Colchester

Spent a busy day from 12pm to 5pm yesterday viewing houses in Colchester - in the end we managed 10 in total. It felt daunting at first, but we soon settled into a rhythm. One house stood head and shoulders above the rest (see here). If we were in a position to make an offer, we'd definitely... take a second viewing. We've learned a lot from our last house-buying experience, where we had three purchases fall through before we finally secured our current home, so while it was clearly the best on offer, we won't lose any sleep over it. If it's still available when we finally accept an offer on our house, then we'll take it further - assuming we don't find anything better in the meantime, of course!

Yesterday was productive for more reasons too. Six of the properties we viewed were in the Prettygate area of Colchester, and that's definitely our favoured district if we can get in there. We now have a far better idea about the type of house (and garden) we want - it MUST have a study or fourth bedroom for me to work in, and so we're prepared to pay more for that. A long garden is a must too, not just for the cats, but for Toni's green fingers. She wants a workshop, but we can purchase that separately, so it's not as important as a study.

Prettygate is good for local schools, and is five minutes from the A12 - I could get back there now without the aid of a map (mind you, when we next visit in a month or so's time, it'll be interesting to see if I still remember how to get there!). All Saints Avenue is perfectly situated - local shops are five-minute's walk away, and include a Co-op, so I could improve my ethical buying policy further. Town is a five-minute drive or 10-minute bus ride away.

Oh, and we have a far better idea about what questions to ask and what properties to ask Estate Agents to send us. Now all we have to do is get our house ship-shape over the next few weeks and on to the market...