The woman who went out shopping and bought a house.

You would have thought we'd have learnt our lesson by now.

We've bought a fixer-upper!

Although, strictly speaking, we have not sold our house yet, in the week or so it has been on the market it has generated multiple viewings and 3 offers so far. Not quite at asking price, but we have equalled the street record price (yay!!!) with one of the offers and interest from prospective purchasers has been sustained, even after offers have been rejected.

In the meantime, I've put in an offer on another house.

Phil has been telling everyone who cares to listen that his wife went out for the day and bought a house without even consulting him. The truth is, in English property law, an offer is not binding until the solicitors have made it so and both parties exchange contracts. That's going to be at least 6 weeks down the road - probably longer. The house was too much of a bargain to pass by and, with several offers already made on it, we had to act quickly if we wanted a chance. So I did.

It's got the Garage Phil wanted and is detached but the garden is not huge. It is more than twice the size of our current garden though, and there is an area out the front about the same size again so Archie has space for his sandpit and I can get a compost bin, however strange an aspiration that might seem! It only has 2 bedrooms, no dining room, a crap 1950's kitchen and bathroom with no charm and lots of limescale, but it has been completely rewired, has plenty of space in the loft for building up into, the rooms are generously proportioned (to use Estate Agent speak), there is a very spacious hallway which would allow a proper staircase up to the loft, and is a 5 minute walk from my mum's house in one direction and the sea in the other. Our neighbours will be OAP's and there wont be a student in sight during term-time as the nearest Uni is in Brighton.
Believe it or not, this makes both of us very happy. Especially as the asking price is considerably less than the price we are asking for this house.
Add to the mix the fact that close-by there is a very nice pub or two, a cheap and - by all accounts - excellent Indian takeaway, a farmshop selling home-grown veg and free range eggs and good nurseries and primary schools, and it has a really nice happy feel about it, I am feeling positively smug about my find.

Once the building work is complete, we aim to have a 3 double bedroom house with a separate dining room, office and kitchen to meet my exacting standards. In the meantime, guests will have to take advantage of our increased garden size and pitch a tent if they want to visit!