So, where to from here?
As any true accountant would, I resorted to the trusted Excel spreadsheet. This is our list of outstanding items – all to be completed before my parents arrive: exactly 1 month tomorrow. The kitchen will be delivered on Friday and installed in the 2 weeks following. The bathroom must be ripped out and replaced. There are lots of bits and pieces to be tidied up, but I think it can be done!
Also, trying to work when you have a stinking cold is no fun either. Later I have to scrub down the new shower room ready for re-sealing it on Monday. Might leave that for tomorrow.
I think refurbishing a house is a little like child-birth (not that I have gone through it personally) : at the time you swear that you’d never do it again, but later you forget the pain you went through, because the end result is worth it. We are constantly reminding ourselves that if we didn’t do it this way, we would never have been able to afford the final product. In spite of us buying in the same block, modernised ground floor apartments command at least £60,000 (approx R847,000) more than 2nd floor apartments, which we had before.
The neighbours (1st floor) have just sold their apartment. It was up for sale at £425,000 (R6m). Prices are just continuing to rise, quickly out-pricing those in the market. So to move up the proverbial property ladder, you have to be smart, take some risks and endure some pain!
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