Dead END

Well, what I thought was the case has been confirmed, they have pulled the property from the market

Here I am, ready, willing and able to take it off their hands, having provided the deposit almost 6 months ago, now without a project to work on. I have incurred costs, missed other possible opportunities and generally got annoyed with the whole process. I have no idea how the vendors can pull out at such a late stage having forced the buyer to incur the costs (not to mention a 6 month wait) and not be obliged to pay compensation of some kind – ridiculous.

Well people, the ‘current project’ has now died, but hopefully the blog has not completely run out of steam. Plans are afoot to focus more on the furniture renovation and repurposing side of things in the coming months…..watch this space!

Royaly P*ssed off!

Just wanted to share my utter disappointment with this whole process. I am still no closer to getting the keys to my house and have no way of pushing forward with this whole thing. I have heard so much of people who have struggled through the renovation process as a result of them underestimating the extent of the work that needs to be done, but never was I prepared to be as frustrated as I am now with the simple process of getting the damn keys.

I have a room at my parents house packed with equipment, tools and other random stuff just waiting to be transferred to my new abode – getting on their nerves, messing up the place and generally out staying my welcome (again). I stick it out and I lose even more time, I call it quits and I lose solicitors fees, survey costs etc. Just what is a boy to do?…

JUST SIGN AND GIVE ME THE KEYS DAMN IT!!!

…keys? NOPE

Back from the heat, still no keys….great

Getting away from it all…

Well, the hope, the dream, the naive expectation that I would have the house before going on holidays this summer has all come to the crushing realisation that the vendors are about as useful as chocolate teapots.

You guessed it, no keys…STILL!

So, without ever even opening the door or stripping a wall, I feel I need to get away from it all and de-stress – so am going to Turkey for a week.

I’m bound to have the keys when I come back though right?…..I hate the optimist in me

Am I about to Sin?

Bored now, and by ‘bored’ I mean PROPER bored with the fact they still haven’t been able to sort these papers out and get the keys to me. I am leaving on holidays in a week’s time and took an extra week off work to have time to get started with the house. Doesn’t look like this blog will get off the ground with any real bits of in-house news for a few weeks yet – bastards (excuse the French!)

But, in all the excitement I have got caught up in and the expectation that everything will soon be running smoothly, I may be on the verge of committing a house renovation sin: buying things for the house before you even have the keys and/or any clear idea of what you are going to do with it!

Now before anyone shouts “Elliot you fool, don’t do it, you will only get yourself in to trouble, over-spend spiral into depression over the mounting debt and end up a shoe shiner under London Bridge” (maybe a tad melodramatic but there are those types out there), there is some reasoning and possibly some big money savings to be made here. Let me explain:

• This project will not be a rush job and is a bit of a hobby
• I have no specific deadlines for work completion
• I will not be living much in the house during the renovation time
• I have a fundamental idea of the style of fixtures and fittings I would like to put into the house

Now I am not talking about buying furniture and stuff like that, more light fittings, sockets, switches, general hardware that at some time or another, I will get around to fitting. This ‘cunning plan’ consists of keeping my eyes peeled and bulk buying in Summer and Winter sales. I can stockpile the stuff in one of the rooms in the house and surely, as long as I keep a close eye on inventory and keep track of what I need, I could be in to save loads…..aren’t I?

I never seem to see people on the TV renovation shows talking about this as a way to keep costs in check. Am I being too naive thinking this could save me hundreds, if not a couple of thousand on a project?

Home Improvement Show – I’m There!

Just saw that the Home Improvement Show is on in London’s Earls Court in October, I am there!

I will most likely be a bit like a kid in a sweet shop wandering from stall to stall and not knowing what to spend my money on (yes Mam, I will try and keep the spend to a minimum) but just thinking of all the bits and bobs and new ideas, new materials.

There is a special section dedicated to renewable energy too and am particularly interested in that bit so will make sure I have a proper wander and try and report back some ideas and cool gadgets/techniques that I stumble across.

Look me up if you too will be there!

Ceiling issues – DIY Doctor has the answer!

Not content with sitting around and just waiting for the exchange of contracts, I have started looking around for solutions to issues I know I will be up against when the project kicks off. One of the bigger, semi-structural jobs that will need to be done is sorting the old lath and plaster ceilings. My brother owns a house on the same road and decided to completely rip out all the upstairs ceilings. I have seen a few pictures of this and really don’t relish the idea as it looks like one hell of a dirty job, plus I don’t really have the time to run back and forth to the tip to get rid of the bits that come crashing down.

Convinced there was a better and cleaner way, I set about my research. Reading a number of DIY forums I got wind of the process of over boarding. A clean, cost-efficient way of covering those cracked ceilings without the need completely tear the house down. Not content with just taking ‘any olde Jack’s’ word for it, I popped along to our friends at DIY Doctor and asked them the question outright – they agree and recommend I overboard. Result! In terms of making a decision that is. I still have to mark out the joists, cut the boards to size, lift up the boards and screw at the same time, have the ceilings plastered and then re-wire the lights….oh and the small matter of GETTING THE BLOODY KEYS!!

But hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Administration – gotta love it!

Why oh why is it so hard for the seller, who’s house has been on the market for 18 months, to get their damn paper work sorted? My cash is now sitting in an escrow account, doing nothing for anyone and I still don’t have the keys!

I hope getting the keys is the hardest part of this project……..have the sneaking suspicion however that this is barely the beginning

Tiny House

OK, so people reading this will know that I do have an infatuation with re-purposing shipping containers, right? As part of my research (that thing other people simply call “surfing the Internet” at work), I found this GREAT website that looks at different aspects and ideas for living in smaller, greener spaces.

The blog is called Tiny House Blog and I absolutely love it. There are so many ideas in there from across the globe for space saving, new materials, pre-fab houses, green living and has a great gallery section that lets the reader visualise the ideas. There are projects in there that focus on the conversion of shipping containers and I particularly love the ecopod. What looks to be a brilliantly designed and very secure outside space.

So what bit of land should I buy to pop one of these on….

Reclamation Yard – Really?

Well, I thought I was being clever and had found a great little reclamation yard not far from where I live in London, but then realised “what the hell do reclamation yards reclaim that I am going to need for this renovation project?”. The truth is, the job I have to do is pretty cosmetic (although many parts are SERIOUSLY cosmetic) and I’m not really going to replace fires, fire surround, wooden beams, ornate chimneys etc. I have bought a 1930’s Semi in relatively decent condition at a knock down price.

OK, maybe being a bit harsh and yes, I probably will need a number of 1930’s doors (hoping they will fit and not be too much of a pain to hang) but I can honestly say, and this does pain me, that most of the work will be relatively standard. This isn’t because I am lazy or that I bought a perfect house, but because (I am now reminding myself of this fact) this is my FIRST renovation project and I wanted to ease myself into it, not go balls out!

This realisation should help me put plans into perspective.

• Buy house – check (well, almost, if they would get their finger out and organise for exchange)
• Invest as little as possible whilst making a stand-out property for the area
• Sell at a decent profit that will help me get my next property that will most likely be more complex and taxing.

Simple, 3 step strategy…..might just go have a look at that reclamation yard anyway, I never seem to know what stuff I don’t need, especially when it seems like a bargain at the time …..