Opulent Diaries

The title of this week's blog is in reference to a song sung by the much loved 70s band ‘The Carpenters’. Of which the soundtrack was used in popular culture for the movie ‘1408’ starring John Cusack; who investigates paranormal activities in room 1408 where he is repeatedly tormented by the past dwellers so 23 High St feels exactly like that.

There’s like 99 things left to do and just like the song it’s a red alert as we are not in the clear and can very much lose the house. It seems the renovation is never ending and any donations made from the family just zapped into this money pit. If you don’t like big numbers then look away as the following tackles a fair few digits and where we’re at this precise moment.

Halfway through November and we’re nearing the end of the project. It has got to be said without a shadow of doubt that this project should’ve been completed months back. The ultimate success of this project falls within the scope of the following: Project Manager, Plumbers, Plasterers and Painters.

Wow! so it appears Kevin may have a heart after all…I’m going to start calling him Kevin Hart; you know that cute guy in the movies...okay bad joke. On a serious note Kevin is the Director of Ascot Bridging Finance and a major decision maker. Contrary to popular belief he wasn’t the ‘ugly’ that would be our project manager who really is the single most coldest person I've ever had the dis-pleasure of meeting.

The only hope I am clinging on is that they can figure out it’s not worth their while to take us to court (we don’t have a bucket to p*** in) and also that repossessing the house will be a loss. So it is in the best interest of both parties involved to let us just finish the damn thing.

Location: Wainfleet All saints, Skegness, Lincolnshire is an ancient port and market town on the east coast of England. The town is close to Skegness beach with high tourism in the summer and an abundance of caravan parks and cute bungalows in the area. Popular for pre-wedding Hen and Stag nights. It’s picturesque in the winter, has local amenities and a village feel with plenty to do.

‘Two weeks wait’; what do I mean by this? Although not literally but it could be implied that waiting for a valuation is almost as nerve wracking as a period of trying to conceive (TTC) where couples have to wait for that dreaded test result and everything depends on the (+) or (-). The process of a valuation is quite similar in respect as it's a time of high anxiety, worry and frustration, will your project fail or prove fruitful?

We will go through some of the plans for our property and list the jobs for each person who is managing the refurbishment project. It may seem straight forward but each job comes with its own set of problems. What should only take a matter of days to complete can take weeks due to the shortage of materials and/or the demand for the builders to complete other projects they have signed up to.

It is my first ever mortgage application and so much financial terminology. The application itself was not too bad and fairly straight forward as majority of it is done during the fact find stage (basically the application). You have to appoint a broker, in my case it’s a lovely gentleman named Daniel Kilmimister

Ninety weeks in and it’s back to plan B! Do be prepared for this as you will be going backwards and forward a lot on projects. Factors beyond your control will happen and you will have to make swift decisions to reflect the changing nature of the renovation. For us it was the option of a holiday let. We have missed the peak staycation season

When I told him elderly members of the family had contributed and that there is no exception that these individuals will need to be paid back only then did I witness some movement/empathy in him. LIke when someone is waking up from a coma and you see a flicker of the pupils as if he’s coming back to the awakening.

Our project manager said he will sort out the screed but after months of nothing happening, I had to do something, I got someone to accept the job, after waiting three weeks he came out to inspect the property and measure up only to say no he can't do it because it was on the High Street and access is difficult. What kind of an excuse is that?

How do you move forward from events or situations that are so challenging that they change the chemistry of your body? Wow, when I read that back that sounds quite drastic. Even still, there were some episodes that evoked such strong emotions that one is sometimes unable to control them.

This week the appointments are coming in thick and fast. It's crazy arranging suitable time slots when you're working remotely. Our lovely plumber Brent has been kind enough to come on site this Wednesday to allow access to various trades in order for them to do their thing.

After a stint of some difficult time, I am glad to say we have made peace (well had no choice in the matter) as death never comes invited. However, it’s not all doom and gloom, we are back in action and things are looking rosey again.

It's August and I can’t believe how quickly time has gone by. Before we know it, the second and final deadline will be upon us and we will be nowhere near the finishing line. We recently took a (forced) break from the project while the extension from the lenders was coming through

With deep regret and a heart full of sorrow, this week my best friend has lost her husband to covid. Some difficult times ahead...Please stay safe everyone and love you all.

Anyway our valuation report came back way less than what we had expected (£110,000) even though we had spent £80,000 in repairs. This has put us in a vulnerable place as the bridging company can now only offer us £12,000 for our second draw-down.