I confess to some nerves at the moment. Tomorrow is that day the carpets are being fitted. As of 4PM today there was still plenty of painting to be done. Everyone has assured me it will be fine and the carpets can be installed as planned as "there is no further work required that will have any impact on the carpets".
We shall see.
There still seems a lot to do before the carpets go in on Tuesday morning.
Here is an update of inside work still required before then.
Upstairs
Downstairs
Everyone is working flat out today, tomorrow and Monday so I am sure all the areas where the carpets are going will be done but there will be work left in the tiled rooms (hopefully not the bathroom). There is a little more to do outside but the weather has been so poor that there has been no opportunity to paint yet. I am hopeful that we will be finished completely by the end of next week which is still behind schedule.
The good news is that it looks fantastic. I won't publish any more pictures until the carpets are in.
The order for the HIP (Home Information Pack) for those who are not in the know has been ordered.
You can get an estate agent or a solicitor to get one made up for you but one of the best ways is just to organise it yourself. A quick search on-line to find the cheapest offering (they all do the same thing so there is no need to pay more) and you just order it on the website. We have used www.hips4u.com and the turnaround time is quite impressive. They send regular emails keeping you up to date and a login to see how the pack is coming along. Ours should be completed by 16/02/2008 and will cost £174.80 including VAT. I think that is quite good. I was not a fan of HIPs when they first came out but if spending this sort of money assists in speeding up the sale, it is worth every penny.
We shall see what transpires.
One of the constituent parts of a HIP is the efficient report. The survey for this is happening next week. The results of this should be interesting as the house was about the most inefficient building it could possibly have been before we started. We have spent a lot of time, effort and money in insulation so we should get a really good report. I will have a go at publishing both on this blog side by side when we get the new one.
The estate agent who you will know (if you follow this blog) has a daughter in my daughter's class at school went to review the unfinished house today.
We had a chat afterwards about prices and markets and so on and as a result ……… the house is now on the market.
It appears that the trick to marketing a house that isn't quite finished is to put "Awaiting Photograph" then you can get some interest and get people round by which time the work will be done (10 days or so). If you want to see the official details they are here. If you want to see everything else they have to sell you can go to their website here. The website opens with a bit of cheesy talking so if you have your speakers on loud or are in an office you may want to turn mute on first.
It is a big day for this project. I am pleased that the agent feels that the price we are after is realistic and thinks we could get a little more. I am comfortable with the idea of selling below market value (yes I know there is no such thing before you all start) and I am sure that "Meat on the Bone" who has commented earlier on this blog will appreciate the sentiment behind that.
I am sure that the agents website will attract potential buyers but for the benefit of Google and others who might get there though this blog………..
Detached houses for sale Surbiton
Detached houses for Sale Tolworth
I know that search engine optimisation is more complicated than that but it will help!
The snow today brought mixed blessings for the house – most of them causing further delays.
The local schools were closed which means that the plumber and kitchen fitter (both of whom have children at my daughter's school) were pressed into child minding duties and not house building duties. As the school is going to be closed again tomorrow I think we will have the same problem again.
Painting is being delayed because the plaster refused to dry out over the weekend so that has caused some further problems. I hope that painting will resume tomorrow.
The good news is that the electrician was supposed to be at a job some distance away that he couldn't get to because of the snow. As a result he went round to the house (unannounced but as he has keys that was fine) and finished off the electrical work bar connecting the fans and the oven. As a result the new fuse board is in and we have proper lighting in the house for the first time.
I spoke to the builder this evening and while he remains positive I cannot help but think I may have to delay the carpet fitting. I really don't want to but I will have to make a call on that by Thursday or I will be liable to pay for the fitters time anyway.
The deeper the green the more visitors. It is all quite exciting but in truth none of these visitors hung around very long. In total in January I had 406 visits from 108 individuals in 24 countries.
I am sure I have mentioned it before but I also know what words people key into Google (and other search engines) that get them to the blog. Most of them are as you would expect but I imagine that the person who searched for 'Amateur "Shower Head" Insertion' wasn't that interested in property development.
Also – this is my 100th post. There are many (me included) who didn't think I would keep it up. We have all been proved wrong.
