Great Adventures in Real Estate (part 2)

Continuing with the story, I had no option but to head north, I had finished my job, I had a new one in Scotland and I could not afford to sit around and wait, I hoped that the sale would complete on time and continued with my plans. On the 1^st of April I flew north to Inverness airport, had a rental car for the day, and took the keys for the property. All the paperwork for the house had to be completed on this date. Whilst up in Elgin I had a final interview for the job I had been seeking, met the other staff and all seemed ok, confirmation I would start work there on my permanent arrival in Scotland was given to me a few days later. After arriving back in Southampton later that night I had a full day before I began moving north for real.

On the Friday afternoon I took charge of a rental van and began the loading process. On his completing his shift at work my brother joined me, finishing the loading, I kindly left the heaviest items until his arrival. We then had an overnight drive to Scotland, arriving just as the eateries were opening in Elgin for breakfast. We then had the task of unloading, catching up with a few hours sleep before the long drive south. We arrived back in Southampton at about midnight on the Saturday night. We had driven about 1200 miles in a little over 24 hours.

I had a few loose ends to tie up in Southampton before loading the last of my possessions into my car and heading north once again. I felt that by now I could do the journey blindfolded I had done it so often over the recent months. The farce of the house sale had not got any better, my solicitor suggested I head north and he would keep me informed as to the proceedings of the sale. Despite my heading north the stress of an uncompleted house sale was constantly on my mind over the next few weeks.

As I started my new job, settling into my new surroundings I had the added problem of a mortgage to continue paying for as well as the rent to find on my rather meagre earnings. It was not until the middle of May that I finally received the phone call to confirm the sale of the house had finally gone through. It took over seven weeks longer than it should have, and the original instructions from the buyer were for a quick sale (less than 4 weeks).

I could now start the process again, only this time I was the buyer!

House prices at that time were rising fast in that part of Scotland, I had lost almost two months already and if I didn't move fast I would get priced out here. I looked at many properties, some I would have liked to have lived in others not, some inland, others in the mountains. The place I finally settled on was in a small coastal village called Burghead.

I will write more about Burghead in another article, as well as some of the more memorable places I have visited throughout Scotland. Places I feel you would enjoy visiting if you are ever in that part of the world.

Sources: - Personal experience

Personal knowledge