We still can't find a house that will let our two small families rent together. Steve and I are so anxious and stressed and emotional it is showing in all aspects. We can't sleep well and we worry all the time we won't have a place for the girls to call home. But then we also feel reassured that we need to wait for what is good.
We have seen 3 properties that will allow sharers but they all just didn't quite meet the basic needs we will need. Yesterday was a tough day as I called Northwood Estate Agents to request a follow up call regarding a 4bedroom property for our 2 families to share. The woman that spoke to me was just so rude. She didn't ask about my back story or try and help assure me that other properties would come up. She just declared she was the director of the Exeter branch and she "would never rent this property with THAT many children as it would be to much wear and tear". I don't know if she meant to be harsh, but as I tried to understand why or if there was any negotiating with maybe us paying more deposit to cover the extra ware and tare, she wouldn't even let me get my comments out and then ended our conversation with the fact that she "is the director and the decision doesn't come down to what the landlord wants but that they as the letting managers make the final decision of who gets the property". I hung up the phone and cried. All we are trying to do is move our normal, hard working family to Exeter, to have a nice, clean, safe home for our 3 young children and be able to share a property well... and by well I mean look after it, keep it clean and in good order, pay our bills on time and contribute positively to our neighbourhood. But it just seems that Estate Agents in Exeter just don't care. That no mater what our story is, they just want what is an easy money maker. I can't blame them, but how I wish the world was different and place that dealt with helping people find their homes cared a bit more about how stressful and scary it is to move to a new place and make a good go at life! My rating of NorthWood Estate Agents is very low and I personally would avoid dealing with them in the future if I could. Other estate agents have told us the same but have been much more understanding and caring in the process and encouraged us to keep looking. This was not the vibe Northwood Estate Agents gave, instead making me feel like an inconvenience, stupid for having children and an unworthy customer.
HOWEVER, after I cried (secretly because my 2 year old little girl was hanging on my leg asking why I was sniffing and I want to be strong for her!). I called a couple other estate agents where we had viewed two houses that just won't work for us because they didn't have enough bathrooms/toilets or had very small kitchens. I spoke to an Estate Agents at Martin and Co, and what a world of a difference. She was so respectful and encouraging. She actually gave me a pep talk and said she would keep her eye out for us to try and help flag properties for us that would work. I know she can only work with what she gets, but wow, she provided such an excellent services I want to only look at properties listed through Martin and Co and I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend working with Madeline from Martin and Co as she is a wonderful human being.
Our emotions are everywhere. I feel a crazy person that we don't have a house to move to and we have to move in two weeks... but if I really start ranting it seems best to wait and get the right place then rush into something that won't work.
Steve and I are just so astonished by how Estate Agents in Exeter run and that there is such a lack of understanding, compassion or encouragement for families to live together. We keep saying... we just need to start our own Estate Agents when we get down to Exeter... one that encourages people to live together and find a way to make that more appealing to Landlords. Living together is soooooo much better for the environment, people, communities, economy! By our two families living together we 4 will be able to team work the child care of our 3 kids which means that the mamas will be able to get back to work easier, we will be able to share bills and thus keep them lower cost, we will use less goods and thus be less of a drain on nature and her resources, we will be able to encourage and support each other through low mental health times (which everyone has especially when moving to a new area and starting new jobs)... this probably will mean we get sick less, have to take less time of work, visit the NHS less and generally feel healthier as people! The list goes on and on.... To start an Estate agents that encourages families to live together... even short term so that they can save deposits to buy their own homes (which is a HUGE reason we all want to share) ... this is what Exeter needs more of! Especially if some of the profits made went back into the community to make affordable homes in a social enterprise model. I'm convinced we could get some grant money to start something like this... and we need to start something like this. We can't be the only families considering this way of life. right? #dreambrewing
Our trip down to Exeter this weekend we will look at a house we found on Gumtree and also a house that came as a recommendation off messaging local churches in Exeter (but the church house seems like it will be to small for us, but we want to see it if possible).
Thursday, May 11, 2017
Sunday, May 7, 2017
Hold Fast...
This weekend we went down to Exeter for our second trip of house hunting. What an emotional rollercoaster. We were so excited that we found some friends to watch both our girls and I worked hard all week to ween our little baby girl from breast feeding to bottle (eew sorry for all those boobie/milky grossed out people, I won't speak of it again).
