Friday 30 November 2007

Selling the Mouse House


Where to begin. The dapper man who steps out of his pristine car muttering about the "prevailing winds". I, being a tad clueless at this stage say that as we are so high the wind does tend to blow up here fairly! He was asking as he wondered if there would be room to mow a short airstrip through the wheat field for his Cessna!!
Or perhaps the lady who stepped into what I class as quite a large farmhouse kitchen saying it was far too small as she regularly seated 30 in the one she has now, and would wish to do the same here! Blimey, I get in a state if I think I have to cook for six!
I have met some lovely people over the past three weeks or so as I begin the painful process of selling our lovely farm. Not really the right time of year I know to start marketing such a property but my hand was forced as most of you will know by GOH deciding to start afresh with a new model!! I am taking some comfort from the fact that the house he has moved to is turning out to be a bit of a nightmare - unseen rot and him being a Surveyor and all!!!
So, with every approaching new "viewing" the process of coffee making, wood burner lighting, hoovering, cats being booted out etc etc starts. It takes a good two hours to do a basic viewing here with the house, buildings and farm. Nearly all my prospective buyers so far has been non farming folk who now wish to farm and so the process has been rather slow. Explaining crop rotation, set aside, wheat, barley, beans and sugar beet takes some doing without them glazing over at some point. Or me for that matter.
My agents have been very good and are vetting and weeding out those people who just want to come and spend a pleasant couple of hours out in the country and are allowing only those folks with proof that they have the money to spend. It has helped sort the wheat from the chaff so to speak and saves a huge amount of every one's time it has to be said.
My new house awaits me in a neighbouring village. I have exchanged on the deal and have a few months if need be to complete so I am very lucky. I am slowly becoming emotionally detached from this place which is what needs to happen. Having spent some 17 mostly happy years here and being somewhat forced to leave, it is hard.
I have not blogged for ages as so much has been happening with the house and everything so I thought it about time to bring you all up to speed. I have had a couple of serious offers but as yet they are way off the mark and it is far too early to start to panic. So folks, if you fancy some serious mowing and you know how I spend a lot of my summer days, and you want a move to Suffolk, its rollover day tomorrow on the Lottery. Get those tickets now. I have bought mine, I may be able to stay and have the other house for the weekends! I may even mow myself a landing strip and get a Cessna, prevailing winds permitting of course.