Help calm me, house buying and selling stress. Part 4

Thank you very much Grammaretto

I'm not going to tell the kids until tomorrow, I'm being a coward!

((virtual hugs))
well done! Let's hope this is over now and you can think about where you will move to once this hellish lockdown is over.
[cafe)

Hello everyone, it's finally all over, I have accepted an offer and sold the house .

Completion is delayed but I should be handing over the keys in May, the month my husband died four years ago. I am so glad I can stop worrying about it all and have a fresh start somewhere. I will also be the same age as my husband in April, I need to make up for the time I've lost fretting over all of this.

No champagne in the house, coffee will have to do!

It's not all good news - sometimes you just can't escape destiny, hard as you try, can you

The auction house rang earlier and asked if I'd agree to a six week completion. I queried whether it was because of the pandemic, but he said it was so the buyer could get his mortgage in place. He said he was waiting for the bidder to get back to him with his offer.

I immediately knew who it was, and my heart sank, but as Franbern and others have said, it doesn't matter who it is, so I gritted my teeth.

I explained that I believed it to be someone the EA had introduced, and I would have to pay them commission too, he said he'd check the name when the bidder came back with his offer.

He rang back about an hour later and said they had two separate people offering bids.

One of the original two bidders had upped his bid to £240, and yes, the Christmas interrupting buyer had offered £275 - and had also asked to extend the six weeks to eight for completion. I queried the eight weeks figure and apparently they are being asked this as a lot of solicitors are advising this at the moment.

I did have an internal tussle with myself because I so disliked the way this buyer treated me, but I couldn't turn down the additional £35K. He will lose his £27K deposit if he doesn't complete, and the auctioneer said they would easily sell it again. I hadn't noticed until last night, but the auction page had been shared 75 times on social media.

I will also have to pay the estate agent, they did work so very hard, I am pleased for them too.

So, HUGE thanks to all of you who have supported me through these dark days. I don't know where I would have been without you.

Now I can spend the next few weeks sorting out my possessions at my leisure, and hopefully if lockdown ends in the next month, might be able to sell/give away some furniture.

The greenhouse was not cheap but my wooden mini greenhouse is only light enough on the top shelf and it is polycarbonate so not incredibly light. I suppose the garden is my holidays so I decided to treat myself. It is this one but with plain glass on the side instead of louvres and I had the glass back as an add on. It has a watering system inside
www.garden-products.co.uk/shop/harlow-3-4-mini-greenhouse/
It is 1m wide and 95cm tall at the back

Energy, yes I know where it comes from, the enticing sunlight, aspiration for my garden and last but not least, my food which contains between 7-12 a day. I haven`t even made my bed and need to do some mega tidying having left my tools everywhere.

Ooooh Elliane. Aren’t you talented? Right, you’re in charge of the scones and Victoria sponge cake. We shall have a lovely, tipsy virtual party

I was thinking the same Oopsadaisy
Please post a photo of the finished greenhouse craftyone
I've achieved very little but the weather has been horrid.
DD has begun her move. They are doing it themselves in stages. I think they are excited now.

Scones? Moi.

Good heavens crafty where do you get your energy from?

It makes me positively swooooon to hear of your busy busy days ( southern accent a la Scarlett Ohara )

I feel so lazy in comparison

I only said all that Ellianne because I thought that there should be some reasoning behind me saying to cut the loss. Exactly the same as share trading, take the loss and sit tight for a bit, watching while the price goes lower and then jump in and buy. That gives you more for the money rather than being like a startled hare in the headlights. I do feel hopeful for shandy

I have been so busy today, cycle ride to get a bit puffed, sewn a carrot cage so I could slot canes down channels, all done and erected and best of all the greenhouse back came and after several panics, I slowed down and did one step at a time. I drilled 4 restaints into concrete and put all the glass in and had to square it up again but it worked and I now have a lovely small greenhouse. Just as well because the plugs have been sent and 3 dahlia tubers arrived today.

Tomorrow is plant plug day or relax day

I’m useless at scones, but I’ve spent some time in the garage this afternoon and I found some bottles of Champagne , I can think of no better occasion than Shandy selling her house.
Now I have to find some glasses.
BTW I was tidying the garage, not sulking
I’m assuming I can bring the Bolly?

Ooooooh gram. Prosecco!!!!! Yes please. And all the lovely preserves. Now....who van bake scones?

Beautiful sponge cake Ellianne
I could bring my bottles which need drinking up, before they go off. Prosecco? Gin?

