And Now For Something Completely Different

I had high hopes when I started my blog last summer "An American in Twyford", but life got in the way, and now life is about to change dramatically again.

Our original plan when moving from the US was to rent in Twyford, Berkshire for about 5 years while I worked in London. But as of mid-February, I was no longer employed. We talked about me finding other work, and all of our friends jumped in to offer help with contacts, CV and possibly setting up a business so I could do contract work. Most of the listings I found had much lower salary ranges, and with almost half my take home pay going to rent, that wasn't an option. 

So, we decided we'd go ahead and buy something now, for cash. We've loved living in Twyford, but without a London salary, we couldn't justify London-commutable prices, so we started looking further out. Although we would have loved to stay close to our friends down South, money goes MUCH further up North. 

We both love character homes, and so we started searching, mainly in the midlands, around Birmingham,  Derby(DAR-bee) and Leicester(LES-ter). I found a really nice Victorian semi-detached in Burton-on-Trent (AKA Burton Upon Trent). We set up a handful of viewings, spend a weekend in the area, and by the following Monday, we'd made an offer that was accepted.
Ian and I have both owned may houses, but neither of us had even bought a house in England (Ian had owned two in Scotland, where the process is very different).

We naively gave our landlady 2 months notice, contacted our financial advisor that we need to pull money from our investment accounts, and started getting ready for the move.
The only step for us to arrange was having a survey completed on the property (similar to a home inspection in the US). I got that scheduled for the last week of February. 
We did know that in England, a home purchase includes "Searches" and can take months, but we assumed that because we didn't have a house to sell and were paying cash, things would move quickly. 

We spoke to the surveyor the day after he conducted the survey, and he went over the main points: work that we should do in the next few years, work we might want to do, suggestions for keeping the basement dry, etc. We had two options: a basic survey or a more comprehensive one, which we chose so we had a clear picture of what we were buying since the house is over 100 years old. 
There was nothing alarming in his findings, and no reason for us to change the offer, so I contacted the seller's estate agent to let her know and asked how things were progressing. She didn't know. So I called our solicitor, and was told that nothing had been started as they were waiting for the sellers to provide the required paperwork before searches could be ordered. The searches typically take 10-12 weeks, and it had already been four weeks since our offer was accepted.

One of things I am so thankful for is how well Ian and I deal with these sorts of "hiccups". We talked over our options and agreed that I'd contact the estate agent and let her know that we needed to know the timeline, and if the sellers didn't provide the paperwork by the following week, we would rescind our offer. We'd be sad to lose the house, but were looking at huge expense to find a new place to rent, move, possibly renting storage for our belongings and still not knowing if the house sale would progress. The added complication is "gazumping". In England, there is no binding contract on a house sale until everything is done. That means you could spend months in the process and either party can pull out with no penalty. Usually it's the sellers cancelling for a higher offer. Needless to say, the sooner things are moving along and completed, the better.

While we waited to hear back, we went ahead and scheduled more viewings. We ended up heading to Derby for the day to see one house we were very excited about. Another late victorian (late 1800's-early 1900's), which looked very nice in the photos, had plenty of reception rooms (ie, living, dining, sitting, etc), and a garage.
Though it did have some nice original details, the work the owner had done was disappointing. He had replaced doors and trim, but didn't install door stop, there were globs of caulking around the trim, and he'd put exterior varnish on the original wood floors (most experts recommend cleaning and waxing, avoiding any non-breathable finishes.)

Wool carpeting is really common over here, as are clothes moths. Considering how much I have invested in knitting wool and high end natural fibre fabrics and clothing, I'm very concerned about having wool carpeting in any house we buy. The seller seemed annoyed when I asked if the carpeting was wool. In fact, he seemed annoyed at many of our questions. 

The kitchen layout was very odd, with little worktop space. The worktops that were there were highly varnished old wood.  He had a very expensive range which was not included in the sale, but what he described as an "almost useless" built-in vent. "I just open an window."

The laundry room (which he built) was tiny--dryer was precariously perched on the counter at an odd angle between the sink and wall-mounted boiler.

The garage was disintegrating, and the "workshop" had a bare floor and markings for the underpinning that it apparently needs. The garden (being generous here) was filled with his pandemic projects of pallet furniture and scaffolding board privacy screens.

In the one area that did look like a garden, half the plants were dead.

Needless to say, we did not make an offer.

Later that same week, he had a handful of viewings, some for short term rentals, others for homes to purchase. It was a whirlwind, taking us from Chesterfield, to Derby and back to Burton. In the end, we found a great 6-month rental in a vicarage (though not a cool old one, it will accommodate us and all our belongings).

Everywhere we went, people were friendly and helpful. We had an amazing Indian dinner at Rivaj in Burton, and saw a couple very cool houses. The highlight was a house in a very small village, across from a pub with a separate characterful stone "cottage".

One that I was very excited to see was just up on the road from the very first house. The photos showed some amazing period details, large rooms and a great layout. 
What we saw when we viewed it in person was ceilings that were on their way to failing (lathe and plaster can only hold on for so long), and one that had been covered with wallboard (aka drywall), but the seams hadn't been taped/mudded, so every one was visible. The "usable" cellar was dank, dark and damp. Definitely not useable for much. It was also listed for 50k more than the first house, and 80K more than our accepted offer. We told the agent our concerns, and I noticed the asking price has now dropped by 25K. 

We were supposed to view the other side of the same property (semi-detached) the next day, and got there about an hour before the viewing. The street was quiet and calm when we viewed the first house, but we arrived just as school got out, and found complete chaos. The street was already crowded with residents parking on either side, but now it was also filled with parents picking up their children. 

Although the first house is on a very busy road, it was still our favourite, and every house we viewed confirmed that.

Thankfully, we heard back from the estate agent and our solicitor that weekend and things are now progressing. We *should* hear back about the searches in about four weeks. 
We'll be moving to the vicarage in Chesterfield at the end of the month, and hopefully not long after we'll be moving to Burton and WE WILL NEVER MOVE AGAIN. 

What's so special about that first house? 

It has character, outside and inside. It's a late Victorian, built between 1891 and 1901, in the Tudor Revival style. It appears to have been well-maintained, confirmed by the surveyor.
Most of the house has high ceilings--over 10' on the ground and first floors. 
The improvements have been well done (though I think the kitchen may be too fancy for us). 

There's a paved area by the house with room to pull off the road and turn around. (It is illegal to back onto a main road over here) Parking for about six cars.

The garden is HUGE. (about .75/acre) We'll be able to build a garage, have fruit trees, a veggie patch, and small ponds. I have big plans for all that space.

The layout works perfectly for my sewing business, guests, entertaining, and for me, Ian and Jacob to have more privacy.

I also have plans for decorating and renovations, but more about that later.

For now, we are packing. AGAIN. At least this time we won't wait months to get our stuff, and the move is on the same landmass.

Watch this space!

Jules