Moving Home (fingers crossed)

So far so good, but I don't want to tempt fate.

I have told my solicitors, my buyers solicitors and the estate agent that I want to get to exchange of contracts by 31 August. Only then can I really start to look forward to my new home, throw out old furniture, plan the removal etc.

I have answered all of the solicitors queries, signed all the forms, and agreed to make all the payments. My buyer has had my flat surveyed and been round with a builder to ascertain the work he wants to do. And there have been no negative comments from that.

I guess the local authority searches are on-going and a slow local authority (is there any other type?) could slow things down. And, worryingly, I understand that my buyers mortgage is not quite finalised. So things could still go wrong.

And of course I occasionally have second thoughts. I have been twice to the Council tip with stuff I have thrown out. I have twice been to a charity shop to give them staff that is still worth something. I have put some stuff up for sale on Gumtree. However I still have a lot of items that I won't have room for but which I do not want to throw out. Some are old photographs. Some are old papers. Some are pictures and ornaments that I have collected on my travels over the years - plates from Iran, paintings from Siberia, carvings from India etc. I worry about not having a garage.

But generally I am really looking forward to the new home, to swimming in the local pool in the morning before work, having a shorter walk to the station, joining the local tennis club, maybe joining a drama club, cycling along the banks of the River Lea, taking walks to new places, sipping a Pinot Grigio while sitting on the balcony etc.

Scary and stressful. But also exciting.

This photo shows Hertford with my flat shown in the middle of the photo near the top, just past Tesco and Hertford East station. My balcony, facing away from the camera, overlooks the river and the Meadows beyond. Maybe, just maybe, I could be living there by this time next month.