I've already moved in

With the whole "global economic climate" I decided to start looking for a new house since we'll have to do so eventually and I thought it better to buy sooner rather than later.

What's the point of spending R2 million more in a couple of years, right?

Also, I am super fussy (I get fussier the more houses we buy - we are in our 3rd house now) and I figured the longer I give the agents, the better the chance of getting our perfect house.

Remember I went to see this house?

After that one, I decided to get even more picky selective about my wants and desires so these are the things I added to the list:

• Must have charm and flow
• Would be nice if it had a view
• I'd like a bay window so I can have a love seat built in

Well, the agent emails me on Thursday and said he'd like me to come see a house.

So off I go (I do the first look at any houses as D actually hates looking at houses - I know! crazy!) and ....

I KNEW THE HOUSE!

We'd looked at the house 5 years ago when looking for this house and for some reason, rejected it. But I loved it then.

It had everything on my list plus a pool (I couldn't care less about a pool).

I told both the owner and the agent that I can't remember why we didn't put in an offer then but I'm sure D would remember.

When I got home (I spent 40 minutes at the house - usually spend 5- 10 mins), I said to D, "you'll never guess which house I saw?"

He said straight away, "46 ________ Road"

He's very good!

So then I told him all the changes that had been done (nothing to take away from the charm, thank goodness) and how it was PERFECT for us.

He even remembered some details (do they still have that linen closet? are those bookshelves still in the dining room?). I was seriously impressed.

The reason we didn't put in an offer last time was that we wanted a full cottage on the property so we could rent it out - we've since decided that we are not the landlord type (more D than me as he hates any conflict).

That's it! That was the reason we rejected the house.

No problem - they've actually renovated the maid's quarters (bedroom, bathroom and little kitchenette with sink and one cupboard) and it looks stunning - it's good enough for a guest suite, or a study for me.

So, in case you couldn't guess, I am in love. I had a nap this afternoon and I DREAMED about the house!

It has the same well-maintained wooden floors, doors, two fireplaces (I love the look but never actually use them - too messy), stained glass windows that we had in our old house and that is typical Kensington charm :) I seriously love this type of house and when we moved from our old house, I cried buckets! The only thing that helped was knowing the new owner loved the house as much as I did.

I can see us living at the new house (assuming she accepts our offer) for a long, long time. The 2nd and 3rd bedrooms are very spacious so the kids can have their own bedrooms one day.

At the moment we don't need the maid's quarters as Nanny V doesn't stay in (she has a little boy) but it's useful to have the space for guests.

When we saw the house 5 years ago, a childless couple was living there. They used the 2nd bedroom as a study (it is lovely - overlooks the pool) and the 3rd bedroom as a junk room.

I've already decided that the dining room will be my study (even though it is ginormous!) and we will use one of the open living areas as our dining room (it has a HUGE lounge area overlooking a magnificent view) and the other as an entrance hall to house coats, keys, pram, etc, etc.

30 minutes later....

I bit the bullet and started number crunching.... checking repayment amounts, transfer costs, etc, etc. and if we get what I think we can for our house, we should be able to afford this new one with almost no change to our lifestyle. That's because we owe very little on this house (finally, my love of savings coming in useful as I stack EVERYTHING into the bond account) so should be able to put down a nice, big deposit.

I'll have to get our current house valued by a couple of estate agents first to see if my estimates are on track.... and then we can take it from there.

P.S. Yesterday, a couple of hours after writing that post, someone at work said to me, "you've really taken to motherhood very well" - I was DELIGHTED as the comment came from nowhere! (She's generally very perceptive and always spot on with other people so I do value her opinion... no, she doesn't read the blog :))

P.P.S. I've added a page on the blog (you have to click through if you're reading through a feed reader) with my popular posts if anyone's interested. Strange the ones people find interesting.