a very expensive week!

Hello all

Once more, this will be a quick one cos I'm just about to go off to work - this week I'll have chance to do a proper one but last week was crazy busy - and this is why........

Last week on Saturday (ie Saturday before last) - Nick was in Gran Canaria and Lauren, the girls and I decided to go look round a new showhome in Ingleby Barwick. We'd seen the plans a few months back and the house looked lovely but its always hard to tell til you see it "in the flesh" and the showhome on site is the house that we liked the look of in the plans.

So, we looked round - and fell in love!!!! Guess what happened next..... Nick came back from Gran Canaria late on the Saturday evening and on the Sunday, he came with me for a look round - and also loved it. BUT its a lot of money and we went for a chat at the pub and talked ourselves out of buying it..... by Sunday bedtime, we'd talked ourselves back into having a bit more information!!

Monday lunchtime, I called into the showhome to chat to the very nice ladies there. They could do a part exchange on our house for the new house (not quite built yet - just up to the first floor windows!!) which, if we were able to get a good price for ours, would be excellent. Hassle free - we wouldn't have to worry about showing our house, bringing round estate agents and paying estate agents fees AND it would all be done very quickly.

The showhome ladies arranged for our house to be valued so that they could make us a part exchange offer and estate agents arranged to come round last Friday. All last week, mad tidying took place!! I took Friday off to do the final thorough clean and Lauren had been busy all week. Nick had done some serious stuff shifting on the evening and between us all, by Friday lunch, the house looked lovely! I'd also arranged for our own estate agent to come round so that I knew what the actual value of the house would be - just in case they tried to offer us something ridiculous on the part exchange.

Valuation from the builder first - lovely chap but he didn't tell me what he thought the house was worth. Then the independent estate agent - who told me that my house was worth less than I thought cos of the shared access to the drive (and I agree - we would never buy a house with shared access again!!) and also cos the kitchen is now looking a little dated.

That was a bit of a downer and by this time, Lauren had picked Caitlin up from school so the 3 of us decided to go back and look at the showhome again to cheer ourselves up! On the way, my mobile rang but I couldn't answer cos I was driving. I listened to the message outside the showhome and it was someone from Miller (the builder) head office saying she had a part exchange offer for me (literally 1 hour after the estate agent had been!!) and to call into the showhome for details - so I did!!

They offered us £15k more than I'd been told our house was worth!!!!!!!! I'd be no good at poker cos I squealed with excitement and grabbed Lauren's hand then we went and skipped in the showhome where I phoned Nick who said "did you bite their hand off and pay the cheque"?!!!!

Long and short of it is Saturday morning, as soon as the showhome opened, Nick and I were there with a reservation cheque and ID and we filled out the forms and the house is now ours for the taking!!!! We're just finalising details with the bank this week so its not a totally done deal yet but the house is reserved for us and we're starting to plan decor etc etc!! So exciting!! If it all goes ahead, we should be moving in in early July :o)

Anyway, the bit you've been waiting for - what is the house like...... here's the link!

http://www.millerhomes.co.uk/explore/NorthEast/10842/housestyles/4646

Enjoy!!!!!

More details pics and other non-house news later.

Love to all

Nikki xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox