Quotes

We went back to the house on Christmas Eve to meet a plumber and an electrician. I was really nervous about going back as this time we were 100% committed but thankfully, I loved the place just as much. Both Adam (plumber) and Lee (electrician) turned up on time and spent around 45 miniutes going round the house asking questions. I liked both of them so it will be interesting to see the quotes.

Hillary spent most of the time looking after David. I kept checking she was okay but she seemed to be really enjoying it. Jonie still looked a bit upset and I felt guilty when she overheard me talking about extending the kitechen and ripping out the fittings. It's been her home for 50 years so it must be hard for her to see strangers walking around her house and discussing how they are going to change everything.

The deed is done

I got the call form the solicitor at around 10.30am on Friday. The sellers solicitor was ready to exchange and she just needed bothour confirmatin to go ahead with the sale. A few minutes later and that was that. We're committed and the house is virtually ours.

I danced around the kitchen with David and gave him some white chocolate buttons to celebrate. It's such a relief. We can now really start to enjoy Christmas.

The times are a changing

Matt went to bed last night and instead of reading Camper Van or Esquire, he read the Screwfix catalogue. Oh dear.

Still no exchange

The contract is signed and the deposit is with the solicitor but still no exchange. We busted a gut to get everything ready in time and, what a surprise, we're waiting for the seller to sort out a few things with the management company of the sheltered house they are buying. Typical. The waiting is agony.

I'm thinking about it almost evey minute of the day. I'll be gutted if we loose this house and there is absolutely nothing we can do about it at the moment. As soon as we exchange the seller is legally bound to complete or faces a 10% penalty but there is nothing to stop her pulling out at the moment.

Despite the worry I am pretty confident everything will be fine. It's a genuine sale and they chose us for more than just financial reasons. Sally, the estate agent, called me today to reassure me that everything was fine and it was just a few contract issues with the management company. Roll on tomorrow.

Cat on a hot tin roof

Nerves got the better of Matt a few days ago. The pressure of getting the money ready in time started to get to him. Hot sweats, panic attacks, flustered phone calls to me from the office. I'm panicking as well but I have a baby to think about and I have to stay calm. There's no way I want any stress hormones entering its bloodstream if I can help it.

We spent the evening sorting through our finances and checking online accounts and finally went to bed with a plan of action. We both lay there in silence, trying to get to sleeep, each knowing the other one was wide awake but not wanting to talk about the money question out loud. It will be fine, it has to be.

The deed is done

I sent off the signed contracts today - registered delivery. There really is no going back now. I've had the heebeejeebies for the past week. The initial excitement of seeing the property has waned and since then it's all been about the money - lots of money. Even though we haven't overstretched ourselves, it still means that financially we are now in a very different position.

I really hope we are doing the right thing. The house is almost perfect but we are buying in a very unpredictable financial climate. Property prices could plummet next year and we could lose out. However, this is our family home for at least the next ten years so this is what I need to focus on. It's not about making a profit this time.

What a lovely man

Elaine recommended a sparky, Jonathan, and I gave him a call today - first impressions were very good. He was driving when I called and said he'd phone back in half an hour. Yeah right, I thought. I was surprised when he actually did call me back and we proceeded to have a lengthly conversation about the job in question.

It turns out he is in the process of doing up his own 1930s property and bought it a few months after his second child was born so we immediately had something in common. He said the fact that we could rent before moving in was a great advantage. In my limited experience it is really crucial to bond with tradespeople as soon as possible and the fact he has a young family and is doing up his own house was a good sign.

He gave me a ballpark figure of £3.5k for a complete rewire of a three bedroom semi. Extras such as installing a burglar alarm and smoke detectors would increase the price. Either he or one of his team of four is available in Jan and the job will take around 3 weeks to do. Matt and I just need to work out exactly what we want doing and email him our plan so he can give us a better quote. How many plug sockets do we need in the living room? We've got a lot of thinking to do.

Sparky recommended a plumber and a plaster, both of whom are working on his house, so I'll give them a try and see what happens. So far, so good.

Great timing

It's taken eleven months and 30 viewings to find the perfect family house. To some people this might seem a bit extreme but I knew exactly what I wanted and nothing came close until last week. If all goes to plan we will be completing at the beginning of January, just before baby number two is due. Great timing. What the hell, I might as well add another bit of chaos to the mix.