Things are looking up…

We’ve been caught in the property trap for a while now.

My husband and I bought some land to build our own house on quite a while back.  We mortgaged against our current house to raise the funds, and made our plans.  We planned to sell our current house when things got a little further along so that we could clear the mortgage and raise enough funds to finish the self-build.

This was a great plan, but the execution of it happened to fall right in the middle of the current downturn.  We made the classic mistake of asking too much for our current house when the market was falling, and consequently didn’t get a sale.  We ran the very real risk of owning two houses, and then having to pay Capital Gains Tax when we finally sold the one that was no longer our main residence.  It was, quite frankly, a bit of a worry.

During this stressful period (which included 2.5 house moves, setting up and then closing down a business and a redundancy) my husband told me that all we needed was for the RIGHT PEOPLE to see our house.  The problem was that the same kind of people kept coming to look at it – I knew from the moment that they pulled up in their immaculate Audis and asked about ripping out the solid fuel Rayburn that they were never going to be the Right People for this house.  It needed someone more… organic.  Someone else who thinks that chickens in the back garden and neighbours who get in your washing for you are great things.  My husband kept telling me that it would sell when the right people came to look.

Lo and behold, a couple ofweeks ago, the estate agent asked us to do a viewing for some people one weekend.  I wasn’t overly hopeful as I’d been here before.  I tried to think positively, though and was beyond excited when I watched the VW camper van pull up.  A VW camper van!  The kind of car that *I’d* like to drive!!!  The people from the great car came in, and whilst they were making “ooh!” and “ahhh!” noises at the Rayburn, their son checked out the garden.

“MUM!!!!  THEY’VE GOT CHICKENS!!!  COOL!!!” was the word from the back garden.

I started to get excited.

Over the course of the next 45 minutes I became more and more convinced that these people were the kind of people that I could pass my beloved house on to.  They were not only nice people, but they were nice people who I really hoped might become friends as well as neighbours.  By the time we’d finished giving them a guided tour of the allotment site, I was aware that if they didn’t want my house, I would be gutted.

My gut instincts were right.  They felt the same way about my house as I did.  They made an offer, and whilst it was far lower than we really needed, it would enable us to move on with our lives and the new house, and ensured that the right kind of people moved into the community.  We’d gladly take the financial hit for that opportunity.

So, here I am, the proud owner of a house with a “sold” sign on the front of it.  Solicitors and estate agents are phoning at regular intervals and we’ve made progress with the new house, too.  Things feel fresh and shiny.

It would also appear that we are not the only ones.  Over the last month, every house in my village which has stood with a “For Sale” sign for over two years has sold.  Five houses in one tiny village, in one month.  I really believe that the housing market is starting to pick up.  I am still unconvinced that we are going to go back to the bad old Boom Days, but if the housing market is moving, people have the option to move forward with their lives, which can only be a good thing.

I’m feeling good today.  How about you?