New dates for my Canalside Homes lists
Hello everyone! I'm writing to let you know about a change in the Canalside Homes schedule in May and thereafter. I'll give you the headlines first:
- There will be two lists today, the first covering £700,000 upwards, and the second covering £500,000 to £700,000.
- The next list will be the £0 to £300,000 bracket, on 27th May 2025.
- My lists will be released on Tuesdays in the future.
Now the explanations!
Two lists today
I decided to do two lists today because it's my birthday next Saturday, so I'd like to have next weekend off - we're looking forward to seeing Andre Rieu again, and having a visit from my sister and brother-in-law!
A break for Crick
Many of you are probably familiar with the Crick Boat Show, which is coming up soon, on 23rd May. I'm actually quite heavily involved in that, because I work part time at Norton Canes boatyard at Glascote Basin. In the week before Crick, my husband and I are going to be cruising one of the Norton Canes boats to the show, and then we'll be busy welcoming visitors on board during the show itself. This is going to be a very busy week, and internet access may be rather patchy, so it's going to be difficult to spend enough time on my laptop to research any lists.
Trouble with Rightmove
Rightmove is by far the largest property portal, and I can't imagine being able to do my lists without it. I have always felt nervous about my reliance on Rightmove, and I'm lucky that it has lasted as long as it has. Recently, however, Rightmove has made it harder for me. Over the last month they've changed a couple of things on their website which have caused some technical glitches. This has directly impacted how long it takes to do the lists and has also made the process increasingly frustrating. Last week they changed something else, which nearly broke my entire system. I have reported the problem but so far they haven't responded. I am now concerned that it's going to get worse, and I'll lose the ability to do my lists altogether.
The Spring season
These challenges have been compounded because this has been the busiest time of year. The spring season affects both new properties coming onto the market, and property movements, including price reductions, sales, and relaunches. There's an awful lot to try to keep track of.
Perhaps I should explain that I look through all the properties that come on the market with the word 'canal' in the details - thousands of them - and these could be 5 yards from the canal, or more than a mile from a canal. The word canal appears in property details quite randomly sometimes - sometimes it refers to a Canal Road which extends away from a canal rather than along it, sometimes it refers to a completely redundant canal arm, and sometimes it's just a drainage canal! Often, I can't tell how good the view of the canal is, without looking into the photos, map, and street view images, and examining them in detail.
As you can imagine, the more properties that come onto the market, the more I have to go through in order to find the few that are genuinely by the canal - it's exponential, and I have to look through thousands of listings every week. As we come out of this busy spring season and the number of properties coming on the market reduces, it should make things a little bit easier!
Commitment
The increased volume of properties, plus the technical problems with Rightmove, have caused me quite a lot of stress, to the extent that I've been thinking about whether I want to carry on with this. I started doing these lists on a weekly basis in November 2023, and I have kept going through thick and thin, even when we've been on holiday or visiting family. Sometimes, it feels like a huge slog. I'll be 64 next week, and to be honest, I sometimes wonder whether this is this something I want to carry on with. Some of you who have been with me a long time will know that I've felt like this before, and will be aware of the changes I've made to try to keep myself going. This morning when I picked up my laptop, I was a bit whingey and my husband said, "If you feel like this, just stop!" and I replied, "No, I need encouragement! You're supposed to say just suck it up and get on with it!" I am hopeful that some time off will make me happier to keep going.
Why Tuesdays?
I'm planning to restart on the 27th May, which is a Tuesday, with the £0 to £300,000 price bracket, and I'll stick to Tuesdays from then on. There are two reasons for doing my lists on Tuesdays. Firstly, I'm finding that doing them on Saturdays is impacting heavily on family time at the weekend, so it will be much better for me and my husband. Secondly, from your point of view it should be better because you'll be able to make appointments to do viewings during the week or at the weekend, rather than having difficulty contacting some estate agents on a Sunday, and having to wait longer for a viewing.
Keeping going as best I can
Now, I realise that this period of change is not exactly what you thought you were going to get this month, but at least I'll still be completing the full gamut of prices within a month as per my promises (3rd May to 3rd June) - albeit not to my previous regular schedule. I feel confident that ultimately, there will be benefits for us all.
Back to work!
Well, it's time I cracked on with the £500,000 to £700,000 price bracket so I can get that out to you today. (I've already finished my £700,000 upwards list). Thanks for listening - and if you're at Crick, I'll see you there! Hopefully, a little change of scene with a narrowboat cruise will help, and I'll come back feeling refreshed and ready to work!