Wednesday 23 September 2020

House viewings thus far

 That's US looking at houses for a change. First one, in Pembrokeshire, chosen for size, disappointing as it said on the listing it had been renovated - well, yes, except they forgot to do the holes in the roof so all the money spent inside is quickly becoming money ill spent.  Still a possible depending on builders' quotes.

The West Country ones were disappointing.  Because of the distance involved (Barnstaple area, which is 188 miles each way) and not being able to stay over, we chose the two most likely.  The first one, the Agents had REALLY done a cosmetic job on the interior and made it look light and bright and that was a real attraction after living in this house which can be gloomy in winter.  When we got there it was like the black hole of Calcutta and the generously-sized (by the agent that is) kitchen/breakfast room had two external walls and a downstairs loo in that measurement so was a squeeze.  Also the staircase was very steep with a very low ceiling at the bottom and even me, at 5' 2" had to duck!  No way would our bed get up there and it would be a very tight fit with the chests of drawers too.  Ah well.




The 2nd one was a beautiful house, especially the sort of Medieval Hall annexe they had added where the forge had been.  Hard to fault internally, but externally the "quiet road" they told us it was on was actually the old main road to Barnstaple and still quite busy.  Plus the storage shed was like a squat telephone box and the "wraparound garden" was a heap of shale and a tree on one side and went up vertically in a small cube the other.  No good for us keen gardeners or for cats.  What you DON'T see on paper!  Plus parking just for one car, although the lane behind was quiet and you could have parked there too.  

We went into Barnstaple, which was rather quiet and subdued out of season and in this Year of the Plague, and had a wander round after the 2nd viewing.  Before viewing the first we had a wander around South Molton, which is still the same pleasant little market town we remembered from a holiday down that way a few years back.

Now we are on to viewing more Welsh ones, up along the Welsh Marches and one in mid-Wales.  I will report back in due course.  No photos from Devon as I was the Named Driver and forgot the camera when we had our walk-abouts.

15 comments:

  1. Upwards and onwards, in a way this is funny. Here you are having waited for a time to sell your house and now can't find one to live in. Sure it will work out in the end though. Take care.

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    1. Well, back in the summer we only had a short list of ONE. Now we have a short list of NONE!

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  2. Hope the ones in the Welsh Marches and the one in mid Wales turn out to be better. Just goes to show you can't go on photos on websites etc. Good Luck.

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    1. So do we. No way on this earth could you persuade me to buy a house unseen because of Covid restrictions (which was happening earlier in the year).

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  3. We still chuckle at the memory of the house in Barry Island advertised as having a gas geezer fitted...!!

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    1. Must have been a London agent!!

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    2. No, local Barry agent! We were househunting but had more luck finding spelling mistakes!!

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  4. So much of what you see in (some) real estate photos is mere "staging." A bit like in a theatre when, between acts, they roll back the fake (but lovely painted) scenery and you discover a dusty stage, often in disrepair. Better luck with the Welsh homes.

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    1. You're spot on there Mary. What a wide angle lens and a bit of "lightening" in the photo department can do. We thought we were wise to this but the "limelight" in two of the rooms was really cheating!

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  5. I do wonder why agents alter the truth on the house particulars.
    Hope the next journey to view is more fruitful

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    1. They hope to get you there and then you will overlook the property's shortcomings. Ah well, we aren't meant to be there, and that's that.

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  6. Such a shame the viewings have been a disappointment hopefully your dream home will be found soon.

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  7. Thinking of you and knowing that you house is out there somewhere.










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  8. I hope you find just the perfect place. Ours cost very little, but there were loads of renos we had to do. I could see the finished product though and just knew this was the house for us.

    God bless.

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  9. I am sorry that you drove all that way for two disappointing properties, lets hope the Welsh Marches proves to be a little more fruitful.

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