As luck would have it, I won’t be boarding a flight to the South of France and trying to complete on the property at the same time, as I have exchanged and complete tomorrow!

I am going through waves of extreme excitement, blind panic and slight nausea at the thought of the money I don’t have … the usual, I am sure.

So, I finally heard back from the vendor’s solicitors regarding the outstanding questions. I didn’t get much further but at least I tried, and to be honest I was getting to the point of not really caring anymore, I just wanted to get it finalised.

I went to the building society and transferred my life savings which was quite emotional, not just because it was a huge sum of money, but also because it was money my much loved granddad left to me over 11 years ago that I have left untouched, and have tried to add to over the years.

I know he wanted that money to go towards my first place and it may have taken 11 years, but I got there in the end! Without it, this property purchase wouldn’t be happening and I know I am lucky to be able to find the 10 per cent deposit.

I have spent the last couple of days trying to work out how much money I have left for paint and carpets, and making a list of the things I need to do in the flat. I have a few days of wallpaper stripping, cleaning and painting to look forward to, with hopefully a glass of champagne or two thrown in at some point.

I am thanking my lucky stars as I know I have got a good deal on this place, and  as much as I like to think there was a bit of intelligence with regards the timings and being sensible with my offer, I know there has been a lot of luck as well.

Am also very grateful for fantastic boyfriend who is a carpenter/builder and who is going to come in very, very handy!

I am now just counting the hours until I get the completion call, and then I am off to pick up the keys, buy some paint and try not to fall out with my new neighbours as I knock down a wall as part of my ‘Changing Rooms’ transformation!

Our favourite shed blog, er, Shed Blog, has posted the rather fantastic new video for the official Shed Week song.

Sung with gusto by ‘Punks not Dad‘ it’s called, appropriately enough, ‘In Me Shed’.

Great video, great sentiment (it’s about all the things we do in our sheds) and pretty catchy in a ‘we know 3-ish chords and we’re gonna use them in best punk thrash fashion and we don’t caaaaaaaaare’.

Plus there’s a great introduction from “Lisa Rodgers (Off of TV’s Scrapheap Challenge)” (sic).

All in all a fine effort and a grand punk ode to the joy of sheds.

And a one, a two, a one, two, three, four …

“In me shed - reading the paper
In me shed - stirring up some paint
In me shed - sorting out me jam jars
In me shed in me shed”

What do you do in your shed? Let us know below… don’t be shy. There’s no shame in sheds!

My latest update could really be one sentence. No keys and more paperwork…

This feels like it is taking forever and I know people who are in chains/more complicated situations who have managed to exchange on their property before me. I’m jealous!

So, I received another bundle of paperwork through from the solicitor – three years of maintenance accounts, questionnaires filled in by the vendor, leasehold information, and another questionnaire that my solicitor had put to their solicitor.

Questionnaire overload!

As before, it took me a little while to muster up the energy to sit down and work my way through it, but I did and I did it thoroughly. Think I was up until midnight going slowly cross-eyed!

I took my time though as wanted to make sure I understood everything. Would kick myself if a few years down the line I had missed something…..

It raised a couple of questions. Nothing major and certainly not deal breaker questions but decided I should wait for the responses. Unfortunately the vendor doesn’t know much about the property as I am assuming it was a relative’s place, so there are a few unknowns, and I thought it was best to try and investigate a little further.

The agent said that vendor wasn’t too pleased with me coming back with questions at this late stage but said I refuse to be rushed, and as my questions are minor (and reasonable questions)  hoped I would get something back pretty quickly.  Am still waiting…

As I explained to the agent, I am a first-time buyer who hasn’t done this before so it takes time to go through everything. I do feel like I am probably being over cautious, but there is  a lot of money involved so got to do it right. It’s nerve wracking, this last bit!

My solicitor seems to think once we have the answers back we can proceed pretty quickly, though, so that is positive.

In the meantime, my normally sensible Virgo side has disappeared momentarily and I have booked a mini-break to the fabulous but pricey South of France. WHAT AM I DOING?!

