Buying a house!

[brian]

Well, after watching the property market for about a year, looking at different areas, and seeing what came up, I've just made an offer on a property.

It isn't the ideal house I was looking for - it's a Barrat home and 3 years old - but there's absolutely no way I can afford the sort of traditional/period property that would be ideal, certainly not at present.

The good news is that the house itself is fine and probably the best I could find in the price range, and the rooms are very good sizes. It has a nice cottage look and feel to it, and the actual estate is very well laid out - there's no one looming down on us from any angle, and the gardens are large and going to be great for us and the kids.

Best of all, the location is great - the property is located in Nairn, which is part of the area I was ideally targeting. And not only that, the back garden has open views of the sea and mountains (Moray Firth, Black Isle, & Sutherland).

On top of that, it's only a short walk along a country lane to wild and extensive sandy beaches that stretch continuously east for 15 miles in front of Culbin Forest - a Scots Pine forest and part of a Nature Reserve.

So although the house is on the edge of town, it's right next to a protected wilderness area, so we'll always have the countryside next to us. And the beach is fantastic - stretches really far out, with little lagoons forming when the tide is out to create warm and shallow pools for the kids to play in.

Moving is going to be a complete pain - especially with moving a business - but I desperately neeed to get onto the property ladder, and especially in the right area.

The seller stated a fixed price and willingness to sell to the first person who came up with the price, so all looks good at present.

Overall, though, it's incredibly scary - my first mortgage - and it's going to be a big 'un, too!

[vicki2]

Congrats! I just saw your post and I know you've been looking for a while. Nairn is such a wonderful town with the best beach in Scotland!
Also, the proximity to Inverness is likely to make it a dynamite investment in the long term.

How are you getting settled in???

[palefrost]

Congratz!! Welcome to the money pit! LOL have you seen that movie? LOL

[brian]

Not feeling settled in yet, but the beach is lovely and we're really close to Culbin Forest on the east side.

Nairn looks fairly undeveloped as a town, but I figure once they pedestrianise the high street and get a bypass built so that the A96 doesn't run through the town center, will both especially help house prices here.

My mum did say to watch that I bought a house that I should have no problems reselling - I think I can safely say we didn't go off the beaten track. I figure Nairn is also turning from being a retirement town to a commuter town for Inverness as well.

Thanks for the good wishes, too.

I'll post a couple of pics - one of the house, and one of the view from the back garden - can see all along the Black Isle and Sutherland.

[vicki2]

I used to live not far from where you look out to ...near Tain. That's a great house!!!! I think you made a very wise choice. BTW, Elgin is a great town for shopping!

[brian]

Nice to hear you were in Tain - stopped by there yesterday for a fag when driving the kids up to the beach at Brora.

Looks like Tain probably has a nice beach, too - will check that out soon.

As for shopping Elgin - funnily enough, we've bought quite a bit of great stuff from the retail park there for decorating our home. Some lovely odds and ends.