I can’t quite believe it but our quirky little cottage is now officially ‘on the market’.  Have a wee nosy by clicking here.

To be honest the whole thing is very bittersweet, after years of work on the cottage, renovating, decorating and getting it to look exactly how we want it too…we are moving on.  Why, I hear you say?  Well, this is a question that keeps coming to me too at the moment, especially since the house went on the market yesterday morning and we already have 9 viewings booked in.

It really all boils down to the Help To Buy Scheme and the fact that it has almost run out for this year and that there is no certainty the Government will re-allocate budget for next year.  So how does it work?  In a very topline nutshell (for more indepth info click the link above), for people buying a new build home up to the value of £250K, there is scope that they would be eligible for Help To Buy from the Government, where they only have to put down a 5% deposit for their new home and the Government put down 20%.  This then becomes an interest-free loan, which has to be paid back on the sale of the house – if the house increases in value whilst you live there, when you sell the Government also benefit from the equity gained with 20% of the sale price.  However likewise, if the house depreciates in value, you still only pay back 20% of the house sale price.

So the scheme was brought forward for this year and actually launched in October 2014 and instead of lasting until March 2016, it is already running at 85% of it’s total budget et voile, this is the reason we are trying to push through the sale of our house.  The dream is a new build and the dream is currently only possible with Help To Buy.

The minefield of picking an Estate Agent took place last week.  Before kicking off the process Lee and I had no clue how to sell a house, but my dad, being a lawyer, advised that we have a few Estate Agents out to the house to view and evaluate, decide who of them to go with based on their costs and evaluation of the house and then from there get a Home Report and get the house on the market based on the value in the Home Report.

We saw both Slater Hogg and K-Property and decided to go with K-Property.  We loved owner Katrina’s view and enthusiasm when it came to the cottage, we realise that not everyone will like our style, but it was clear she does and she is confident that she can sell our house, which has reduced our stress, anxiety and nerves…somewhat.

The first viewing of the cottage was only 4.5 hours after the cottage went on the market.  Katrina had an appointment and so we were happy to let the trendy young couple have a look about the gaff at their leisure.  Unfortunately the lovely lady potential buyer cracked her head on the way into the kitchen and then Lee and I, for some reason, found ourselves completely inept when it came to talking, Lee called the potential male buyer by his own name and we in no way sold the house.

Needless to say that all future viewings will be handled by K-Property!

Fingers crossed, 1 of the 9 viewers booked in so far will make an offer, I will be sure to keep you all posted x