Castlehunting

I feel obliged to post something just so that you all know I haven’t gone into labour yet. It is a few days too soon, obviously, although I would be glad to get to the next screen. It’s too damn hot to be carrying this bowling ball around inside me anymore.

As Pete mentioned, we have been house-hunting. He is optimistic that we can afford the dream house, but it seems that we can at least get our feet on to a reasonable rung of the ladder. It’s simply a question of finding out what our requirements are, and then locating the property that offers as many of these as possible, without being too far from the train station.

So far we have seen three houses, which all had different pros and cons. I think we still have time enough to be picky; it’s not really until we start bursting out of this house at the seams that things will get urgent. I would hate for Pete to have to sell his guitars.

From what we have seen, we have started quite a good list of requirements:

• Minimum three bedrooms. One for us, one for Bernard, and one for Pete’s music/computer/whatever it is he does in there function, to double as occasional guestroom. I don’t see the point of investing money in space that will only be used when people are visiting, so making it into Pete’s mancave makes perfect sense to me.
• Big enough kitchen, preferably with some equipment already installed. At the moment we rent furnished, so will have to invest quite a lot in basic stuff such as a bed and a cooker.
• One bedroom large enough for a king-size bed, so that Pete’s feet don’t stick out. Modern houses simply don’t provide this much space. The bedrooms are all so cramped, or they have built in bedside tables that restrict the size of the furniture you can put in. It’s crazy.
• A garden at least as big as the one we have now. Big enough for a swing and a sandpit, and a composter and a vegetable plot. But not so big that it just becomes a chore. And preferably not overlooked by all the other houses in the street. I like high fences.
• Off-road parking. A garage would be nice, but at least a driveway. We’ll save so much money in not having to replace the wing mirrors and windscreen wipers that have been collected by drunks and schoolkids over the last two years.
• Quiet. A road that kids can play football on. Green spaces.
• Reasonable proximity to the town and the railway station. Who knows what the future holds, but while we share a car, I am likely to need to keep taking trains. I don’t want to be isolated half an hour’s walk away from the nearest shops and cafes.
• Something extra. A conservatory, even if it isn’t the full brick-built, double-glazed monty. Or useable loft space. Just something special. I prefer older houses, with better proportioned rooms and more character, but our budget probably won’t stretch to anything pre-1940. Newbuild turns me off completely, all laminate flooring and rabbit warren estates.

Is this too much to ask?