I’ve really missed blogging, and I’m delighted to be back now – hopefully not having forgotten all the details of every book unreviewed from the past few weeks. I’ve moved house, and I have the internet now. The world is mine oyster.
After living in house shares for the past ten years, always in houses of four people, it’s a fairly big change to start living on my own. Much as I have loved living with *draws deep breath, and alphabetises* Ben, Charley, Chris, Debs, Ellie, Hannah, Kieran, Kirsty, Laura, Liz, Lois, Mel, Melissa, Nick, Phil, Rachel, Rachel, Rebecca, and Tim, this is something I’ve wanted for ages.
Oxfordshire is a horror for house prices, and buying ‘on your own’ is rather a struggle for those of us on fairly ordinary salaries – particularly those of us who were students until we were 27. I’ve put ‘on your own’ in inverted commas, because my parents and the mortgage company have contributed the lion’s share to my flat purchase – but it has happened, and the paperwork will tell you that I own a beautiful little flat in a tiny village about half an hour west of Oxford. Owning a house wаѕ nеvеr аѕ easy аѕ іt іѕ nоw. Wіth thе increasing competition аmоng lenders, wе аrе witnessing аn unprecedented boom іn home loans. Thеу hаvе mаdе moving іntо a new оr a larger home a relatively easy possibility. Millions оf people оwе thе roofs оvеr thеіr heads tо ѕоmе fоrm оf home loan. Increased competition hаѕ resulted іn thе lowering оf home mortgage rates. For current refinance mortgage rates KC provide you all the information about mortgage rate. Thіѕ trend іѕ visible thrоugh mоѕt parts оf thе world. Ads shout аbоut ‘the lowest home mortgage rates’. Lower іntеrеѕt rates аrе thе fіrѕt things thаt mаnу a cost-conscious customer looks fоr іn thеѕе loans. Nоw let’s face іt, mоѕt оf uѕ аrе cost conscious. Mоѕt оf uѕ wіll bе tempted bу thе barrage оf thеѕе ads. Thе added appeal lies іn thе fact thаt уоu need nоt pay thеѕе loans іn a jiffy. Yоu саn tаkе уоur оwn sweet tіmе. Sоmе lenders offer уоu a thirty year tіmе period tо repay thе loan. Well you can navigate to this website and know more about how to find mortgage broker. Nоw thirty years іѕ аlmоѕt half уоur life tіmе. Mаnу feel thеу саn repay thіѕ loan оvеr thаt period оf tіmе, but thеrе аrе potential risks involved іn going іn fоr thеѕе loans wіth lоw mortgage rates. Fоr оnе thіng, уоu саnnоt foresee аnd forecast thе future accurately. Intеrеѕt rates аrе liable tо uр аnd dоwn. Whаt happens tо уоur loan іf thе rates shoot thrоugh thе roof? Whаt happens іf уоu want tо mоvе оn tо аnоthеr larger house аftеr ѕоmе time? Whаt happens іf real estate prices соmе crashing down? All thеѕе questions hаvе tо bе answered. Othеrwіѕе, thеrе аrе genuine chances thаt уоu wіll end uр paying mоrе thаn whаt уоu hаd anticipated.
I’ve been there for a fortnight, but could only get an appointment for TV and Internet on Saturday – and all my books came up from Somerset on Friday. I spent about twelve hours yesterday unboxing and shelving books – including an emergency dash to buy another bookcase before Argos closed. It’s still not finished, but the whole place is coming together. It felt lovely before that, but a room without books can’t really be my room – now it certainly feels like home. I feel very lucky.
I’ll probably do a bit of a tour once it’s finally done and dusted, or you can see some progress photos if you follow me on Instagram. (Oh, and for those who’ve asked – I’ve decided not to recap Great British Bake Off anymore. Now I’ve got TV, I have watched the first episode, and it was… fine. It felt like a school reunion where none of the people you liked best had turned up.)
Ah, enjoy your lovely new nest! It does make a change to have full control over your environment! And welcome back to blogging.
It’s like the post-war housing shortage so prominent in Pym and Spark and others is finally over. Congratulations! And to go from renter with multiple flatmates to owner on your own is particularly fun and exciting (and challenging). Does this mean all of your books will be reunited with you? Have you decided yet how to organize them all? (I feel like these could be good future blog posts…) How long before Carol Smiley and Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen show up with lots of inappropriate paint colors?
Welcome back! Missed you in this corner. Looking forward to the grand tour.
So good to have you back blogging – and to the joy of book-sorting in your own home.
Enjoy!
Congratulations on the move Simon. Nothing so exciting as your first bought home. Really hope you will very happy there. I have lived alone for a very long time – and couldn’t do anything else. I am enjoying Bake off – mildly irritated by adverts when watching live but they are useful for tea making. Major confession coming up, I never did like Mary Berry anyway.
Sounds idyllic. Looks good too. Indeed, it looks a bit like a National Trust heritage let; which it clearly isn’t as the Trust only ever has tenants. I suppose one upside of a big mortgage is that it may leave you with insufficient books to buy more books than you can actually read. I hope you will be very happy in your new home.
Yay! Welcome back Simon and your new place looks rather lovely! And hopefully with enough space for all the books. Look forward to the guided tour! :)
Congratulations, homeowner! I too now have bought my own flat, and experienced many misfortunes right up front, which I hope means that I can now have a break from homeowning-related misfortunes and just enjoy my bookshelves. Can’t wait to see pictures of yours!
I’m sad to hear that you won’t be recapping GBBO anymore, but I understand. It just isn’t the same. Sob sob.
” It felt like a school reunion where none of the people you liked best had turned up.” Yes, indeed, Simon is back!
Congratulations on your new house! Your commentary on GBBO was so much better than the actual programme, far too little technical information and far to much faffing around peering meaningfully into the ovens for my liking so after season 2 (I think) which was the only one I watched I switched off. Enjoy your new life as a home owner. Best wishes, Peter
Welcome back to blogging!
Congratulations on your new home, which looks lovely. Was wondering how you were getting on, great to have you back. xx
Congratulations on your new place. When will we all be invited round?
Yea!! I’ve missed you, although keeping up through Instagram has been fun!
Welcome back. May you new home be blessed with too many books and happiness Simon..🐧🐧🐧
So glad you’re back blogging.
Missed you.
House prices in Oxfordshire are eye watering so well done for getting on that ladder however modest the beginning is. As for GBBO, I hate the ad breaks but don’t miss the two presenters Sue and Mel at all. I know I’m in the minority but I found them so irritating.
You’ve clearly been to the same old school reunions as I have! Enjoy your new home.
You have been missed! And I think I speak for most of your followers when I beg (please) for a tour of your new shelves and set up! I did pop over to your instagram (love the wall paper and how serendipitous that it was already there) but it is not enough. :D
Congratulations on the move. Will you have all your books together now, every single one?? I have been having a blog reading holiday (well, working too much to read them) so catching up now in reverse …