Top ten!

Well it’s been so long I should do a summary really…

1. We moved down last week. Pickfords were pretty good. The guys were great, although a few things are broken, the office side of the operation didn’t come across as well, but it’s done and we’re in…
2. There are boxes EVERYWHERE. It’s a bit of a nightmare but when I get too stressed I just remember that we’re going to be here for years and that if we only did one box a week, we would eventually get it all done. We had friends over last Saturday who were great. Not only were they good fun to spend the day with, but they also worked their socks off putting up shelves and pictures and unpacking boxes and even helping to plumb our new washing machine in.
3. We’ve had lots of exciting deliveries; a gorgeous (and rather large) new bed and mattress, washing machine, fridge/freezer and a great new TV. I was especially pleased with the TV when the Sky engineer (possibly the nicest and most helpful Sky engineer in the history of all such things) said it was the best TV on the market and one he wanted himself!
4. The cottage is wonderful. In the morning (when I’m not up at 6am for work!) as the sun rises it fills the bedroom with a golden light which is very beautiful. We have an owl in residence and there are deer in the field behind our house.
5. The dogs are happy and relaxed and love the garden as do the chickens. (In fact the chickens are on the move again… our next door neighbour had chooks but got rid, but he still has a large enclosure and much larger house than the one we’re currently using and he’s said we are very welcome to use it.) We haven't sorted out the best place for dog walking yet as around us is very hilly and I need flat, or flatter, terrain to walk on. The chances are though we'll start walking on the moors before work each morning which are only about 4 miles away from us.
6. Our neighbours are great(see above!) We left them all Christmas cards when we visited before Christmas and they seemed to really appreciate knowing when we were officially moving in, our names, and a contact number…
7. I haven’t started volunteering with Coastwatch yet, but am in contact with the Watch Commander who is fantastic and a very good advert for NCI – friendly and helpful.
8. I have however, started my new job. I really like it! I have a nice office, nice colleagues and am close to all the shops (OK, that’s actually a very bad thing as I went into Fat Face three days in a row…) Already my boss has said I should work part of the week in Liskeard which will be great. There’s lots I like here: I like that they have a dedicated environmental officer and that they take such things seriously, I like that they provide bottles of squash in the kitchen, I like that they are very relaxed and treat people like adults, I like that they provided me with a parking space and I like that people seem to care about what they do… I also like that they gave me an embossed diary, notebook and fancy pen and pencil to welcome me!
9. My partner is working part of the week back in London, which is a bummer. It won’t be forever though and it means she gets to keep a job she’s worked hard for and loves, and yet also gets to own a gorgeous house in Cornwall!
10. And finally, I might be getting a tax rebate! HR emailed me yesterday and said apparently I’m owed one. I shall wait and see and will assume nothing but if it’s true then it will go straight on the house as there are a few bits and pieces we want to do. But I’m sure there will be some left over for a nice meal with the missus.

Nothing is ever perfect and maybe one of life’s lessons is that if you keep seeking perfection you will never appreciate what you have or ever be truly happy, but this is a great time for us. I’m not a religious sort but I guess I do have a spiritual side because I honestly believe that someone is looking out for us – how else do you explain such good fortune? At least I recognise this and it inspires me to try and be a better person... wish me luck with that!

As you can see I still haven’t reconciled whether or not to stop blogging. At times I think definitely yes, and other times, like these, I want a record of everything that’s happening. Who knows what will happen.

But in the meantime, I think it’s only fair to wish you good fortune also!

Pickfords, the sequel...

In the interest of fairness I should point out that the Pickfords sale rep has just popped round as they like to do follow-ups (was everything ok, did you get all the paperwork through in time – that sort of thing). We told her of the problems we had had, and she apologised and promised to make sure they were fed back to HQ. It also transpired that we were supposed to receive a load of paperwork after I had send in the acceptance form, which has never arrived, including even a receipt for the cheque I sent...

But the guys were great and will be back tomorrow (am!) to pack up the rest of our stuff. At least we’ve made a start, I feel better already!

Pickfords

Hmmm... Pickfords are not impressing so far! We’re still waiting for them to turn up! We had to send the agreement form back and forth because they kept making silly mistakes like calculating VAT at 17.5% not 15% and then wanting to charge us a premium for not damaging the property! I never did get a satisfactory answer about why I would want to take out this insurance? I’m paying for professional movers to not make mistakes, and yes, accidents do happen but my “move coordinator” could not explain why if a mover accidently broke or damaged something, Pickfords wouldn’t have their own insurance (if it was Pickfords’ fault) to cover this. In the end I told them I did not want the insurance...

So once we’d thrashed that out, you sign an acceptance form, send off a hefty cheque and wait till your move date. On the form it has a bit that says, when would you like the removers to turn up? And so I put 10am.

10am came and went this morning and eventually I called at 10.30 to be told they would be there between 12 and 1.30pm. Erm, say what? Apparently there is only am and pm on offer (despite it not saying that on the form and despite it having a space for you to specify what time you want them to turn up). Morning appointments start at 9am, and because I hadn’t specified 9am, they had given me an afternoon appointment. Eh? You would have thought someone would have emailed/called and made sure this was clear, but no. So when I called this morning, the woman I spoke to, my move coordinator by coincidence, promised she would call back after she found out what was going on. Only she never bothered. I had to call her back, and with her sounding even more bored than she had on the first phone call, she told me about the am/pm system. She agreed that we should have been told about this and reluctantly (very, very reluctantly) apologised, whilst letting it be known it wasn’t her fault. When it actual fact it was.