Feel completely irresponsible about money, and there is a possibility I could be completing as I board a sleazyjet flight to the sun. Oh well, can’t put your life on hold, and fantastic boyfriend has a contact with an apartment near Nice, so couldn’t really say no!

Am convincing myself that there will be a real need for a holiday after stress of moving although more than likely will be coming back to moving chaos…

C’est la vie!

Last year, the road where I now live was runner-up in Brighton’s City In Bloom ‘Flowers In My Street’ competition.

This year, judging by the almost overnight appearance of brightly coloured, full-to-bursting window boxes – June is competition month - the green-fingered residents are gunning for first place.

Very pretty the flower-clad street is, too.  An absolute delight. Or so I thought until this morning, when I discovered a potentially dangerous element to all this floral loveliness: Wasps And Bees.

I spotted several hovering around the newly hung lamppost pots when I set off to work.  So much so, I had to walk up the middle of the road rather than risk being dive-bombed on the pavement.

I am completely petrified of these evil creatures. And yes, I have been stung.  Three times, in fact.  My paranoia is entirely founded.

All of my friends can attest to my terror.  Particularly those who have experienced my vice like grip whenever one of the nasty things comes near me, as I desperately attempt to remain utterly static lest sting number four should occur.

So, I find myself in a bit of a dilemma.  I’d be very happy for my horticulturally gifted neighbours if they won the coveted Most-Gorgeous-Street-In-The-Whole-Wide-World-Ever-Ever-Ever title.

But do I really want to risk harm to my physical being every time I step foot into said amazingly beautiful street?  I think not.

Incidentally, my good friend Jon swears that if you manually kill a wasp while it’s in mid-flight it can’t sting you.  He’s determined to put this theory to the test next time I’m in vespid danger.

Anyone happen to know if there’s any truth in this rumour? I couldn’t bear the guilt if it all went horribly, painfully wrong.

I can say with total certainty that, even when taking cost out of the equation, buying a house with another person is very different to any everyday purchase.

I’m always delighted to confirm that Ruth’s dress, shoes and handbag combo is quite simply stunning and a bargain at twice the price – whilst really pondering whether Rafa will rotate or stick to his best 11 – without worrying that there will be any grave implications to my general well being.

Although there are, sometimes - Rafa likes to rotate.

But when buying a home, the biggest purchase you’ll both ever make, there’s a very clear statement of intent from both sides that takes into account some very subjective tastes.

I like flats. With our budget, we can get a nice two-bedroom flat in a great area, that doesn’t need any work doing to it, just a short walk from THE pub.

She likes houses. With our budget, we can get a smallish three-bedroom house, in an okay area, that needs work doing to it (it’s a ‘project’), just a short walk from A pub.

I find this project aspect especially worrying. I hate DIY. I don’t feel that I need to justify myself because I detest it that much.

And naturally, there have been some heated discussions but the house hunting is going very well, thanks.

It’s really all about making concessions, and finding our first dream home together is something we will always see eye-to-eye on. And we’ve already tried putting in an offer on one!

It’s a beautiful three-bedroom house in South Wimbledon, five minutes’ walk from the town centre, beautifully decorated, ample room to extend and - the Holy Grail - a conservatory with under-floor heating.

Following our offer, I received a call from the agent to hear that a bid has been accepted.  Just not our bid.

Our cheeky offer of circa £60,000 below the asking price was knocked back - ultimately proving that as a couple, there’s one thing that you sadly can’t make concessions with: your budget. (Unless this blog leads to a substantial pay rise…)

Fancy borrowing a neighbourly cup of sugar from Norman Cook?

Or do you like the idea of paddling in the surf on your own private beach before inviting Nick Berry round for sherry?

Then look no further my property finding funsters as it seems a house on ‘Millionaire’s Row‘ in Hove is for sale (although I think you’ll find it’s ‘Portslade actually’ dahlings).

