A project to stave off boredem at work

Welcome to my latest bid to stave off boredom during the quiet periods at work.

The plan for this blog is to keep a record in words and photos of the progress of the townhouse that myself and my partner have recently signed a contract to buy "off the plan". For those who are unfamiliar with the term "off the plan" it means that we are buying what is effectively an finished product from some builders that will be completed in about eight months time. We have paid a small deposit, but don't have to get a mortgage and settle the final balance of the property until it is finished.

The upside of this approach is that you get to save more money while the residence is built, and you buy at, or just below the current market rate for a future product, allowing for capital growth before its even finished. The downside is that despite having a house built, you don't get much say in how its done or a comprehensive picture of what the final product is ahead of time. We had to make our purchase decision based entirely on a set of plans that lacked information about several aspects, like the fixtures or the kitchen.

It is also a very long wait (or at least so it seems at the moment) until we get to move in from signing the contract and handing over a deposit - which feels an awful lot like purchasing, despite only being the first step in the purchasing process. This brings me to the title of the blog - delayed gratification. A big part of this blog is to help me stay enthusiastic about the house despite the long wait. According to psych theory, being able to delay your gratification until a later period when required to is a key indicator of emotional intelligence, and people who possess the ability are more dependable and well adjusted. It is not something I am always good at, but something worth being good at.

There will probably be posts about all sorts of other topics, but the plan is for the majority of them to be about the house. These things have a way of growing a life of their own depending on usage patterns and how much I feel I actually have to say about it.