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Finished at last!


TheMitchells

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Well, at last we have finished our renovation and have had an offer that we have accepted.

 

It took longer to get here than we ever thought, over 17months, but I think it was worth it.  After Christmas and our little party, we had the estate agent in who had already sold one of the neighbours houses and before we knew it, the photographer was there and the next day it was online!  we still had a few snags to sort out but we soon had those done, apart from the wooden mantle for the lounge fireplace, which we hadn't found yet. 

 

After a couple of weeks, we had a good offer and so we are now in the hands of the solicitors.  I am hopeful to have it all completed by end of April. Our buyer was in the middle of selling her place to a first time buyer so I am keeping my fingers crossed that there are not too many problems.  We did say we didn't want a chain, prefering a FTB or cash buyer. 

So here are a few of the photographs of our amazing house, together with the origonal shots, if I have them. 

 

finished_kitchen1.thumb.jpg.fee5ec5859e1cc0e9e678a292bfb9d96.jpg  P1090553.JPG.9ef165c4bbacdd7227b108c6bf3d8bec.JPG

 

finished_Kitchen_2.thumb.JPG.c745b35f46b76306cb818f87928f447a.JPGP1090557.JPG.4991dd4cdbb918c25b90c8fdcb06f2ea.JPG

  

 

 

Finshed_kitchen_4.thumb.JPG.9707e05d9b5208b916d9430932b514c2.JPG 

 

The dining room.

 

  IMG_0795.thumb.JPG.df72d9f30fa1629701b7d71d69aa6278.JPGP1090552.JPG.8b4d1170226cbbe92294c68c1486e4af.JPG

P1090550.JPG.2da6c524f9b665c7244a2cd49cc12bab.JPG

 

The lounge.

finished_lounge1.thumb.JPG.f1194b34dc40576274136db7a497f699.JPG  P1090540.JPG.485463c1b2761120243963dc0221b79e.JPG

 

finished_lounge2.thumb.JPG.349a7de139a85924f5e96a4c7ed1cfec.JPG  P1090541.JPG.2f488d079310115dc610d6b80c2d8d27.JPG

 

Our lovely bathroom - Am very pleased with this:D

finished_bathroom1.thumb.JPG.9001676fe2c0f6eee4a29af30b3a7a4b.JPG  finished_bathroom3.thumb.JPG.f5b48d7785c893ef95ee1230c0c4db9d.JPGfinished_bathroom3.thumb.JPG.f5b48d7785c893ef95ee1230c0c4db9d.JPG  P1090919.thumb.JPG.4747d305ed682a4a168478955fc35a38.JPG 

 

The back bedroom.

 

finished_back_bedroom.thumb.JPG.cb9fffdeb525cb04956760388852f9c3.JPG  P1090621.JPG.1311d4c40730cac0a201914c3b3ad987.JPG

 

I am so proud of what we have acheived. it was our first big renovation and we had to take on many challenges that we had not done before.  But apart from the builder (who did the structural work on the side gable wall and removed the wall between the kitchen and dining room) and the plasterers, we did the lot ourselves!  Poor OH has still not recovered, although his knees are much better now that he is no longer crawling round the floor doing plumbing/electrics/boarding etc. 
Whenever I mention another nice place I have seen on Rightmove that needs renovating, he turns a strange colour of pale and goes to lie down.  I think I shall have to wait for a little while before looking too seriously.

 

I hope you have enjoyed sharing this experience/blog with us and maybe have learnt some things on the way; I know I certainly have.  I shall be sad to see the house go - it has always felt a friendly /warm house, even in the middle of winter.  But onwards and upwards!  Maybe we will eventually find a plot and can build our own house or, if not, a renovation for us rather than for profit.   And whatever, I shall make sure there is a blog on Buildhub!  Cheers, The Mitchells.:)

 

 

finished_bathroom2.JPG

P1090556.JPG

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21 Comments


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Nice job indeed...now you have to price hubby's and your work at £20 per hour and work out how much you have made???

Kidding...! Don't do it!

