Dear Diary #13: Completion! I’m Officially A Homeowner

I started this project on the 13th of November 2006 (seems like a distant memory now), it stretched over Christmas and rolled into the New Year. I completed on the 15th of March 2007.

It took 122 days (4 months and 2 days) to worm my way through to the other end of the tunnel in one piece. Surprisingly, so did my conveyance solicitor, but that certainly wouldn’t have been the case if it were up to me.

I know, I know, and you’re right! Rainbows and unicorns should be flying out of my ass and I should only have positive thoughts right now. But I wanted one last final swipe at those incompetent pricks!

Okay, I’m done! Back to rainbows and unicorns…

I received the magical nod at 2pm that the transaction was complete, so I jumped into my car and went to pick up the keys from the estate agent. During my journey, it suddenly dawned upon that I couldn’t quite remember what the property looked like.

I mean, I had an idea, but the details were blurry. It had been over four months since I last saw it.

Is that normal? Is that like an anxiety or nerve induced reaction? What if it’s a shithole?

Dear Lord, what have I done?

After picking up the keys and thanking my estate agent for all his hard work, I jumped back into my car and put my foot on the gas and made my way as quickly as possible (all within the speed limits, of course) to my shiny new investment.

I arrived. It looks good!

I approach the front door and slowly unlock it.

What a strange feeling. Also smell.

You know how every house has its own unique smell? This house’s scent hit me flush on the nose as soon as I popped my head in, but not in a bad way, in a very unfamiliar way.

The place appeared pleasantly more spacious than I remembered (probably because it’s empty, duh!). But what’s also funny is that I expected the kitchen to be at the front of the property, and the living room to be at the back, but it was actually the other way round.

Crickey, I may have confused it with another property I viewed.

“Am I in the right place?”

The front door has the right number on it.

I think among all the stress and drama of legally acquiring the property, I lost focus on the property itself.

But I wasn’t disappointed. Actually, the property was better than I expected it to be, and everything looked in good nick. To my delight, even the walls and carpets/flooring looked almost brand spanking new. At most, the place needed a bit of spring cleaning and the garden needed tidying, but other than that rent-ready I’d say.

It’s mine!

ALL MINE!

The next step: become a landlord

As for the remaining 10% of my objective, I ‘spose I better start the process of finding a tenant so I can make the final transition into a ‘orrible little bastard landlord…