House Up-Date

Well, I thought I would keep you in suspenders no longer. If you have made a guess at which house we are going to see (after saying we wouldn't back in September) is ta daaaa....

That one..

The price has since been dropped and become a fixed price property which is always easier to deal with. It is about an hour away from where we are, in the wrong direction, but the property looks so good we are considering it as, if you have found the right property you'll need to make some sacrifices! I will not be able to report on the actual visit as it is a Solicitor that is taking us round and so the earliest that they could fit us in was the 16th so you lovely people will have to wait until then before you hear all about it. I can give you a low down though.

Five bedrooms, only one bathroom but has a shower room. Kitchen, Living Room/Dining Room, pantry. There are various outhouses and other buildings as well as a small amount of land. Not as much land as we would have liked but there may be the possibility of buying more as it is right in the middle of farm land. Development looks plausible as recently a new build was put up near by, my thinking is if they allowed that then why not a couple of shed conversions, but that would need to be explored. Very close to a lovely tourist area in Scotland and nice central location for a load of others!

So, I am very excited to go and see it. I wanted to the first time I saw it but it was way off our price range! Hooray for recession!

Hope you will join my later to see how the visit went!

Money Saving Ideas - Energy

We are always looking to reduce our expenses and one way that this can be achieved is to lower our energy bills. This is something which most people can relate to and in a lot of areas there is something you can do about it! There are two popular alternatives - Solar power and Wind. Both can be added to existing properties and in many areas there is a grant available to help with the initial costing.

Solar Power

Solar power is not limited to only the sun drenched shores of the Mediterranean, wherever you are there is scope for gaining benefit from the sun. Solar panels on your roof can be used to create electricity or to heat the water in your home. Whatever you choose to do there are things that you should consider before embarking.

Cost - there are, as I have said, grants available to help with the expense but there will be costs to you. These costs will be offset by the amount you save on your energy bills over the life of your panels but should still be considered at the time of placement.
Repair & Maintenance - The panels are hard wearing but as with anything they will deteriorate over time and as aresult will need replacing and, in the worst case, replacing. It will also be good practice to inform your house insurance company of them and ensure that they will also be covered.
Installation - there are many companies, and a quick search of the internet will show them, who are capable of installing the panels for you. But remember there will some time of disruption while the panels are fitted.
Asthetics - soalr panels are not overly offensive but be sure you are going to be happy with them in situ.

Wind Power

Wind power is obviously more suited towards those of us with more wind than the others! Often more rural places or those of us on higher ground will benefit more from the wind turbine. Before deciding on a wind turbine make sure you are going to get enough wind, unlike the solar panels (you are pretty much garenteed that the sun will rise tomorrow) you cannot be sure that it will be windy so these turbines will be useless on many days.

Again however, there are grants out there to help dover the cost of having the turbine installed and many companies that are able to do the work.

Cost - Turbines tend to be more expensive outright than solar panels and as their use is limited to windy days, depending on your wind, may take long to 'pay for themselves'.

Asthetics - Wind turbines need to be above the house height to ensure a good flow of air so you must be prepared for this extra height and feature to your property.

Legal - In some areas it will be sensible to refer to zoning laws as you may not be legally permitted to install a turbine.

Repair & Maintenance - Again they will wear out, although designed well for their purpose and hard wearing, so be prepared to have to fix or replace.

There are always ways to save yourself some cash and generating your own energy is just one of them. But if what you are looking for is simple heating then never forget the simple log fire! If you are lucky enough to have the chimneys in your house intact then make use of them. A chimney can easily be converting back to a functioning fireplace. There is obvioulsy a safety aspect but a good fire guard and some fire safety lessons for children and the fire becomes a wonderful focal point for a room as well as providing a lot of heat. Fuel need not be expensive if you can buy in bulk and if you go for solid fuels like peat (which will smoulder rather than roar) the cost can be kept low.

Downfalls with an open fire is that, unless the rooms are small then a fire tends to heat only one room. However, leaving only specific doors open and allowing the heat to permeate can help spread the warmth through to the most well used rooms. There is talk that 'most of the heat goes up the chimney' and this is true, a lot of heat does escape but a lot of heat is produced so you don't nesecarily want to keep it all. Open fires also have the psychological effect of making the room feel warm, simply because they are there and don't even have to give of that much heat.

Whatever you are looking for in energy saving ideas there is something for everyone. And if all else fails, why not just 'switch it off'!!

Tuesday 21nd April - Property Viewing

Bedrooms: 2/3

Bathrooms: 1 (only a shower room)

Land: 4.5 acres

Features:

Stables for 3, two large sheds, garage, shared private drive

Well, we headed up the driveway and the first thing that we thought was this is nice, bumping along our own country track style driveway. First possible problem with the house is not in itself but in the adjoining property, which is in a very bad state. Not derelict but very unloved. Slates missing and grubby brick work, sad looking car, you get the idea. we are told that the neighbour is an older gentleman taxi driver, who keeps to himself. First visit is to the sheds. Smallest one first, a nice size for a garage and, I'm not great judging distances (woman thing) but I would've thought that it could've taken both cars. They use it to store hay as it is somewhat leaky, but not horrendously so. I've tried to mark on the photo with numbers so this is shed 1. Shed 2 was being used for the horses tack so was perfectly dry and secure. Shed 3 was set up like a motor workshop, viewing pit, that chain thing that lifts the engines about. They were both the same size and could, apparanly hold 6 cars, I would definately have said 4 large saloons easily. The stables were amazing. Great condition and of a very good size, they led straight onto the land and the horses appeared to be able to come and go as they pleased. They are not shown to their best in the photo but they were really nice!

Standing out by the stables though it became apparant how close the motorway was, you could see it and you could definately hear it. To me that's a big issue, I am looking for a country property and would hate to be remined of the town! D didn't seem bothered too much as you couldn't hear it in the house, but I want to be outside!!

The house itself was very small. There was no place for a kitchen table, or any table. The bedrooms were small as was the living room and the bathroom had no bath, just a shower. But they were all livable. The boiler would require replacing and so would the oven. The central heating was LPG so we would be looking to replace that with oil. The windows were aluminium and would need to be replaced at some point. There would definately need to be an extension. We asked about planning permission rulings and he said most people who have been looking at the property have asked the same thing and planning permission seems to be sketchy, it does seem to depend upon exactly what you were looking to do.

All in all a very promising property but there are some bigger issues whcih may turn out to be to big to overcome or live with. We don't mind if the property needs to be changed but the area is something we can't do anything about and so will have to select it carefully!!

Chickens On Film!

I just had to send you this link! This is the funnest thing i've seen in a while and it'll give me my chicken fix for a bit - and hopefully yours! http://www.hencam.co.uk/

I love this idea and it has given me such ideas for what to do with my hens when I get them. Of course my brain is going 'hmm hen cam... goat cam? Horse cam!!' But I do like the idea of having them online so i can check up on them at work, how cool would that be!? And I am sure that D would be up for helping on that as it is all computery and technical and stuff!!