Farewell to the Bunch, farewell to the shade and the whispering sound of the cool colonnade …
We did it. A month ago I didn’t think it would be possible. From offer to completion in thirty days. And as anyone who has bought or sold a property in England knows, the road to completion is paved with potholes. Those of you, who have visited the Bunch will know that its location in its Huguenot dell is magical because it’s so far from the road. But ‘so far from the road’ is not an expression removal men like to hear, especially when the first day of the process is the hottest day of the year and the last is one of the wettest; and especially when 125 of the boxes are books; and especially when there’s a range cooker … but they did a stunning job and I thank them all. I feel as though I spent most of the time making tea, but I did find time for the odd snap along the way.
BTW For my non-English friends … we have an utterly bizarre system where the buyer makes an offer, there’s a lot of hither and thithering, where the solicitors make money and raise objections about things that are unlikely to ever happen, then there’s a survey to show if the house is falling down or not (been there 300 years, probably going to last a bit longer), local searches, which show whether your area is contaminated by Radon, and so it goes on. When all the boxes have been ticked, the buyer and seller exchange contracts, the buyer pays 10% of the price and you’re almost home and dry. The seller then has until completion to move out. But at any time up until exchange, either side can pull out leaving the other side stuffed. It definitely ain’t over until the fat lady sings.