Houses for sale

[Kaz]

There’s this house for sale on our estate. Being nosy it’s always intrigued me because there’s always been loads of very unusual vases and pots on the windowsills so I’ve now been able to have a look
It’s been for sale for a while. Most others around here that have come on the market recently have sold within days but that design doesn’t seem to sell very well, there’s not much living space downstairs.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/99444473#/

Nice, but I do get what you mean about the downstairs space. We have huge bedrooms in our house, but the only reception space is our living room - directly under our bedroom, and the exact same size. Fine when it's just us three, but we really could use more when we have visitors.

[Kaz]

That was it, Fry’s!

Kaz, the only perk we have now is Joe bringing biscuits home from work. The wife of someone he works with works at Fox’s in Uttoxeter and he brings packets into work, we now know that Fox’s make Morrison’s own brand biscuits .

Oh yummy, really? Might have to get some on my walk up to Morrison's then

[TheOstrich]

I've mentioned before next door's bungalow was put up for sale, and the price set was a fairly eye-watering (IMHO) £385K. It sold within a week, (despite Andy and I doing our local yokel act on my front lawn), but within a few days it was back up for sale. No, it wasn't us; apparently, the prospective purchasers were a Cornish couple moving up here to be closer to their married daughter. It seems no sooner had they found the property than the daughter and SiL had a huge bust-up culminating with the D walking out and going back to live with her parents in Cornwall!

Anyway, the price was dropped to £375K (still slightly OTT in my view, but there you go). Last week, there was a knock on the door and it turned out to be a lady who started asking what the neighbourhood was like. I was slightly non-committal, partially because it's not all sweetness and light down here (mind you, is it anywhere?), and partially because I was missing an exciting bit in a rerun episode of "The Bill" on Drama Channel.

But chatting with Andy yesterday - his M&D live on the opposite side of the bungalow - it seems she had called on them as well and asked what the neighbours were like, as well as the neighbourhood.

Well, the "Sold" notice has gone up again so I'm guessing it must be her who has put an offer in.

But my question is - when you've bought a house, have you ever gone knocking on people's doors to ask them what the neighbours / neighbourhood is like?
I confess, we never have, and it's not something that I'd particularly feel comfortable doing ....

[Kaz]

No, I wouldn't either. I hope she's not that nosey when she moves in

[Ally]

Many years ago my sis and her then hubby Chris (he's a scientist for unilever and he'd got a posting in Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire) asked us to do a recce round the area one day for a few hours to get a 'feel' for the place and its peeps.

I said to Don, no way was I asking the residents any questions (sis had already googled schools etc for Alastair) but was happy to walk round the area.

What we did report back with 100% assurance was their soon to be local pub sold excellent ale and a smashing lunch.

As it turned out they had many happy years in Sharnbrook, made many friends and we as a family spent loads of weekends going over and staying with them.

In fact, it was from there that we left for our new life in Spain as we stopped with them the last two nights we lived in the UK before we flew from Luton airport.

(Typing this I can't believe this was almost 18 years ago...to say the time has flown would be an understatement!)

Sorry.....went off tangent a little.

[Kaz]

It's a smashing story Al At least you got the priorities right, i.e. the pub and its grub

[TheOstrich]

It's a smashing story Al At least you got the priorities right ......

Absolutely!

[TheOstrich]

Well you couldn't make it up, but Mrs O had a conversation with the tortoise lady's daughter this afternoon as they were loading up a skip on the front drive, clearing out next door's bungalow.

It seems that the nosey woman has not secured the property. Apparently, when she was looking around it, she openly said that she wanted to make sure there were no spirits in the house.
"Gin?" said Mrs O.
"No, the other sort, she was going into each room and sensing the auras," said the daughter

Apparently it passed the aura test, but Paul over-the-road, who is sort of unofficial Neighbourhood Watch, noticed she's been back in the evenings peering through the windows .....
Thankfully, she prevaricated over the price, trying to beat the daughter down further, and someone else who was interested has now come in and offered the asking price.
Mrs O was told that the estate agents have said that the aura lady, who seemed a bit eccentric to put it mildly, will go on their unofficial black-list.

So I think we have had a lucky escape. The new purchaser sounds normal - fingers crossed! She's a single lady coming from Marnhull, which is half-way between here and Stur, and is downsizing a bit as she has too big a garden at her current home.
I hope this one goes through ....

The tortoise, BTW, which is thought to be at least 70 years old, has a new home with the daughter - and a bigger and better enclosure. Sheila had apparently had it since she was 17; she was in her 80's when she passed on. The daughter also told Mrs O they had found her mother's original wedding dress in a box in the loft .....

[Kaz]

I think you - and the tortoise - had a narrow squeak there, Ossie

[JanB]

Our old house, back in England is back on the market again, She's dropped the price, but I still think it's too much for what is basically a 2 bed house.

And I really don't like what she's done to it, decor wise. It's an old cottage, for heavens sake