We zoomed down there and made great time. We had three houses to see originally but one totally called and said they had shown it and it had rented. BUMMER! But we remain hopeful. We got a viewing last min on a house we weren't sure we wanted to see but because we had time in our day we thought "why not"
Once we arrived in exeter... wow... there was a massive car accident somewhere plus combined with it being Friday afternoon meant traffic was a beast. We have come to dislike almost every estate agents we speak to as they all say they are "for the customer" when clearly they just want the easy customer that has money....
Because we want to live in a house and share it as two small families we get to look at 1 out of 5 houses that are available.... and the ones we have been viewing just aren't going to work for us. Either the parking is horrendous or the kitchens are crazy small or the living areas is wickedly cramped, or the garden is non-existent. My husband and I spend most of the time diving back (and honestly driving around that day) arguing about what wouldn't or wouldn't work. We have the pressure not only of choosing a house for ourselves but also choosing a house for our sister's family to live in too.
Almost every house I walked in all I could see was the potential and all my husband could see was its short comings. By the time we argued to a compromise we would decide it wasn't for us. The last house we looked at again was on that Roydans Estate. We love it there so much, but the house we looked at was great for the bedroom lay out but the living space downstairs and parking was just too much of a compromise.
We sulked back to Colchester wishing that our house hunt had ended but feeling like this was just the beginning. We have to be moving in little over two weeks and we don't have any house to go to. We called our sister and brother-in-law and after chatting we all decided waiting .. even if it meant packing up our current houses and putting everything in storage and living with friends and family for a bit, would be better than taking up a tenancy for a house that just wouldn't work for us.
My husband and I decided to spend all day Saturday praying... well we set the alarms on our phones to go off ever hour and we would just shoot up quick prayers to God. Not necessarily that he would "hear our prayers and give us what we want" but to ready our hearts for whatever the future holds.
We all feel oddly calm. Oddly peaceful. We want a house to share more than anything but so many people have sent us message this week reminding to "wait on God, move in his time, not to rush, to wait of the right thing." We are confident we must wait, but it all seems so cloudy and hazy as to what our future will hold.
A few people have asked if we have messaged churches to ask if they had any help or support they could give. It seems like such a long shot sense we have no links or connection to them, but I gave it a try and messaged around to some churches, My husband reminded me of the church we had seen was running in a community centre on our favourite estate Roydans Estate. Its called Trinity Church and I love everything I am reading about it. How a group of Christians has purposefully moved out to this new estate to just let people know about Jesus! I said to my husband... this Roydan Estate seems to have EVERYTHING we are wanting and praying for... ACCEPT A HOUSE!
Ready our hearts God... Ready our hearts for whatever the future holds and may our faith stay strong in you!
We zoomed down there and made great time. We had three houses to see originally but one totally called and said they had shown it and it had rented. BUMMER! But we remain hopeful. We got a viewing last min on a house we weren't sure we wanted to see but because we had time in our day we thought "why not"
Once we arrived in exeter... wow... there was a massive car accident somewhere plus combined with it being Friday afternoon meant traffic was a beast. We have come to dislike almost every estate agents we speak to as they all say they are "for the customer" when clearly they just want the easy customer that has money....
Because we want to live in a house and share it as two small families we get to look at 1 out of 5 houses that are available.... and the ones we have been viewing just aren't going to work for us. Either the parking is horrendous or the kitchens are crazy small or the living areas is wickedly cramped, or the garden is non-existent. My husband and I spend most of the time diving back (and honestly driving around that day) arguing about what wouldn't or wouldn't work. We have the pressure not only of choosing a house for ourselves but also choosing a house for our sister's family to live in too.
Almost every house I walked in all I could see was the potential and all my husband could see was its short comings. By the time we argued to a compromise we would decide it wasn't for us. The last house we looked at again was on that Roydans Estate. We love it there so much, but the house we looked at was great for the bedroom lay out but the living space downstairs and parking was just too much of a compromise.