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I was going to ask the same. Have you made enough profit to make it worthwhile.?

 

The results look fantastic.

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Great looking pad, i will read your blog ! Congratulations on getting to the finish line. 

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That's lovely - very well done, indeed.  Brilliant before and after photos, too.

 

Good luck with the sale going through smoothly.

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On 02/03/2018 at 19:27, Onoff said:

Looks good. Did I dream it or has this got a basement?

a cellar the sull size of the house but its not high enough to use properly.  You have to stand with your head between the joists and I cannot remember a single time that the OH went down there and didnt bang his head!  You'd think he would have learnt after a year and half......xD

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Thanks for all the comments - Will let you know whenit all goes through.  The champagne will be out that evening!    I am working out the hours we have spent there to give us an idea of how much per hour we'll have made.  Probably shouldn't, may put us off doing it again!:$

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40 minutes ago, TheMitchells said:

 You have to stand with your head between the joists and I cannot remember a single time that the OH went down there and didnt bang his head!  You'd think he would have learnt after a year and half......xD

 

It's up there with remembering to put the loo seat down I guess ;):ph34r:

 

 

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Sadly no - it is happily living in Derbyshire, as far as we know.  And re the loo - the OH and I came to an agreement years ago that we both put the seat down so no arguments and as @JSHarris always says, it is healthier too! 

We have had a bit of a hiccup this week.  Our solicitor sent draft contracts on 20th Feb yet had heard nothing back, then we were asked if the Mortgge valuer could come round on Tuesday and we learnt that the solicitors were not doing anything till the mortgage offer had come through - which of course was waiting for the valuer to do their thing!  Why it has taken a month  to get sorted, I dont know.  I was not happy and was even less happy when the valuer said she found a bow and crack in the cellar wall.  So they then wanted a full structural surveyor to assess the situation.  Luckily he arrived yesterday which was very quick.  He didnt seem too concerned re the wall and was quite complimentary about our renovation, which was nice.  It is possible that the bow occurred when the drain alongside the alley wall was leaking a few years ago.  Anglian water lined the drain, which can be seen when looking in the inspection chamber.  But we may have to get some sort of paperwork to confirm this.  It is an old house and there certainly has not been any movement in the wall since we bought it so we are hopeful that this will not cause too much of a delay.  Fingers crossed!¬¬

 

I know the cellar has been much drier since we added a second airbrick in that corner and we also make sure the water butt is emptied regularly as there is nowhere for the water to go when it overflows - just straight into the damp corner of the cellar.

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3 hours ago, TheMitchells said:

And re the loo - the OH and I came to an agreement years ago that we both put the seat down

 

Ha ha, I had to 'train' mine but it was mostly successful ;)

 

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On 16/03/2018 at 16:29, TheMitchells said:

 And re the loo - the OH and I came to an agreement years ago that we both put the seat down so no arguments and as @JSHarris always says, it is healthier too! 

 

 

Sorry - should clarify - we both put seat and lid down!  :D

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Well, after the report from the valuer, they got in a structural surveyor who had a look and while he was quite positive to the OH, it seems he has recommended £5k worth of work to be done to the house, so the mortgage company will not give a mortgage and the buyer has withdrawn from the sale!  >:(  We are trying to get hold of his report so we know what work he is suggsting but no luck yet.  The estate agent has put the house back on the market and already has a viewing on Saturday but its such a pain!  

We are now thinking about renting it out instead but will give it a few weeks and then if no luck with a sale, we may rent.  :(

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For all it's failings, at least the Scottish system of having a home report before you put a house on the market, you as the seller know up front exactly the condition of the property and any work that is needed.

 

I hate the English system "I paid for the survey so you can't see what it says" attitude, and the next buyer will pay for another survey........

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Better late than never - a final post for this blog.  the house eventually sold on 1st June - two years minus two days since we bought it.  the buyer is very happy and so are we. 

we have had some time away from renovating but new plans are taking shape - not quite what I expected but it will do for now.  tell you more soon!

?

  • Like 3
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