If you read my Saving Money to Move House post, you’ll know that’s what I’ve been doing over the last few months. I got my house valued last weekend – my first real step into moving house. I’ve been looking online for months and months, but never actually been to view a property since I bought this house. I didn’t think there was much point until I was properly serious about selling my house and moving somewhere new, I didn’t want to fall in love with somewhere and then not be in a position to buy.
I’ve been saving more than I anticipated over the last couple of months, meaning I’m a lot closer to my goal than I thought I would be at this time. Now that I’ve had my house valued, I think I’m in a better frame of mind to properly start my house hunt, I know how much my top budget is and I’m able to search more effectively.
My main problem is being able to buy where I want to live… first world problem, right? I’m wanting to move closer to family and friends, I have to drive over pretty much every weekend, and yeah it’s only half an hour each way, so it could be a lot worse, but it’s annoying when you have to leave and drive back late at night, when all you want is your bed. Rightmove is definitely in my top 3 most used apps, it has been for years, I’m a little bit obsessed with looking at house photos and floorplans.. don’t even get me started on my love for floorplans!
The websites/apps I use for house hunting:
OnTheMarket (probably my favourite out of the apps, you can scroll through photos without having to click into each property)
We went to go view 2 properties at the weekend (one was a major project and would need a hell of a lot of money spending on it to make it how I’d want it and the other was photographed a bit too well on the listing and was actually smaller than where I live now…) so we’ve discounted those (I say we, my parents are offering to help out if I need a bit more money and my Dad is a builder so would be doing any renovation work for me). It’s hard trying to find a 2 bedroom property where the bedrooms aren’t tiny, I’m so lucky at the moment with my bedroom being on the large side, so anything less than that and it’s a case of “where would I put all of my stuff?!”
There’s quite a few flats/apartments for sale in the area I want to live in, but have seen that a lot of them have huge costs associated to building repairs, communal areas etc and that’s just not what I want to be spending my money on! It’s something I need to look into more detail about, and I might go view some just to rule them out if anything. I would ideally like a house, but it’s hard finding a house where all of the rooms are good sizes and it’s a toss up of living space vs sleeping space too – I like having a big bedroom, but do I spend more time in there, or in my living room? It’s something I need to seriously think about… it’s a tough process, but I know it’ll all be worth it in the long run…. well, I hope!
I’ve been told the housing market in my area is moving pretty quickly (with some selling within a week) so I’m holding off putting my house on the market until I see something I’m really interested in – it might be a risky tactic, but I don’t want to be rushed into buying something I don’t love because mine has sold…
So yeah, I’m gunna keep looking but will keep you updated if I find anything!
Wish me luck!
Mel Eaglestone
Good luck!
I find the worst part is finding the home you love and then having to wait to move in
Mel ★ http://www.meleaglestone.co.uk
zoeoliviablog
Hopefully I’ll fine ‘the one’ soon! x
Holly
Good luck! It’s a tough process and can be really frustrating but in the end, it’s so worth the hassle!
zoeoliviablog
thank you! I hope so!
Ellenor | Champagne Lifestyle
Oooo! This sounds so exciting! I can’t wait to see where you move to/ your new home 🙂
http://champagne-lifestyle.com
zoeoliviablog
I’m trying not to get carried away with excitement until something actually happens haha x