They have now turned up and the two men are pleasant and very calm. I keep looking round and thinking, there’s too much stuff, they’ll change their mind and say we can’t do it! But, so far, they appear to getting on with things without any hysteria. In fact if there is to be any hysteria, it’s going to be all me!

I shall blog again about the whole experience post-move. The guys seem great, but the administration is a little ropey!

Moving

My day started a little earlier than I intended! We got the Pickfords quote the other day and it seemed very high and not quite as competitive as I had hoped. So I decided to get some other quotes which is generally a good idea anyway. So this week I have three other companies coming in to do quotes – one on Monday, one today and one tomorrow. Today’s appointment was booked for 12 noon, so imagine my surprise when he showed up at 9.30! Anyway, I can’t be sure that in the chaos that is my life at the moment, I didn’t write down the wrong time. And he was the perfect gentleman. I was still in my pyjamas and he offered to wait in his car until I was more suitably attired!

I have to say, at the moment, the customer is definitely king. I would like to think that was due to improved standards in customer care and service over the years and good training, but I think that whilst that’s true, there’s also a little bit of a scrabble for your business at the moment. We are very much in the minority buying a house (as well as getting in professional movers – when things are tight, it’s one of the first costs to get cut. People try and save money by moving themselves.) Either way, I am very impressed with the good service from 3 out of 4 of the movers and after tomorrow’s visit, maybe 4 out of 4.

I finally finished my job application last night. I took so long to do it. I would literally open up the application and then go on the internet, or walk the dogs, or watch some TV. But eventually there was nowhere to hide, not if I wanted to meet the deadline and so I finally got a move on. I think I’m a little fatigued when it comes to applications. I’m not approaching them with the same zest and zeal that I was six weeks ago! Let’s hope I get this job and I can have a break ;0)

We heard yesterday that we might even complete before the 12th and this morning the final part of the mortgage was approved. From what I can gather (and feel free to comment if I’m wrong) there are 3 parts to the mortgage process where things can go wrong and potentially you can fail to get a mortgage.

1. Mortgage in principle: this is obviously not binding and you can do it before or after finding a place. You go to a bank or broker and they take your details and agree in principle to give you a mortgage.
2. This is formalised after your offer has been accepted. This is the point where they want the ins and outs of your life since forever and where a lot of mortgages can fail if they uncover bad or undisclosed credit history. This stage is a big deal and once this has been done, it’s unlikely – not impossible, but unlikely you will have any further problems.
3. The mortgage is approved by the underwriters. Between stages 2 and 3 you might be asked for some more details – maybe bank statements etc. But once you’ve got past stage 3, you’ve got a mortgage baby! Then the mortgage confirmation goes to your solicitor who can close the deal.

We have passed stage 3! So from the solicitor and mortgage people thinking that completing on the 12th was very tight and maybe not possible, they are now saying it might happen even earlier! Good stuff, eh?

We were chatting in bed last night that despite how stress-free this process has been (in relation to how stressful it could have been), we’re still stressed! Don’t underestimate how draining buying a house can be.

Finally if you want a recommendation for a broker (and I would always choose a broker over going straight to a bank or building society) then London & Country are brilliant. A broker will search for the best deals on your behalf and they shouldn’t charge you for this service – they charge the mortgage provider. We’ve been very impressed with the efficiency and customer service at L & C.

Anyway, enough of all that, I may not have a job application to do today, but I do have a million other things to do!

Birthdays and surveys!

The woman from Pickfords came round yesterday and I was impressed. She was friendly and had an air of calmness about her, which when you consider what a stress-head I am about moving, was very welcome. She seemed completely unfazed by our legions of houseplants, a large chicken run and a 200 year old grandfather clock. We haven’t received a quote yet, and I will get at least one more, but Pickfords have made a good impression so far.

The survey on the cottage took place yesterday and so we’re waiting to receive the report, which should be sent sometime next week. Ironically, our letting agent (for the flat we live in now) called me a couple of days ago to ask whether a surveyor could come round this morning. Our owners might be re-mortgaging or selling, but either way it seems to be a sign that this is a good time to move on.

I’m planning my partner’s birthday. Its February next year and it will be her 30th. I’m potentially planning 3 events: dinner with friends in Cornwall, ‘birthday/we’re leaving London!’ drinks in London and a weekend in Berlin. Although all this planning – as enjoyable as it is – might need to be put on hold because I have another job application to do by tomorrow and some errands to run. Boring but necessary!

Hong Kong here I come!

I think initiative should be rewarded… this morning I signed into my email to see that a comment form had been submitted from Pickfords’ head of sales! (You can see the comment under Happy Saturday part two.) And it made me laugh, because let’s face it, how can we not now get a quote from them when we move? So if you’re reading this Mr. Pickfords we will indeed be in touch nearer the time…

The power of the blog!

Anyway, yesterday was fairly mundane although I seemed to achieve oodles. I won’t run through my list of domestic achievements (although the sweetcorn relish I made was delicious thank you very much…) but something exciting did happen. I decided I was going to the Hong Kong 7s in 2009! An old friend of mine has been trying to persuade me (it was a fairly brief discussion: do you want to go? er, yes!) but I was concerned about money what with everything else that’s happening between now and then. However, my beloved and I discussed in last night and she’s happy for me to go and so dependant on a good deal, I’m off to HK next year!

Wohoo!