I haven’t talked about our Project House for awhile. I had a very different post in mind, to be honest. One where I would announce we had finally bought a house and were going to move after summer!
We’ve been looking for a house in London for nearly a year now, have bid on numerous properties and have even had three offers accepted, but something always happens and the transaction falls through…
In March this year we decided to complete the sale of our previous two-bed flat to be chain-free and ready to transact as soon as we would manage to secure a house. For the interim we rented a beautiful and spacious flat in a new build in Islington, one of our favourite boroughs in London. Ironically, two days after we had moved, we had an offer accepted on a house we both liked. This was also just a few days after we found out about the pregnancy so we really had an exciting week!
We were expecting to exchange last Friday, but sadly, we again (!!) lost the house to a last minute higher offer. The housing market in London is ridiculous – demand is so high and prices inflated. Brexit concerns have not yet changed this picture – for 3-4 bedroom family houses at least. Moreover, the transaction process is very slow and bureaucratic, and also very uncertain as neither side is legally bound until the exchange, which often happens only 2-3 months after an offer has been accepted.
The feeling of shock and disappointment was initially quite overwhelming. All the work and money we had already spent not to mention the emotional investment in it… For weeks I was trying not to get excited but the closer we got the more real it had started to feel. I had already decorated the nursery in my head!
We felt robbed.
And then I decided to get a grip. We are so fortunate in so many ways! Just being in a position where buying our own family home in London is achievable is just amazing. Our hard work is finally starting to pay off. We will make it happen, it’s just a matter of time (and patience)!
And to be fair, the status quo could be worse. We have plenty of space in our temporary home. We have just one bedroom but the baby would sleep with us anyway during the first months. It’s much more important that we are all well and the pregnancy is going well 🙂 When I was born we lived in a studio with my mum and dad. Even if I could remember anything about it (I can’t), I honestly don’t believe Baby-Sini had cared!
So upwards and onwards!
This weekend we are away in Newcastle, but we are lining up viewings for the following weekend. Back to the drawing board!
Below a picture from our current home 🙂
xoxoxo,
Sini