Thanks Whiff, I'd love the recipe. Don't worry at the moment as I wont be able to get jars and the ingredients for a while! I'll remind you later!

I am so reluctant to do any cake baking at present. Love doing this, but then usually gets eaten by 'starving' g.children. If I make anything now, I will need to eat it all!!!
I am sticking to my usual meal times and standard meals. So, porridge with blueberries each morning with extra large mug of tea. Lunch is usually something with eggs, boiled, or poached on baked beans, occasionally treat myself to cheese on toast, or ommelette. Tea is my main meal of the day, usually eaten very early at 5 - 5.30 pm. Yesterday, I managed to get some mushrooms, and made a lovely slow cooker meal with chicken breasts and some mushrooms, etc, Did put in some herbie dumblings - delicious, and I have another dish of it tonight. Then I have salmon in the fridgewhich will go with salad for Friday and Saturday. As I now only have a small under-the-counter freezer, do not have room to freeze meals. Just as good, I used to do that with my very large freezer, and then never bothered to eat them. So, everything in my kitchen is now 'small sized', slow cooker is enough for two meals, soup kettle makes enough for two or three bowls (could not fancy any of those for brekkie though), no main oven, use convector micro wave for that purpose, also have small grill which will take maximum of two things like pork chops.
Today I checked all the parts of my small patio shed, labelled all those items carefully. Am considering getting someone in to put it together later in the year, At present I am painting all sections of it with cream Cuprinol. One panel a day inside and out.
Spent all day indoors, well just went out to garage to unplug scooter from charging, and then had to take down my rubbish for collection tomorrow, and stood on my balcony watching world go by, between doing the painting.
Only Day 3 of this, and it feels like it has been forever already!!!!

I make orange and lemon ones. The way I do it it's easy If you want the recipe I glad post it .

Love homemade marmalade Whiff but I've never made it yet.

I can bake anything except muffins they always come out like cannon balls. My home made chutney's, jams and marmalade have always been a hit. Inventive with pies and pastries. Make any sort of cake. My breads a bit iffy thought. Is that any help? Do love virtual parties no washing up.

Hope we here good news from you Shandy57 soon.

Fascinating your dealings on the stock market crafty, I've read through your post twice. My grandfather was a stockbroker and committed suicide after the stock market crash in 1929. My father was only 10 years old. They lost everything include their home. But as so many have said here you just have to pick yourself up and get on with things. A lot of the time we make our own luck in life.

My niece bought her tiny london flat at the peak of the boom and had to sell at the bottom. Luckily they were still able to afford a house in a country town within an hour commuting distance and that's where they are now with their DC. The school is nice and the community so they are very happy.
They lost money but are still so glad they moved when they did.

Oooooh Ellianne, that looks delish. I can make some cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off, and buy some Mr Kipling French Fancies from Tesco (assuming that the shelves are not bare of course)

I'll make a Victoria Sponge

Always hope.
As long as your dog has 10 minutes change of scenery that should suffice. I'm sure they have no conception of time. Our two used to sit in the car for 12 hours on the Brittany Ferry regularly and just jumped out of the boot as if we had popped them up the road for a drive.
Yes I remember the property crash all those years ago. We were nearly at the top of a chain and had to give the first time buyers a substantial sum for it not to fall apart and lose our sale. Stupidly we had exchanged on the house we were buying first. Young and naïve.

You all seem to be coping wonderfully with all this isolation. I am still at work. I could go home I suppose, still have a day left before I am 'locked out' so all day tomorrow to finish things off, and it's a lovely afternoon - but I think 'what's the point?' I'll only be stuck in the house lol

I think that all our anxiety about your situation, Shandy, is pouring out. We'll all be so relieved when you have a definitive answer.

When you do, we should have a virtual Gransnet tea party. Anyone good at baking? Home made jam? Strawberry preferably. I'm rubbish, but I have some lovely 3 tier cake stands that I bought for the Royal Wedding............

Oh Shandy THERE IS HOPE YET!!!!!

Thank you so much for all the cake and flowers everyone, I am so lucky to have you all here!

I couldn't wait any longer as I felt so anxious tbe bidder might have withdrawn, and have just phoned the auction house again. The auctioneer explained that as bids hadn't reached my reserve, they are contacting all interested parties and inviting them to bid - so I might get a teeny bit more, if I'm lucky. I've been on the internet looking at houses and as you say, there are lots out there in my price range

Off for another country road walk with my dog, spend most of the time teetering on the verge as cars speed by.

Thanks again everyone, you have helped me through a stinker of a day xx