Was feeling a bit distracted and stressed with the whole house buying thing, wondering if it was all too soon, if we had bitten off more than we can chew. Perhaps we should have just bought the new build house - no need to worry about having to redo the kitchen/carpets/bathrooms, etc. No need to worry about whether or not the house is going to be warm enough in the winter, or if the boiler is going to break down. No need to worry if we could afford the refurbishments, or if we had bought a money pit.
I was driving myself crazy with all my fears, so I decided to go out for some air. I did what any control freak would do - I went on a fact finding mission. And my mission took me to The Bath Shop.
Back in Exeter, I had always seen The Bath Shop at the corner of the road that takes us to river side and have been curious about it, but never thought it would be relevant to me. After all, when would I have the need to shop for basins and taps and baths and WCs? I always figured that if we ever bought a house in the UK, it would be one that was already well-equipped. Well, things change.
I walked into The Bath Shop in Norwich, and had an epiphany of sorts while being surrounded by said basins, taps, baths, WCs and showers. It then dawned on me how I could start enjoying this whole 'buying an old house' experience instead of worrying about it. We get to choose what we want for the house and it can be affordable!
In other words, NO MORE double taps to begin with - mixer taps all the way. For the life of me I will never understand the logic of having separate hot water and cold water taps at a bathroom sink - you either freeze or scald yourself as you do your daily ablutions! Perhaps it stems from the days when people used to mix the water in the sink and use the water, but even the new houses still have them! Also, NO MORE carpets in the loo, which is something else I cannot understand!
Anyway, I walked home feeling marginally better. I still think we are a bit crazy to do this, but it's going to be a lot of fun hopefully!
Wednesday, 30 September 2009
Tuesday, 29 September 2009
Reality Check #1: Energy Efficiency
Just got the HIP (House Information Pack) for the house today. Must say I'm not too pleased with the Energy Efficient Rating, which is an E. Should have guessed as much, seeing that it is an old house. The good news is that there are things we can do to bring it up to a C Rating; the not so good news is that it's going to cost money to do that. Cavity insulation, room thermostat, cylinder thermostat - need to find a good heating engineer. The only thing I can safely say we have no probs doing is the energy efficient lighting - we hv loads of energy saving bulbs!
The ultimate of course would be to change the entire boiler, but that's going to cost a pretty penny. Will have to see if we have enough budget for it. It's kind of scary to think of the costs that are coming up with this house - I just hope we're ready for it. The only consolation I have on that front is that we are buying it cheap.
Buying a house in the UK is such a learning experience though. In Malaysia you never had to deal with heating and insulation, energy effiency (though we probably should, with all the aircond use!). I think perhaps that's why I'm feeling nervous - it's venturing into unchartered territories for us. That and the fact that we are spending our ringgit in pounds, which doesn't go as far as it might back in Msia!
Spoke with Emma our mortgage broker and Debbie the vendor's agent today - vendors are pushing us to change lawyers so that they can get a quick deal. I was right in my first guest - this house is actually being sold by 3 people, which means it's a probate case. They want to dispose of it ASAP so that they can get the money. Well, I think as long as we are within the stipulated timeframe, we shouldn't be rushed through this.
The ultimate of course would be to change the entire boiler, but that's going to cost a pretty penny. Will have to see if we have enough budget for it. It's kind of scary to think of the costs that are coming up with this house - I just hope we're ready for it. The only consolation I have on that front is that we are buying it cheap.
Buying a house in the UK is such a learning experience though. In Malaysia you never had to deal with heating and insulation, energy effiency (though we probably should, with all the aircond use!). I think perhaps that's why I'm feeling nervous - it's venturing into unchartered territories for us. That and the fact that we are spending our ringgit in pounds, which doesn't go as far as it might back in Msia!
Spoke with Emma our mortgage broker and Debbie the vendor's agent today - vendors are pushing us to change lawyers so that they can get a quick deal. I was right in my first guest - this house is actually being sold by 3 people, which means it's a probate case. They want to dispose of it ASAP so that they can get the money. Well, I think as long as we are within the stipulated timeframe, we shouldn't be rushed through this.
