Just to remind me in the future.....

   The Estate Agent handling our sale, choose to have an open day for our property on the 22nd. Most unusual here but boy did it work. Twenty two appointments on the day and by Monday four offers. Two over the asking price. My ex and I worked really hard to get the place looking good for the day and coming back here on Saturday when everybody was gone I was taken with how lovely the house looked.
   Now that the property has a firm offer and we've accepted it. It's time to find our new homes. Ex and I spent Monday evening looking for possible places for her and daughter no2. She earmarked several and I phoned round on Tuesday to book appointments. There isn't much out there at the moment. So I had a few "sorry it's sold" conversations. One of those calls lead to "but I have something that's come back onto the market after it's previous sale fell through". The property has all the bits my Ex had said she was looking for, so I booked a view.
   I'm looking much further afield. Out on the coast. An old seaside town. Like seaside towns up and down the country it's faded and fallen into disrepair. Cheap foreign holidays with guaranteed sun, killed off most of our holiday resorts. Several of them are fighting back and there's a bit of a buzz surrounding the place, I'm hoping to call home. I've been looking at property there, via the net for the last eight or nine months. To begin with, there were probably a dozen properties that fitted my budget and me. However it seems I'm not the only one who has spotted the potential and there's less left I can afford or excites me. However I found two and made appointments to view.
   The first was a typical family home built in the 1930's. Good size and in good order but I'm not really looking for a family home at the back of town. Property number two however was totally different. At the top of a street with the sea at the bottom. Built around the early 1900's and presently divided up into offices. For most perspective buyers, difficult to imagine as a home and lots of work to do. It's a really ugly duckling and I doubt it will ever be a swan but has the potential to be a rather handsome fat goose.
   I made an offer the next day and following a few more calls and lifting the price a little my offer was accepted. Meanwhile back at the old home, Ex had seen her "back on the market" property. Liked it and we made an offer on that too. Which again with a little haggling was accepted.
   So one sold and two brought in the space of five days. Not bad but now we have to sit on our hands and let the agents and solicitors do their bit so don't expect anymore more news for about six weeks time.
   During the coming weeks I 'm going to have to think about how to help daughters no 1 and 2 get ready for the move. It's been their only home. So leaving it will be tough for them. I lived in a real dump as a kid but was still cut up when we moved out when I was 12. I've had three years to get used to losing my home and know it will be painful for them too.
   Finally and changing the topic completely, my lion is now finished, repaired, resprayed and the perfect fit for a side table I brought a few years ago. He seems to have been made for the table or the table was made for him :-)


Onwards and upwards in the pursuit of fulfilment and happyness :-)