It's been a while since I've lasted posted, but I had to get all this off my chest.
I should really have been documenting this on a weekly basis over the past few months, but it really has been so stressful, blog posting has been the last thing on my mind.
So, let's start where my last post left off..
I had a couple of offers on the house, but none were close to what I wanted. So I changed agents at put it up with a local agent, Ward and Partners. I managed to negotiate a fixed fee, but still wasn't generating many viewings.
I had a young couple offer £400k but really, I needed to be looking at closer to £425k. things were getting really stressful, I managed to increase my credit card limit, and also stick a 2k overdraft on my personal account.
Just when things were getting really tough and close to breaking point, I got a phone call one Thursday evening from a good friend asking if I wanted a free holiday. This seemed a bit too good to be true, bearing in mind that I didn't really have any money, but her sister had pulled out, last minute. Flights due to depart in 2 days time, as long as I paid the name transfer I could go. So I did, and I have to say, it was a real life saver. A week away in Turkey and it gave me chance to think things over
Relaxed and Focused
So, when I got back from Turkey, I knew exactly what I needed. I needed to sell my house, and move abroad. So I got straight on to my agent and told them that if the couple that offered £400k could up their offer to £410k I'd accept it and we could get the ball rolling. Unfortunately, they'd offered on another property, so that wasn't a possibility.
Now, my property was listed at £425k, advised by my agent. He knew I needed to get above that, but he said it was a sellers market, and that he could push the price up. I didn't agree. We had a few more viewings and I get a few offers for around £400k, so I insisted we increase the price to £450k. He was reluctant, but I was adamant.
We were getting close to October now, this had been 6 months on the market, and I'm starting to worry that it's not going to sell, and then I'm really screwed. But just as I was starting to find a plan B, a lovely retired couple came to view and just loved the place. They offered £425k and after some negotiation, we accepted on £430k. GREAT, I'M READY TO MOVE. The only draw back was that the buyers had to wait for some probate money to come through, but they were confident it wouldn't be too long to wait, and we all hoped we'd be moved by Christmas.
Let's get to Mallorca
So, things are looking up. House is sold, at a price I'm happy with, the exchange rate is at nearly 1.45 Euros to the pound, so my budget seems reasonable. I book my flights for mid November to go out to Mallorca and look at properties.