Off at the crack of dawn

Well, not quite.
Hubby was up before 6 as he had been so tired last night, he’d left printing the necessary details until this morning.
He had intended to have a shower before departure (even though he had one yesterday) but the system here is that as there is little water pressure, you have to switch on a pump.
The interior walls are all stud partition (ie. timber frame with plasterboard) and so noise carries, especially when it’s quiet if you get what I mean. So he forewent that as MSM was still asleep and she hasn’t been well for a few days. He eventually left just after 7.30.
Whilst he was having his wash and brush up, I put on my joggers and a jumper, prepared his breakfast and put the kettle on, then took the dog for a walk. It was 6.20.
When we got back, he was munching his second course of toast and supping his second cup of tea. I got my own breakfast, gave the dog a ‘good girl’ treat, and we sat down to discuss the schedule and routine.

I have two phone calls to make this morning, hopefully to arrange one viewing in Skegness for around 2pm and the second to confirm the village property viewing tomorrow.
Our code of contact is that I will send Hubby a text message (his phone dings). He will then find somewhere safe to pull over and text me back. I can then ring him. This thus keeps his mobile costs to a minimum. We will speak to each other at least twice a day.

I have a rough map of where he’s heading today. It should take him around 3 to 4 hours allowing time for breaks, coffee, and rest. He has emergency supplies of biscuits, chocolate, sweets and plenty of water on board to keep his sugar level up and to keep hydrated. His plans for breakfast are a Greggs, Subway or McDs where he can access free WIFI, or he will go into a library and use theirs. Other meals are sussed as he has tins of soup, can buy milk and bread or whatever, and has his burner and billy cans to cater for himself.

The printing this morning consisted of a list of all campsites (89 in total, heaven forbid he has to visit them all!) and my Purchase Price Guide for Dummies as he admits he is hopeless with money and figures.
On it, I’ve listed the Asking Price, taken off 10% for a guide, then calculated the maximum to go to taking into account whether it needs work or not.
So, working within our budget, if the asking price is say £140K, less 10% takes it down to £126K. If major work needs doing (CH, new boiler, kitchen, bathroom, windows, rewiring), if it’s a go-er, that would be our first offer, to a maximum of £130K.
If same house was toothbrush perfect (ie no work at all), I’d be cheeky and still start around £126K, going to a maximum of £135K.  Obviously this is just a guide to help him.
I’m hoping he will find a suitable property we can move into immediately and we can pick it up for £130K or thereabouts, work or no work. He has the necessary paperwork to prove our identity and availability of funds to start the ball rolling when he does.
My reasoning is properties are ridiculously overpriced here, plus we are cash buyers, have nothing to sell, money in the bank and can move as fast as the legal teams can. If the vendor is wanting to move quickly,  we are ideal candidates as we do not have the rigmarole of jumping through hoops for a mortgage, neither do we have the problems of selling a property which can bring a whole load of delays should a buyer need finance.

Our little escapade with the property we were gazumped on has given me a very clear indication of how much money we can purchase for, and for that I am grateful.
Their other buyer needs a mortgage, as do the buyers of the property they have to sell.
The vendors haven’t actually found anywhere yet so this could work in their favour, but told us they would rent for a quick sale. We know it’s expensive to rent, plus putting possessions in storage, so that may not have come to fruition either. Little things to consider after the initial rush of excitement.
Here’s hoping anyway.

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