Achievement unlocked: House sale

My house sale completed yesterday, so I can no longer tell people to “get orf my land” in a Somerset accent. I’m now looking for a flat in the city centre or Didsbury, on the basis that being in Bury is a crimp on my social life – plus another reason which I can’t mention […]

Solicitors for house sales and purchases

Recently I was asked for recommendations on which solicitors to use for house sales/purchases. I ended up composing a fairly lengthy email, and thought it might be useful to others as well. None of this is legal advice for your specific situation – it’s more a general guide as to how you might find someone […]

House and business plans

Despite having only been on the market for two weeks, I’ve received and accepted an offer on my house. It’s roughly what I paid for it, so if all goes to plan I won’t have have lost any money and will have effectively rented the property for the best part of two years (cost of […]

House on the market

My house is now officially on the market and has made its way onto Rightmove and Zoopla (between them they more or less control the online market). So far the estate agents have been quick and efficient, generally turning things around the next working day (by industry standards, that is lightning speed). Current plan is […]

Moving preparations

The estate agent came round yesterday and took some photographs – fortunately as they sold the house last time and I haven’t done any internal structural work they can re-use the floor plans and measurements, which saves a lot of time. They picked up a few minor issues which might put off some sellers, but […]

Moving back to Manchester?

I’m feeling a bit stuck where I am at the moment, and considering moving back to Manchester. Initially I thought buying a house in Bury would be the right move, but I’m having to spend the equivalent (and more) of a service charge on jobs such as new boiler, new garage roof etc. The property […]

June geek socials

Below are the geek socials which I’m currently organising for June. They are open to all, and booking is only required for OtherCuisineBeer. Saturday 1st June: Trip to Bletchley Park. Meet at 9am at Manchester Piccadilly, full travel arrangements can be found in the mailing list archive. Friday 7th June: Currybeer – meet from 7pm […]

May Geek Walk – Uppermill

For anyone who reads my blog but hasn’t subscribed to the mailing list, the next Geek Walk will be on Saturday 25th May. We’ll be heading back to Uppermill for a walk, followed by lunch in The Church Inn. Meeting point/time is 11:15 next to the self-service ticket machines at Manchester Victoria. When buying a […]

Politics and law

Several people have recently asked me why I’m not a Liberal Democrat, or to join the party, or just assumed that I’ve been a member for years. In fact, I’ve not been a member of any party since my first year at university, and I’ve never even actively campaigned for the Lib Dems. I have […]

Life update

Primarily for the benefit of people who I still keep in touch with but don’t see in person very often… All the urgent jobs on my house are complete, including the unexpected expense of having to replace the garage roof when it started to break up (the original installers did a shoddy job, using straw […]