Nearly. But not quite.

OK, so an update on the house stuff.

Sold. That should be the headline really, but in reality, the sale of previous house was more than a bit of an anticlimax.
Days (!) of packing, throwing rubbish ( and possessions ) away, taking stuff to charity shops, cleaning the house, redecorating took its toll and come Completion day, I was totally shattered.The fact that various solicitors swapped large numbers of money around in various directions ending up in a phone call to say all is done hardly mattered. Was an odd feeling going to the house on last day, leaving a note for the new occupiers, taking meter readings etc I hope they like what they bought, even though i suspect it has ended up as a buy to let opportunity. Good luck with that!

I have moved in with Sister for the time being, who is very kindly putting me up for a few weeks until the new flat is ready. It's very odd living in someone else's house. Very odd indeed.

So how is it going with the new flat you ask? Well it is 'getting there' i think. Searches seem to be delayed ( aren't they always), supposed to be exchanging tomorrow in fact but i cannot see that happening, not that it really matters as because there is no chain in the buying process, exchange and completion could happen on the same day.
I have chosen the interior décor now, so wardrobes, carpets, blinds, lighting, kitchen and bathroom flooring are all winging there way into the flat at some point. This could be the sticking point as i don't really want to move things in without all of this done, but now just want to get in to the property as soon as possible and stop living out of suitcases. 

There are the small but significant matters of getting the NHBC certificate from a man with a clipboard, and then the rubber stamp from the property developers Quality assurance man too. Might give the sales office a visit today to see how things are doing in person.

I have even been hunting around for dining furniture this weekend, one major thing I was lacking, and spent most of yesterday trawling around shops in Kingston upon Thames. Came to a decision about what I liked - a very blokey thing to do all in a day, and then stumbled upon very similar items on eBay for sale at half the price. Hmm. Could save a few hundred quid but not actually see what i am bidding on before buying. What to do ?