Wrecked and cruched

How it all began....circa 2008

Having rented for over a year, we felt it high time to start searching in earnest for a suitable home that could last us for at least the next 20 years. Our problem (meaning my other half's problem) was that we were unable to consider any homes already refurbished. What this generally meant was that we ended up viewing homes that were severely wilting with neglect but, on the upside, they had that all important 'potential'. Moving from the south (London to be exact) where everyone draws pistols at dawn for the latest bargain that needs renovating, we were spoilt rotten by the variety of choice and the size of property that one could gain in Birmingham for much less than the equivalent in the south east. 

I'd lost count of the sizeable (at least 5 bedrooms, 3 reception rooms, 2 bathrooms etc.) that we'd seen over the months. The near derelict ones were, in fact, the most exciting and had usually languished amongst the 'For Sale' sections of newspapers, search engines and property websites for many months indeed.

The drawback, however, is that we would most likely have to live amongst the dust, dirt, chaos and noise whilst a rather slow renovation project ensued, in order to save money. Not so sure about that part of the bargain!

Unsurprisingly, however, the credit crunch was beginning to have a pretty potent negative impact on sellers, many of whom had decided to drop prices by extraordinary amounts.

So, having fiercely researched the area and interviewed all of the neighbours (one can never be too careful these days), we decided to put in an offer on a rather unloved but huge 6 bedroomed house with a sizeable garden....all within 15 minutes of the centre of town! The couple selling had lived in the house for over 40 years and were really keen to move north of the border to be near family and friends.

The rather facetious offer we made was around £100,000 less than the asking price. Well, to be honest, we'd already resumed our search for the ultimate dream home when there was no word from the chirpy estate agent 4 days after the offer had been made.

Then, the mobile began singing and, amazingly, we learnt that the vendors had accepted our offer!

However, our joy and hopes were soon dashed after further investigation revealed untold horrors (even ones that left us shaky despite our seasoned experience within the field of rescuing propery wrecks) and we, regrettably, had to withdraw our offer as the house wasn't worth the price pursuing without a further drop in the price. In our experience, it is important to define the point of needing to move on....which is exactly what we did despite our love of and vision for the property.To add to the tale of woe, our lender had been bought out by another building society and we informed by our broker that we would have to find a property, have it valued and approved by them by the following Monday (about 5 working days) or lose the mortgage and apply all over again!

Much weeping and a wailing, as you can imagine how this little tale panned out.......but .I must tell you that the plot certainly thickened with the next property!!