And secret sources close to yours truly have whispered that it’s allegedly, possibly and, very definitely maybe, the former home of Heather ‘Vegan’* Mills. (You will have vegan burgers kiddies, you will, you will you will you will you will…)

… actually, scratch all that. I’ll leave sleb house-spotting and property porn to the professionals. Your Mama over at The RealEstalker does it waaaaaay better.

Instead, I’ll stick to the facts (and nothing but the facts):

• 4 bed
• £1.8-ish millions squids
• Private beach
• Famous neighbours
• Bish
• Bash
• Bosh

*Actually I quite like vegans**. My brother is one and he’s lovely.

** But I couldn’t manage a whole one.

When I heard that Bournemouth Council was launching a retro-styled ‘beach pod’ development in Boscombe (designed by Wayne Hemingway) I had my doubts.

The beach pods are basically beach huts in Overstrand, a restored 1950s building – and who, in this market (who in their right mind!), would  fork out £65-90,000 for a place with a 25-year lease that they can’t even sleep in?

Surely, I mused, the beach hut boom has gone the way of the housing boom and been washed away in a squall of dire financial weather?

Well, it appears not. Five hundred people registered ahead of the launch on May 15th and a hundred of them turned up on the day, chequebooks at the ready.

“We launched 12 doubles, 20 singles and four end pods on the day and sold all the doubles,” says Glynn Evans of Savill’s Bournemouth office.  “We weren’t sure how it would go, but it was a great success.”

Who bought them? “A real mixture – a local family with kids, celebrities from London, a retired couple, a surfing couple from Sandbanks,” says Glynn.

Could this be another of those green shoots of recovery we keep hearing about? Aren’t beach huts a bellwether for the market as a whole?

“Not really,” says Glynn. “These are not really comparable to residential purchases. They’re a cash buy and are not dependent on mortgage finance.  They don’t really stack up as an investment – they’re more of a luxury purchase.”

Maybe so, but with Boscombe undergoing major regeneration, the current buyers might have a very lucrative last laugh. Consider the downturn officially over when you start reading about Boscombe beach pods being resold for more than £100k.

Fancy one? Contact Glynn Evans, Savills, Bournemouth. Tel: 01202 255552

We’ve just launched a rather cool new feature on FindaProperty.com.

On every ‘property details’ page we have a slideshow of the properties most viewed in the last seven days by visitors who have looked at the property you are on.

Click this screen print of a property ad and scroll to the bottom of the page for an example - nice, no?

Ok, this isn’t the funniest thing I’ve ever seen, but it did raise a smile.

And all credit to the Energy Savings Trust for trying to get beyond eco-worthiness by using comedian Marcus Brigstocke to talk about the eco-renovations he’s made to his London home.

So it’s a normal next step; get married then settle into a new home. Once the stress of organising the big day’s done, it’s the natural expectation that all’s left is post-marital, worry-free bliss in a wonderful new home.

Not a chance! Stress-free house hunting that is (I’m happily married!).

My wife and I have only recently started combing Wimbledon for our first purchase together so it’s no surprise that we share many of the concerns today’s buyers in our position have.

We have between 10-15 per cent  as a deposit for the type of property we’re looking for, in the area we’re looking for. It’s quite realistic.

Although to state the obvious – there’s a sizeable discrepancy between the two figures in terms of property, mortgage options and general piece of mind.

A ten per cent  deposit means we get a slightly bigger home, in a slightly nicer area, with slightly posher neighbours. For the most part, great!

Aside from the rate, I’m feeling a little underwhelmed about the prospect of a variable rate mortgage.

Surely the only direction rates will head is up, and if they do in the short-term, we’ll have to remortgage if our monthly repayments become ridiculously high. We are 18 months too late to profit from a variable rate mortgage - aren’t we?

With only ten per cent equity, if prices fall and rates increase, we will have to find some further equity to remortgage. So I’m leaning towards the security of a 15 per cent deposit.

But I’d prefer to live in the ten percenters – they’re much nicer! I’ll keep you posted on our progress.