Bloor Homes » Background

My final blog post – farewell!

Craig — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 12:00:00 +0000

And so, the end is here. It is just over 6 months since I posted my first entry, and we have been through so much together. We’ve had:

• snags galore (here and here)
• gadgets galore (here and here)
• near disaster (here and here)
• killer flies (here)
• and sexy lingerie (here).

I hope that my posts have informed and entertained you. They have certainly provided me with a welcome outlet for many of the frustrations involved with buying a new home.

It only remains for me to thank my wife for her unending support and New Build Inspections for sponsoring this blog. Oh yes, and to provide one final, shameless plug for my hilarious novel ‘A Foreign Education’. Please visit my web site at www.CraigAlanWilliamson.com to download a free preview, or head straight to Amazon UK or Amazon USA to buy a copy of the paperback!

Christmas in June

Craig — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 19:45:32 +0000

I woke up this morning feeling like a little child, and it wasn’t just because of the pool of urine on my waterproof sheets. No, the feeling was one of uncontrollable excitement like I had just broken up from school for the Christmas holidays. In a few short days Santa Claus would be on his way to unload his bulging sack onto my bed, and I couldn’t wait for him to visit. Of course, I’m actually 31 years old and it is the middle of June, but the feeling is strong nevertheless.

So what is the source of my excitement? Well, our home inspection is planned for this Thursday (21st) and it is almost 7 months since we paid our deposit so the build-up has been quite considerable. It is now the final few days before we get to see the finished article, resplendent in its newly finished tiling, freshly installed kitchen, and builder-Christened lavatories. The day is almost here…our dreams are almost reality…but the house is not going to be ready. Our inspection has been delayed until Monday 25th June. At least it will be exactly 6 months from Christmas Day.

The story so far

Tony — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 20:00:00 +0000

Way back in November 2006 my wife and I found the perfect house. It was only an artist’s impression at the time, backed up by a brick outline in the middle of a muddy and cow-less field. But after searching in vain for a ‘used’ house that we liked, it seemed like the perfect option. We paid our deposit and reserved a 4 bedroom, three storey end-terrace from Bloor Homes. Contracts were to be exchanged within a month, and completion was estimated to be in March/April 2007.

We exchanged contracts in late January 2007, with a slight delay due to the holiday period and some absent paperwork from the information pack sent to our solicitors. By the end of February we had sold our previous house and moved into a rented apartment, thinking that our stay would only be for a couple of months at the most. But we were soon informed that completion had slipped to May/June and so I settled in for another few months of “I hate this flat” comments from my good lady wife.

We visited the new house in April and all 4 walls were in place, together with 3 floors but no roof. Walking around the entirely empty ground floor everything seemed so small, but I knew that it would look much bigger once the partition walls were in place.

We saw the house again in late May (we live around 2 hours away so regular journeys are not that simple!) when the roof was on and all the internal partition walls were in place, together with an assortment of cables and pipes. We were then informed that completion would probably be at the end of June 2007, and so the end almost appeared to be in sight.

Our inspection was arranged shortly afterwards, with a tentative date of Thursday 21st June, whilst completion is scheduled for Friday 29th June.

The new home experience

Tony — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 20:00:00 +0000

I will be using this blog to share the new home experience with you in all of its financially crippling glory. Together we will go through the ups (”…darling, I think we need a 42 inch TV for our new lounge…”) and the downs (”…a granite worktop costs how much?”), the highs (”…maybe even 50 inches, I’m sure it would fit…”) and the lows (”…just for a worktop, are you sure?”), as well as the joy (”…42 inches of pure plasma pleasure – I’m so happy!”) and the tears (”…it’s a piece of rock for god’s sake – how can a piece of rock cost so much?”).

I hope to cover snagging issues, moving in, settling in, buying things, installing things, breaking things, fixing things – basically, anything and everything related to buying and living in a new home. I hope you can join me for the ride.