Monday, 28 September 2009
The story so far
I started this blog on Saturday thinking that I should chronicle our search for a house to buy, as a form of stress relief. But today is a momentous day - our offer for a house was accepted!!! Yeah!!! Aarrgh!!
The story so far - we've been looking for a house to buy in the past month - in fact it's not even been a month! We were thinking we should buy since property prices are still down, interest rates are still relatively low, plus we're tired of burning money in rent. So I've been scanning the property websites and met up with a couple of mortgage brokers (and learnt lots in the process) and did some viewings. We thought we would be taking our time - after all, the bulk of what would make our deposit is still in Malaysia!
We had originally limited ourselves to new builds. We are so used to living in new houses and also felt we didn't have the budget, know-how or courage to deal with the DIY for an old property. Plus we were concerned about the heating aspect - I love the old Victorians (done up properly they are gorgeous) but they are a murder to heat, which would mean more money in energy bills and the prospect of draughty winters wasn't appealing.
Then this house came along. The viewing was scheduled as an afterthought, really. We had actually viewed a new build house (3 years old) on Thursday and was seriously considering it as it seemed to have everything right - 3 plus 1 rooms, 2 bathrooms, detached, new property, minimal work, etc. Only thing was the area - though it was fairly close to the uni, it was in an area which I wasn't too familiar with.
So, still mulling the possibility of making an offer for No 90 (the new build), we showed up on Saturday morning to look at No 88 (yeah cool number, hey!) not expecting much. But we fell in love with it, even though it was:
1) an old house (built in the 1950s)
2) needed a lot of work (animal print motif carpets - I kid you not!, old wallpaper, cramped kitchen, only 1 bathroom which is ancient)
But it was:
1) pretty
2) has a lovely south-facing back garden, a plus for British homeowners as it means maximum sun
3) the back overlooks allotments and not other homes
4) is on a lovely tree-lined road
5) 15 mins walk to the Nicky's office at the uni
6) 11 mins walk to the Catholic Junior school should we decide to move Ian there
7) close to shops, and buses to the city
8) has charm and character
9) has nice big rooms
10) we could definitely afford it
11) is on a very low council tax band (kind of like MPPJ/quit rent/assessment payment) because it's an ex-council house, which means more savings
12) have I said pretty and charming?
Check it out: http://www.watsons-ea.co.uk/properties/buying/property/80526825/?min_price=150000&max_price=175000&min_bedrooms=3&area=norwich&extra_search=&town_search=&x=77&y=19
Anyway, the catch was, we weren't the only ones who love it. There were already 3 offers on the table, or so we were told. And they were doing a private bid, which meant we all had to submit a written bid that was to be opened on Monday 12 noon.
So we debated and agonised over it. How much should we bid for? The asking price was GBP159,950. Emma our mortgage broker recommended we not go too high, between GBP160K and GBP163K as we were in a very good position with no chain (ie no property to sell in order to buy this one), had a decent deposit, and already had a mortgage agreement in principle. Irene suggested GBP162K (nice 'ong' number), BC Ho suggested GBP168K (even more 'ong').
We agonised over whether we would be able to cope with the amount and cost of refurbishment needed to make it live-able by our standards - at least 2 new bathrooms, decent size kitchen, new flooring. Doing renovations here in the UK is very different from Msia - most people DIY cos it's too expensive to get in a contractor to do everything, like in Msia. So we turned to the Hos, who had plenty of experience and advice having gone through all this with their new home in Cambridge. They assured us that it's not as scary or as expensive or difficult as we think.
We finally put in a bid for GPB162K. And got accepted!
Now we have to get the necessary finances together (and pray the pound doesn't strengthen in the next week or so!), hope that we don't find anything nasty in the homebuyer's survey, and pray that nothing scuppers the deal - in the UK the sale is not a done deal until the contracts (ie S &P) are exchanged and in the meantime either party can change their minds about the sale.
