You Snooze, You Lose
I’m so mad at myself today.
I’m trying to be mature, but I could quite happily bang my head into a wall in frustration.
Clare and I are looking to get a house. The issue is complicated by Clare needing to be close to the train station and our differences of taste and preferences in houses. We’re pretty much diametrically opposed.
Clare prefers two-up, two-down terraces, to which I’ve long had prejudice and would refuse to buy.
On the other hand, I have tastes which I think follow most people’s: You ideally want to have a detached place which is quite roomy. If you can’t get to that level, you want a semi. If that’s out of your reach, you limit yourself to a terrace.
Well, I found a house that would be perfect for me a few months ago. It had been on the market since May of last year, originally for £160k. Here it is:
Wow. A newly built detached!
I smelt a rat, since the price had been knocked down to £130k and I couldn’t imagine why something so good would go untouched for so long.
Well, more time passed and the price fell to £120k. Clare and I were coming back from Rolf’s, so I made the suggestion that we could pop by Nuneaton to get a quick look, since three houses that we’d added to our shortlist were in the same neighbourhood.
One of the houses we visited was this one, and I loved it. Three big bedrooms, enclosed garden, garage, parking spaces. There’s a lake a few minutes away and a wood at the end of the road. Clare seemed impressed too. We did a practice run to the train station: 1.2 miles and no way that Clare could get lost.
Things got a bit complicated in the week when Clare discovered that there were plans afoot to place a soil-decontamination plant nearby, the first of its kind in the UK. Planning permission was withdrawn in January, but Clare was still worried that there might be an old landfill site under the house. It took a lot of research, but I eventually found maps of the old landfills and could confirm we were safe. Research also showed me that the home was built in 2005 and originally sold for £190k, so we looked on to a bargain.
So today I phoned the agent … who informed me that a contract had been signed the day before.
I’m so angry at myself for not pushing this issue earlier. Undoubtedly the fear of the soil-decontamination plant was responsible for the lack of interest. I also found out that the house had been repossessed, hence the periodic price cuts.
I can’t hold this one against Clare, even though I’d love to be able to transfer the blame away from myself. Within a week of seeing it she had conducted her research and was OK with it, so she’d not wasted any time.
I should have pushed this one earlier because of how special it is, but was reluctant to, after inadvertently hurting Clare’s feelings by seeking preliminary mortgage advice on my own because I had grown tired of waiting, so I decided to let things take their course in due time.
By doing so I’ve cost myself what would have been a perfect house, and I’ve been kicking myself all day about it. I’ve since spoken with Clare and we’re both agreed that the next time we see something that appears to be too good to be true, we won’t dawdle.
I wish we’d made that decision a month ago 
Tags: House