Weekend

Had a wonderful - if hectic - weekend. We revisited our intended purchase on Saturday where I finally fell headlong in love with it. Despite an asbestos scare on the surveyor's report, which has been narrowed down to a vent pipe (probably the soil vent pipe) and is therefore nothing serious to worry about, our visit was very pleasant. We took Toni's mum and dad for their expert advice, and spent a couple of happy hours nosing around, taking snaps, making plans and generally wishing it was moving day already.

My only worry now is how the valuation on our property will come out - although the valuation of the Colchester house was 10K under (ridiculous, considering what kinds of property are on the market for that price), we're more than happy with the price we've agreed for it. However, I'm left wondering how our valuation will turn out, and if our buyers will be as understanding should it be under-valued, something I'm rapidly coming to believe is more common than is generally let on. I shall be furious if ours is valued less - but hopefully our buyers would quickly realise they'd be lucky to find a house this size for the price we've agreed, never mind whatever valuation it's given.

On Sunday we went to Emma and Paul's wedding in Hertfordshire - Emma is a friend of Toni's, and I thankfully appear to mix quite well with her circle! I was driving, so stayed sober (and thankfully away from the dance floor!), but it was fun to catch up with everyone, show off photos of the house in Colchester and generally realise I won't be quite so cut off when we finally do move to Essex.

It looks increasingly likely that - if all goes to plan (crosses fingers and toes, calls AnE to have toes set in plaster) - we'll be moving early October. We hope to exchange contracts by the end of August. September has been generally agreed to be a no-no - our buyers and vendors are both on holiday for the first two weeks of the month, we're on holiday for the last two weeks and the person at the end of the chain has a very busy September. I suddenly feel very nervous - mind you, I've not had any breakfast yet...