We sulked back to Colchester wishing that our house hunt had ended but feeling like this was just the beginning. We have to be moving in little over two weeks and we don't have any house to go to. We called our sister and brother-in-law and after chatting we all decided waiting .. even if it meant packing up our current houses and putting everything in storage and living with friends and family for a bit, would be better than taking up a tenancy for a house that just wouldn't work for us.
My husband and I decided to spend all day Saturday praying... well we set the alarms on our phones to go off ever hour and we would just shoot up quick prayers to God. Not necessarily that he would "hear our prayers and give us what we want" but to ready our hearts for whatever the future holds.
We all feel oddly calm. Oddly peaceful. We want a house to share more than anything but so many people have sent us message this week reminding to "wait on God, move in his time, not to rush, to wait of the right thing." We are confident we must wait, but it all seems so cloudy and hazy as to what our future will hold.
A few people have asked if we have messaged churches to ask if they had any help or support they could give. It seems like such a long shot sense we have no links or connection to them, but I gave it a try and messaged around to some churches, My husband reminded me of the church we had seen was running in a community centre on our favourite estate Roydans Estate. Its called Trinity Church and I love everything I am reading about it. How a group of Christians has purposefully moved out to this new estate to just let people know about Jesus! I said to my husband... this Roydan Estate seems to have EVERYTHING we are wanting and praying for... ACCEPT A HOUSE!
Ready our hearts God... Ready our hearts for whatever the future holds and may our faith stay strong in you!
Monday, May 1, 2017
Rental Rat Race!
We headed down to Exeter/ the area this weekend to look for a house to rent. A little update is that our sister and brother-in-law have gotten jobs that are going to start the same time as my husbands and so we are looking to rent a big 4/5 bedroom house together.
we thought it would be fairly easy, find a big house, put down the deposit and rent it.
However, it is turning out not that easy. First off, about half (if not more) of the big houses listed for rent in Exeter/the area do not accept sharers of any kind. What a shame! with the world the way it is now and how hard it is to find places to live families working together to live and share the stresses of life is becoming more essential. Yet another hurdle to get over.
So out of a list of 7 houses we were able to see 3 of them. The first house we saw was on Roydans Estate. I couldn't recommend this area of Exeter anymore. We instantly fell in love with it. There is a train station, local parks, community centre (which runs an array of children/work out/ church/community groups), there is a shopping complex across the busy main road that has a big superstore (tesco), pet shops, furniture stores, fast-food (pizza hut/KFC!). We loved the house that we saw and put our referencing offer in straight away. Ex of Exeter Estate agents were absolutely brilliant. We had a guy named Ian show us around the house and he was very personable, honest and friendly. Unfortunately another family also loved our "most amazing house ever" find and we were passed over for their less complicated situation. This was totally understandable, but wow did it feel like a kick to our guts! We had been watching that house when it was listed as more expensive, then the week we went down to look at houses it dropped in price to our spend range, then they didn't have space to show us and then a space opened up. The lay out couldn't have been more perfect to host our families, it was set up so beautifully for our families... we even thought because the family that lived there had relocated to another country that they would sympathise with our story and go for us... hahah but sadly the world doesn't work that way.
We looked at two other properties (one right outside exeter near Ide) but even though it said it was only 3-4 miles from exeter it felt AGES away and there wasn't really anything happening there.... I can't see that working.
THEN we went down to Dawlish and WHAT A PLEASANT SURPRISE. The town/community felt family friendly, beautiful and possible. The train station is LITERALLY on the sea, there are loads of little coffee shops, tea rooms, fish and chips and small quirky shops... I liked it... I liked it more than I thought. They have such a beautiful little brooke that runs through the centre of the downtown and there are lights set up, a little duck sanctuary, ice cream shops a little community theatre! The vibe was definitely more exciting and liveable than I thought it would be. The house we saw there would work... but it felt very tired and there were a few things that just made it feel not right.
We found out while we were sitting on the grassy green in Dawlish that we didn't get accepted on our first house of choice and it did put a bit of a sour perspective on things. I seriously almost cried. I just want a home. Something we all could be proud of and happy in and settled in. We were so sure the Roydan Estate house was THE ONE!
We spend the 5 hour drive back to Essex just talking and talking and talking this move to death! What will we do now. We only have 4 more weeks. Maybe living together won't be as easy as we thought! why is it so hard to find a house for us to live in? how long can we go on with out a plan? We talked it over loads with my husbands parents. They have lots of wise experience moving and that helped to calm our nerves and emotions.
