Hope everyone has a peaceful and happy Christmas and New Year.
We've been snowed in since last Friday. But we've had visitors come by to see us in 4x4's so it's not been so bad! Also friends have been able to bring us shopping and I now have a full fridge and freezer -phew! It's nice to have such good friends to help us out as (like most women) I stress if I think I don't have enough food to feed my family!
I'm going to celebrate Christmas Day when the snow finally melts as I had such big plans for tomorrow! Visiting grandson, then onto my mum and dads to cook a big dinner. But it's not too bad. My grandson is going to (hopefully) be pleased to see granny and granddad later on when we can get there, armed with a sackful of presents (that Santa delivered to the wrong house!) My mum and dad are now going to go to my sister-in-laws house (double phew!) So all in all, it's not too bad. And I've been SO touched by how many of our friends have gone the extra mile to help us out! That to me, is what Christmas is really all about! Caring and Sharing. Merry Christmas one and all. Caroline xxxx
Friday, 24 December 2010
Friday, 17 December 2010
Revision Hell...
My current wip - make that Mess In Progress - is causing me to have the proverbial kittens! I need to get it "fixed" by the New Year so I can send it to Michelle Styles. Michelle has kindly picked me as one of her 5 finalists for her annual mentoring contest. But to misquote Winston Churchill, "never in the field of human writing has so few words, caused such severe angst!" Every word is like pulling teeth I kid you not.
But we're snowed in today - so I've no excuse not to get writing. I *will* lick this ms into shape. See you later! Caroline xx
But we're snowed in today - so I've no excuse not to get writing. I *will* lick this ms into shape. See you later! Caroline xx
Monday, 6 December 2010
Picture of the new bungalow!
Me again! I promised a picture of the new bungalow - so here it is. Like I said earlier it's not quite finished yet - but hopefully by the middle of January it should be ready! It has lovely views of a Saxon church as well! Caroline x
Sunday, 5 December 2010
Excited! Part 2....
....We've bought a house! Well, not exactly a house, but a brand spanking (not quite ready yet) bungalow! 3 bedrooms, detached with garage. Colour me happy!
It's quite scary to think we'll be mortgage payers until we are 70, but that's what you get when you decide to buy a house at our age! We've been renting the cottage we currently live in for quite a few years, and were given the heads up about a "Homebuy" scheme run by a north Wales Housing Association. We had to fill out all the paperwork - of which there was a lot! - and following a successful application were eligible for the scheme. So in a nutshell it was up to us to go out and find a suitable property up to £122,400. Of this, we have to find 50% of the cost, and the Housing Association gives you an interest free loan for the other 50%.
To be honest we did struggle to find a suitable property. DH has mobility problems so can't climb stairs. So a house with stairs was out of the question, and we had struggled to find a suitable bungalow. Anyone in the UK will tell you that 122,400 does not buy you a bungalow (of any decent standard anyway - and definitely not one that doesn't need a shed load of work doing to it.) We had until the 30th of November to find a suitable property, but we were struggling to find anything suitable! Back track 2 weeks ago. At work I get a phone call from one of the Estate Agents I'd contacted re properties. She asked if we had found anything. I said no. She said that a developer had 2 bungalows for sale and that he would consider selling us one for 122,400. Well you could have picked me up off the floor!! We went to have a look, and it is gorgeous, and as I said earlier, it's 3 bedrooms and brand new, and should be ready to occupy it by mid January. At the moment it is undergoing it's "2nd fix" and the plasterboarding has just been done.
So, to date, we have secured a mortgage for our 50% (61,200) and the Housing Association is processing the necessary paperwork. If I'm honest, it's been a rollercoaster of a past 2 weeks! We still can't quite believe we have a bungalow for such a small amount of money! The scheme is a good one, in that we don't have to pay back the 50% from the housing association until, 1. We die, or 2. We sell the house. With number 1 - that will be however inherits the house and we won't be around to care - LOL.
So I keep pinching myself, and wondering if I'm going to wake up from a dream. I'll post a picture of the bungalow next week so you can all have a nosy! But all being well, we should be moving in the New Year. One of the highlights for me is that I can have the smallest bedroom as my very own Study! I could even consider myself a "proper" author then, rather than type my stuff as I do now on my laptop sitting in the front room.
Keep your fingers crossed for us - in that it all works out OK. I've a horrible feeling something bad's going to happen - like the developer decides to pull out. But that's -ve thoughts so I keep telling myself to be +ve. +ve, +ve, +ve. Take care. Caroline xx
It's quite scary to think we'll be mortgage payers until we are 70, but that's what you get when you decide to buy a house at our age! We've been renting the cottage we currently live in for quite a few years, and were given the heads up about a "Homebuy" scheme run by a north Wales Housing Association. We had to fill out all the paperwork - of which there was a lot! - and following a successful application were eligible for the scheme. So in a nutshell it was up to us to go out and find a suitable property up to £122,400. Of this, we have to find 50% of the cost, and the Housing Association gives you an interest free loan for the other 50%.
To be honest we did struggle to find a suitable property. DH has mobility problems so can't climb stairs. So a house with stairs was out of the question, and we had struggled to find a suitable bungalow. Anyone in the UK will tell you that 122,400 does not buy you a bungalow (of any decent standard anyway - and definitely not one that doesn't need a shed load of work doing to it.) We had until the 30th of November to find a suitable property, but we were struggling to find anything suitable! Back track 2 weeks ago. At work I get a phone call from one of the Estate Agents I'd contacted re properties. She asked if we had found anything. I said no. She said that a developer had 2 bungalows for sale and that he would consider selling us one for 122,400. Well you could have picked me up off the floor!! We went to have a look, and it is gorgeous, and as I said earlier, it's 3 bedrooms and brand new, and should be ready to occupy it by mid January. At the moment it is undergoing it's "2nd fix" and the plasterboarding has just been done.
So, to date, we have secured a mortgage for our 50% (61,200) and the Housing Association is processing the necessary paperwork. If I'm honest, it's been a rollercoaster of a past 2 weeks! We still can't quite believe we have a bungalow for such a small amount of money! The scheme is a good one, in that we don't have to pay back the 50% from the housing association until, 1. We die, or 2. We sell the house. With number 1 - that will be however inherits the house and we won't be around to care - LOL.
So I keep pinching myself, and wondering if I'm going to wake up from a dream. I'll post a picture of the bungalow next week so you can all have a nosy! But all being well, we should be moving in the New Year. One of the highlights for me is that I can have the smallest bedroom as my very own Study! I could even consider myself a "proper" author then, rather than type my stuff as I do now on my laptop sitting in the front room.
Keep your fingers crossed for us - in that it all works out OK. I've a horrible feeling something bad's going to happen - like the developer decides to pull out. But that's -ve thoughts so I keep telling myself to be +ve. +ve, +ve, +ve. Take care. Caroline xx
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