We have been really looking forward to sharing this post with you because it is so exciting!
We have truly valued and appreciated those who have been following and supporting our journey both in prayer and practical ways over many months now.
So here we go – we are sharing a little behind-the-scenes story of our move to Somerset.
The way things have worked out is truly amazing, there have been many stumbling blocks along the way, and we could never have overcome them in our own strength. We are so grateful that our heavenly Father has been fully aware of every part of our journey, knowing our needs and making the plans for our future clear in so many ways.
The Move
You see, we have been thinking of moving to Somerset for over two years now and our first “new home” search began in the summer of 2019. We found ourselves drawn to a small (so we thought!) village called Creech St Michael just outside Taunton where we looked at a new build house and felt called to put in an offer. The offer was not accepted and we concluded this was not to be our new home and that we needed to spend more time researching the Somerset area and where we felt called to be. However, on arrival to the village that day we soon became aware that there was so much more to it, not least it had a Baptist Church! So the following months centred around seeking not only our new home but a new spiritual home as well (we will come back to this later).
Bishops Lydeard?
In September 2019 we made a site visit to a building site in Bishops Lydiard (yes hard hats and steel capped boots were worn!) where some new homes were due to be built. We began to get excited about the prospect of purchasing a new build home but all hopes were dashed when they stated that the plot we were interested in would not be started until 2022 and no prices could be released until the foundations were due to go in. So we dismissed this idea, kept looking and then COVID 19 happened.
During lockdown we found a property online that we really liked the look of and began planning how we could refurb it. However, we were unable to see it and kept talking with the agent for a number of months as the house was not affording any other interest. As soon as we had our first COVID jab in February 2021 we felt confident to go and see it. But that was not possible as the agent was now saying we had to already have our house on the market and be in a proceedable position to be able to have a viewing (something they had not expressed before!). So we asked them to talk with the vendor to see it they would be willing to let us take a look at the house as by this time it had been on the market for over a year. That was a Friday afternoon by the Saturday morning it had been sold Subject to Contract! So whilst we were hugely disappointed we accepted that this was clearly not the right home for us and began to search again.
The following Tuesday, totally out of the blue, the agent of the new build homes we had dismissed called to say that the build programme had been amended and that the plot we were looking at was now due to have its foundations laid in mid-June 2021 with completion either December 2021 or end of January 2022. So we made a further site visit and prayed that we would know this was the right house and area for us, which at the time we believe it is where we were called to be.
Selling!
BUT --- to be able to proceed with buying the new build we still have to be in a proceedable position. So in April 2021 we put our house on the market! This was a very pivotal time in our journey as we had lived at 9 Rowland Way for over 30yrs. Vic was born and has lived in Reading all his life so this was a massive life changing decision for him and Jeanette’s mum is in a residential home in Reading so it was not going to be easy to visit as often. We have spent many hours talking and praying through all aspects of our move and are excited by this new season in our lives.
After 38 viewings we accepted an offer and moved towards completion. For us the stamp duty window was not important but it was for the others in the chain so we agreed to complete on 28 June 2021.
Rental No1
During the selling process we then looked at a rental option in Somerset as we knew we would need something for 12 months. We found a rental in Wellington and had put down a deposit and gone through all the security checks so we were all sorted and ready to go from 1 July 2021. BUT……. Jeanette was looking at Rightmove at the beginning of June to discover the rental was now on the market!!!!! An urgent call the following morning to the estate agent revealed that the sales team had not conversed with their letting team and that sadly the couple who owned it had decided to divorce and wanted a quick sale.
Buy the Rental?
So in crunching the numbers in the ever changing spreadsheet we decided to buy the rental for a year and it was immediately taken of the market. The next challenge was to find a conveyancer who could take on the work and hopefully complete by 30 June. Every call we made over 2 days drew a blank until we finally found a company who said they would do their best and took on our case. Sadly, it became apparent this was not going to be achieved and on 28 June 2021 we became homeless! We praise our Heavenly Father that he already had a plan. Our friends in London had been due to put their flat on the rental market but due to delays this had not happened. So we went to Clapham until we could complete on our new temporary home for a year in Welllington and yes, we are mad!, we are still planning to buy the new build in Bishops Lydeard.
Buying problems
The house in Wellington was only 6 months old and so we thought it would be quick and easy to buy it. How wrong we were! Our solicitor could not complete until she received formal confirmation from the Management Company. The seller’s solicitor said there wasn’t a Management Company yet. However, their name appeared on the Land Registry!
Round and round the arguments went and as time went on it became clear that buying this house was going to be a headache we could do without. So, sadly we decided to pull out of the purchase.
Whilst these delays were going on we had managed to persuade the owners to let us move in and rent it until completion. So, we took everything out of storage in Bracknell and moved in. Obviously when we decided not to buy the owners wanted us to leave so we put everything back in storage (with a firm in Taunton) and set off to find another short term rental.
Wellington v Bishops Lydeard
Whilst we were renting in Wellington we started to realise that perhaps it offered more for us than Bishops Lydeard. We were still attracted to the property at Bishops Lydeard but the delays were an irritant.
We are not sure how it happened but we called in to a Bovis site just 4mins from the centre of Wellington. We had looked at this site on-line some 18 months ago but a telephone enquiry had said the houses would not be ready until the middle of 2022. How surprised we were then to find a completed house on the front of the site ready for occupation before 31 December 2021! Not only that the price was amazing compared to the indications at Bishops Lydeard.
This made us stop and think. Perhaps this was the house after all and maybe all the disappointments were just part of the journey?
So, we made an offer and even negotiated a further £2,000 reduction on a house with several upgrades and ready for occupation before Christmas.
More Rentals
Of course, we still had to move out of the rental we were going to buy and find somewhere else until the Wellington house was ready. This was not actually that easy but we finally found a ‘cottage’ up a couple of very narrow lanes just outside Taunton. This served us well for a few weeks. We then went to Sussex for a week and then to another holiday rental in Taunton for a couple of weeks (this one had a swimming pool!)
Wellington at last
Well after about 6 months of being ‘homeless’ we finally moved in to our new house on 1 December. (Picture above) We had to arrange flooring but a brilliant local firm managed to sort about 90% of it before Christmas. We look out over the balancing pond that is gradually filling up with water; rarely hear a siren and only a few minutes from Waitrose and ASDA!
Spiritual Home
Back in the beginning we mentioned that our spiritual home is just as important to us as our physical home. Since visiting Creech St Michael way back in 2019 things have happened that we were not necessarily looking for and new connections have happened that we did not see coming. We believe this was a sign that God is giving us the first few steps towards our new season. We have been confused along the way but it has become exciting as we are now seeing new possibilities to join a church that is deeply rooted in what the Lord is calling it to do as a fellowship and within its community. We have been joining CSMB each Sunday morning online since Christmas 2020 and already feel God has opened a door here for us.