After talking with them we decided that we really need to priorities my husband and brother in laws jobs and being in a place that will make them settling into their work as smooth as possible. And also making sure that we stick to our guns and get a home that will have the space we need.
When we got back to Colchester, Essex we sat on our couch after wrestling our two babies to bed, we were exhausted. Our creativity and fight for making this move fun and exciting was at an all time low. But some how we managed to get out our phones, make a new list of houses we maybe could see, write a list of ideal characters our rental property would have and a list of things we would compromise on.
We took deep breaths, we prayed again and we planned our next trip to Exeter sometime next week or the week after. Money is running out, time is running short..... wow moving has a way a stretching us!
we thought it would be fairly easy, find a big house, put down the deposit and rent it.
However, it is turning out not that easy. First off, about half (if not more) of the big houses listed for rent in Exeter/the area do not accept sharers of any kind. What a shame! with the world the way it is now and how hard it is to find places to live families working together to live and share the stresses of life is becoming more essential. Yet another hurdle to get over.
So out of a list of 7 houses we were able to see 3 of them. The first house we saw was on Roydans Estate. I couldn't recommend this area of Exeter anymore. We instantly fell in love with it. There is a train station, local parks, community centre (which runs an array of children/work out/ church/community groups), there is a shopping complex across the busy main road that has a big superstore (tesco), pet shops, furniture stores, fast-food (pizza hut/KFC!). We loved the house that we saw and put our referencing offer in straight away. Ex of Exeter Estate agents were absolutely brilliant. We had a guy named Ian show us around the house and he was very personable, honest and friendly. Unfortunately another family also loved our "most amazing house ever" find and we were passed over for their less complicated situation. This was totally understandable, but wow did it feel like a kick to our guts! We had been watching that house when it was listed as more expensive, then the week we went down to look at houses it dropped in price to our spend range, then they didn't have space to show us and then a space opened up. The lay out couldn't have been more perfect to host our families, it was set up so beautifully for our families... we even thought because the family that lived there had relocated to another country that they would sympathise with our story and go for us... hahah but sadly the world doesn't work that way.
We looked at two other properties (one right outside exeter near Ide) but even though it said it was only 3-4 miles from exeter it felt AGES away and there wasn't really anything happening there.... I can't see that working.
THEN we went down to Dawlish and WHAT A PLEASANT SURPRISE. The town/community felt family friendly, beautiful and possible. The train station is LITERALLY on the sea, there are loads of little coffee shops, tea rooms, fish and chips and small quirky shops... I liked it... I liked it more than I thought. They have such a beautiful little brooke that runs through the centre of the downtown and there are lights set up, a little duck sanctuary, ice cream shops a little community theatre! The vibe was definitely more exciting and liveable than I thought it would be. The house we saw there would work... but it felt very tired and there were a few things that just made it feel not right.
We found out while we were sitting on the grassy green in Dawlish that we didn't get accepted on our first house of choice and it did put a bit of a sour perspective on things. I seriously almost cried. I just want a home. Something we all could be proud of and happy in and settled in. We were so sure the Roydan Estate house was THE ONE!
We spend the 5 hour drive back to Essex just talking and talking and talking this move to death! What will we do now. We only have 4 more weeks. Maybe living together won't be as easy as we thought! why is it so hard to find a house for us to live in? how long can we go on with out a plan? We talked it over loads with my husbands parents. They have lots of wise experience moving and that helped to calm our nerves and emotions.
After talking with them we decided that we really need to priorities my husband and brother in laws jobs and being in a place that will make them settling into their work as smooth as possible. And also making sure that we stick to our guns and get a home that will have the space we need.
When we got back to Colchester, Essex we sat on our couch after wrestling our two babies to bed, we were exhausted. Our creativity and fight for making this move fun and exciting was at an all time low. But some how we managed to get out our phones, make a new list of houses we maybe could see, write a list of ideal characters our rental property would have and a list of things we would compromise on.
We took deep breaths, we prayed again and we planned our next trip to Exeter sometime next week or the week after. Money is running out, time is running short..... wow moving has a way a stretching us!
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