you are starting to settle in to your new home. I think it takes a year or so to know whether you feel settled but sounds like a good start. I agree it is a big help if you have good neighbours.
I was wondering if the recent announcement on the cladding issues on BTL will be helpful. I believe they are now looking at blocks below 18m?
Thanks diy and yes, I reckon it might take me a year to settle in properly, once I’ve been here through the seasons!
I’m not sure that the recent announcement on cladding will help me as my flat never had any of the dangerous cladding as such. The new regulations brought in meant that other things were suddenly identified as not being safety compliant so need replacing.
Such as a completely new fire alarm system for the entire building block, and some balconies having timber in their structures (not mine) which will need to be replaced and as none of this is strictly ‘cladding’, costs won’t be covered.
It’s good news for some flat owners who were facing tens of thousands in bills to strip out cladding but it doesn’t go far enough unfortunately.
My that is one heck of a flower next to the house!
Congrats on the successful move, all sounds very positive 🙂
Cheers AMM!
Thanks for the update! All the best in your new home! 🙂
Thanks Steve!
All the best for your own FIRE journey!
And r-e-l-a-x ! Great to hear the move is over and went well. And don’t you dare go upping sticks again for a good few years otherwise that graph will look awful!
I don’t shop at Morrisons or Tesco’s, but i will put a nomination in for Morrisons making the better adverts. This classic is a gem….
https://youtu.be/lfX_1FJf04o
Cheers KC and haha, I hadn’t seen that advert!
So glad you’re settling in well! They say that, when we move house, we suffer from an initial period of ‘homesickness’ and that’s why it seems so odd and unsettling for a while.
I think it’s only natural that you would be preoccupied with thinking about what you could/should do in the way of upgrades and improvements: this is your very own house, after all. You are free to have it exactly the way you want, with nobody else to have to consult first, and that’s quite a heady situation 🙂
The great thing is that the house itself is in the bag now, and you’ll have plenty of time to gradually makeover the garden, etc, as the money (and mental energy!) allows.
Jane in London
Hi Jane
I think you’re right – I didn’t make the decisions on things done to the other house so was probably less attuned to things. Thinking back to even before that, I felt differently with the house I owned with my ex because although it was ‘our’ house, initially, it had just been his house until I moved in and paid to be added to the deeds. When I think back to the things we had done on it, he made all the calls and I just went along with it as it probably still felt like it was his house. Or maybe that was just the relationship we had!?
Yes, I need to think long term and gradual – just pause and enjoy the moment!
Congratulations on a smooth move to your new home!
I read somewhere that you should live in the house for a few months and get to know its quirks and then look at what you need to change to work for you, especially for things like new kitchen and bathroom. You may find that you want to change the layout slightly.
Same applies to the garden, leave it for a year to see how the sun moves around and where the plants do well / not so well so you can work out where you want a patio and the raised beds to enable you to grow plants/vegetables. For a quick refresh, just put a few pots around which can be moved easily to find their final home.
When I last moved, I moved from a large house to a smaller one, It made me declutter and I found it liberating to get rid of loads of unwanted things. The plus point was I gained a driveway and garage so now have off road parking – YAY!
My last place had limited on-road parking and resident permits but it did not reduce the frustrations. I am so glad it was on my wish list, I do use my garage for storage though, but at a push I can put the car in there too…lol….
Hope you settle quickly and feel like you have been there years!
A great post! Look forward to hearing more in a few months.
Thanks SparkleBee!
The only changes I have made so far (to the bathroom) were where things didn’t work properly – the rest I can live with for a while.
And definitely with the garden – there are ‘plants’ in some of the beds which I will wait to see what blooms before doing anything there.
I did a massive declutter before I moved (a post in itself!) but now that I’m here, I can do another one at some point – already changed my mind on some of the things which I thought I needed (or wanted).
Great to hear that you gained a driveway and garage with your move. Limited on-road parking stops random people from parking on your street but doesn’t stop other residents from parking in front of your house – that’s what I wanted to avoid! I will miss the garage so garden storage will have to be the alternative for me. And I have to say, our garage never had space for a car haha!
Hey weenie. Very pleased to read about your new house in more detail. I have never moved house in my life so can’t relate too much to how it would feel moving into a new one. It sounds really good though in terms of location, close to a pub is certainly a win hehe. I hope you’ll soon feel like it truly is your home soon enough, it makes sense it will take a bit of time getting used to thing such as different creeks, road traffic sounds etc.
TFJ
Hi TFJ
This is my first full house move as an adult – I was a child/teenager for previous full moves and as an adult, my other moves were only partial moves where there wasn’t much being moved. I can confirm it’s one of the most stressful things I’ve ever had to go through! Yes, I’m sure it will start feeling like my home soon – I am enjoying pottering around in any case.