We Bought a House
This might be a completely crazy life decision.
We did it. We actually bought the house. I still don’t know how I really feel about it yet! I think some part of me always thought that it would never work out. I just assumed something would go wrong along the way with the mortgage or the contract and we would never actually complete. But here we are the proud owners of an old rambling Victorian farmhouse with a huge garden, a pool, and a tennis court most of which has not been updated since about 1920. I’ll admit to feeling a little overwhelmed!
For now, we have a modest budget to get the house liveable and move in. From there it’s a case of what to do first and getting the order of work sorted out. And doing it bit by bit as our finances allow. It will be a very long project and right now I can’t ever imagine it being ‘finished’. Maybe it won’t be. Maybe we are just custodians for a time and our job is to look after it and improve what we can until the next person takes over. That’s fine with me.
The house has the loveliest, warm, family feel. Maybe not everyone would agree with me but I can feel it. The other day I was there alone after it had got dark. It was before we got the heating and electricity back on so it was freezing cold and I was wandering around with a head torch on. It should have felt spooky. It certainly looks that way, with long dark corridors, peeling wallpaper and lots of cobwebs. But I didn’t feel spooked at all, I felt very safe. I didn’t think about it until afterwards but I didn’t look over my shoulder once. I think it’s because big families have lived there and the house has been a happy home. There is a height chart on the second-floor landing wall with all the heights of children and grandchildren marked as they’ve grown up from 1966 through to 2019. I know that the previous owner took the house over from his father and so had grown up here as well. I’ll be delving further into the history of the house soon but I can feel that it’s been a happy place.
So this week has been about trying to get the basics sorted so we can move in. (Already James and I are getting frustrated with driving back and forth and not being able to carry on working because we have to get ‘home’.) We’ve managed to get the central heating working and we’ve filled up the ancient cold water tanks which is a bit terrifying but so far no major leaks. There are two boilers, one for heating and one for hot water. The heating one was installed in 2007 so not too bad but the hot water one looks much older and we haven’t dared turn that one on! We now have to figure out how to get hot water for the kitchen and two bathrooms probably with completely new pipework and a new hot water cylinder. We’ve spent a lot of time with plumbers this week and still don’t have it completely figured out.
James has started some clearing work to make way for new fuse boards and hot water cylinders. Our electrician discovered an ancient fuse board with perished wiring that had 400 volts running through it so he’s coming to do some re-wiring next week! There is also the problem that the mains supply coming into the house is original, unprotected cable and is currently being pulled off the wall by the giant wisteria. We’re waiting on the electricity board to come and sort that out!
Sadly the aga is in a very poor state. It’s going to be quite expensive to put that right so we’re just gathering quotes at the moment. We will need some method of cooking though so it’s either that or we need a new hob and our old oven fixed. Other than that the kitchen will just have to be managed as it is for the moment.
I’ve also been trying to figure out what to do with all the old safes. We have 5! One can stay in situ as a bit of a feature in the old estate office. Then one of the others I think is quite valuable so I’m going to try and get that collected. The other three might have to come out in pieces, I’m not sure.
Then, when I haven’t been meeting trades, measuring stuff and bleeding radiators I’ve been out in the garden pruning roses. James, of course, thinks I’m mad when there is so much other stuff to do but it’s the right time of year and there are roses everywhere! It was bugging me so I decided to get on with it! So far I’ve done the smaller standard types in the main garden but there are many more so I’ll potter on with that in between times.
So, that’s been our first week. I’m pretty exhausted but really just mentally as I try to wrap my head around all the things. If I think too much about the whole house I get completely overwhelmed so, for now, it’s just one problem at a time. I’m hoping that once we get over the first few hurdles I’ll get my confidence a bit. Actually being able to move in will be a huge step forward! Of course, at the same time I also have to have our rental property sorted out and in a fit state to hand back to the Duchy. Suddenly wishing I’d been better at keeping the carpets clean!
So, next week I’ll finish off my buying a house series and explain how it all went with solicitors and contracts etc. Then I’ll be talking all about the fun stuff like the history of the house, what our plans are for the outbuildings and what I’ll be growing in the garden. Until then, thanks for reading x