But yeah, after a 3 year virtually debt-free 'holiday' we will be homeowners again with a mortgage. It's both exciting and terrifying.
The story so far - we've been looking for a house to buy in the past month - in fact it's not even been a month! We were thinking we should buy since property prices are still down, interest rates are still relatively low, plus we're tired of burning money in rent. So I've been scanning the property websites and met up with a couple of mortgage brokers (and learnt lots in the process) and did some viewings. We thought we would be taking our time - after all, the bulk of what would make our deposit is still in Malaysia!
We had originally limited ourselves to new builds. We are so used to living in new houses and also felt we didn't have the budget, know-how or courage to deal with the DIY for an old property. Plus we were concerned about the heating aspect - I love the old Victorians (done up properly they are gorgeous) but they are a murder to heat, which would mean more money in energy bills and the prospect of draughty winters wasn't appealing.
Then this house came along. The viewing was scheduled as an afterthought, really. We had actually viewed a new build house (3 years old) on Thursday and was seriously considering it as it seemed to have everything right - 3 plus 1 rooms, 2 bathrooms, detached, new property, minimal work, etc. Only thing was the area - though it was fairly close to the uni, it was in an area which I wasn't too familiar with.
So, still mulling the possibility of making an offer for No 90 (the new build), we showed up on Saturday morning to look at No 88 (yeah cool number, hey!) not expecting much. But we fell in love with it, even though it was:
1) an old house (built in the 1950s)
2) needed a lot of work (animal print motif carpets - I kid you not!, old wallpaper, cramped kitchen, only 1 bathroom which is ancient)
But it was:
1) pretty
2) has a lovely south-facing back garden, a plus for British homeowners as it means maximum sun
3) the back overlooks allotments and not other homes
4) is on a lovely tree-lined road
5) 15 mins walk to the Nicky's office at the uni
6) 11 mins walk to the Catholic Junior school should we decide to move Ian there
7) close to shops, and buses to the city
8) has charm and character
9) has nice big rooms
10) we could definitely afford it
11) is on a very low council tax band (kind of like MPPJ/quit rent/assessment payment) because it's an ex-council house, which means more savings
12) have I said pretty and charming?
Check it out: http://www.watsons-ea.co.uk/properties/buying/property/80526825/?min_price=150000&max_price=175000&min_bedrooms=3&area=norwich&extra_search=&town_search=&x=77&y=19
Anyway, the catch was, we weren't the only ones who love it. There were already 3 offers on the table, or so we were told. And they were doing a private bid, which meant we all had to submit a written bid that was to be opened on Monday 12 noon.
So we debated and agonised over it. How much should we bid for? The asking price was GBP159,950. Emma our mortgage broker recommended we not go too high, between GBP160K and GBP163K as we were in a very good position with no chain (ie no property to sell in order to buy this one), had a decent deposit, and already had a mortgage agreement in principle. Irene suggested GBP162K (nice 'ong' number), BC Ho suggested GBP168K (even more 'ong').
We agonised over whether we would be able to cope with the amount and cost of refurbishment needed to make it live-able by our standards - at least 2 new bathrooms, decent size kitchen, new flooring. Doing renovations here in the UK is very different from Msia - most people DIY cos it's too expensive to get in a contractor to do everything, like in Msia. So we turned to the Hos, who had plenty of experience and advice having gone through all this with their new home in Cambridge. They assured us that it's not as scary or as expensive or difficult as we think.
We finally put in a bid for GPB162K. And got accepted!
Now we have to get the necessary finances together (and pray the pound doesn't strengthen in the next week or so!), hope that we don't find anything nasty in the homebuyer's survey, and pray that nothing scuppers the deal - in the UK the sale is not a done deal until the contracts (ie S &P) are exchanged and in the meantime either party can change their minds about the sale.
But yeah, after a 3 year virtually debt-free 'holiday' we will be homeowners again with a mortgage. It's both exciting and terrifying.
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