Keeping fingers crossed

We made the decision to move back in February, spent a couple of months tarting up our current house, and put it on the market at the end of May. The housing market is pretty slow at the moment, and in Devizes we are competing with a number of very aggressively marketed new-build estates, so we prepared ourselves for the long haul. During the first three weeks we had an average of one viewer a week, then for the next three weeks nothing at all. Last week, because of school holidays we expected to be very quiet, but much to our surprise and delight we had five viewers over the course of seven days, and even more surprising and delighting, the final family made us an offer. Needless to say, negotiations took place and after 48 hours we were in a position to accept the offer. In the mean time, and quite by coincidence Rog, Oli and I had viewed a house in the village of Market Lavington, five miles south of Devizes, which we all liked, so once our sale was agreed we put in an offer, which again, after some negotiation, was accepted.

So now we are in a selling chain, its quite a short one though, as our buyers have sold to first-timers, and the owners of the one we are buying have already moved out and are living in their new property. Which is why we are now keeping our fingers crossed for all to go well.

The new house has a conservatory on one side, which I am hoping will become my studio, and next to that a small area of garden which I have earmarked as a small vegetable patch.



One of the things I love about our current house is the kitchen, but the kitchen in the new house is almost identical except that it has an external window, through which one can see Salisbury Plain



The thing I least like about our current house is the bathroom, which is quite small and in desparate need of a makeover. The bathroom in the new house, although being currently fairly grey, is very luxurious, with a spa bath and a separate shower.



I know there is still the possibility of things going pear-shaped, but I am cautiously optimistic that we may be moving by the end of September - watch this space.