My New House

I've finally gotten word this morning that all systems are go for me to move into a new flat in two and a half weeks time!

So first some background, Mark and I have looked at approximately 15 flats, basically all of them uninhabitable, at least for our purposes. Our own flat was let while I was in Seattle, so that basically means the option of staying any extra time is out the window. Last Tuesday night, despite a series of near misses that could have derailed the whole thing, we got lucky and were the first ones to see a place that had come on the market that day. It was the best thing we'd seen: nice location, very pretty little kitchen, pretty little bathroom, nice light, and not even on the ground floor. We bit the bullet and put in an offer. As it was late in the day, the offer didn't get called in until the next morning, while other people were in the process of viewing the flat. We're tricky like that.

Knowing that it was very reasonably priced (especially considering what else we'd seen asking for the same amount), we put in our offer at the asking price. NOTE: in the UK people put in offers on rent much like you would on a house. Basically, we weren't willing to risk putting in an offer that anyone else could beat. So we were extremely relieved to find out later that day (Wednesday) that our offer had been accepted, and Mark was on top of things and put down the holding fee. We then had 24 hours to fill out the application forms, which we promptly slid under the estate agent's door Thursday morning. I might add that the estate agent is essentially located next door to us. Alas, Mark's references all came back safe and sound on Tuesday, but mine dilly-dallied until today. But finally, we received the all clear that the place would be ours on June 16th. We have to be out of our current place on the 18th, so we've got a Monday, Tuesday, and a Wednesday to move our stuff from one place to the other and leave the old one in at least decent condition, making sure we don't forget our curtains.

So where are we moving? Although it may sound a bit boring, our new flat is located about a 5 minute walk from our current one, on a street called Radipole Road. Google Earth tells me we will be exactly the same distance from the tube, but closer to the local bus stops. Farther from Tesco, but just a little bit closer to Fulham Broadway. Closer to the dry cleaner, but farther from a pub.

It's again a one bedroom place, but considerably smaller than our current one, thanks to the 'study' we now enjoy. We are very happy to exchange this extra space for the extreme niceness of the new place and the (from our 30 second glimpse) quality of the finishing. Plus, instead of a futon there's an actual couch. Well, it's a loveseat actually, but still, I'm not expecting to fear it breaking every time I sit down. There will also be plenty of room for dancing around playing wii, and as it's up one floor from street level, people walking by can't laugh at us! There's of course still room for any guests that find themselves passing through town! Oh, and I'll take pictures as soon as I get the keys!