COVID Chaos

10th April 2020

COVID Chaos

We threw everything into making our new dream happen: we drew up a plan of action; talked to the bank, our mortgage broker and consulted real estate agents. In order to get our house on the market we needed to complete three things, we needed to sand the floors, erect some sort of covered entertaining area and finish the master bedroom ensuite. Unfortunately we couldn't start any of these projects until my Mum's place was ready for her to move into and the girls were back at school. We used our time as efficiently as we could, first refinancing to give us the capital we would need, then getting quotes and putting the plans for the outdoor area through council and finally booking qualified tradesman for the jobs that went beyond our skill set.

We got Mum settled and literally a few days after, a pesky little virus appeared on the news and we watched in horror as it began to spread across the globe at an alarming rate and with terrible consequences. I couldn't wait for Jamie to begin his holidays as his job placed him on the front line. We pulled our children out from school on the 20th of March and by the end of the weekend that followed, home schooling would be the new way of life for us and I was no longer able to help with the renovations.

We had thankfully chosen and paid a company to fit and install internal window shutters and these were on their way. The patio installation was finished by the 22nd of March and Jamie had begun sanding floors. We were kicking goals and right on target. 

Jamie had just finished the first room when the hire shops closed their doors and renovations ground to a screaming halt. Jamie wept from sheer frustration and as the cost of living sky rocketed and building supplies became unreliable, we realised that we were not going to get finished on time. All we could do was hope that with job stability at an all time low and economic uncertainty rife, it would prevent anyone else from making a move on the block. It however wasn't to be, an offer was made on the block and we realised that we needed to let go of our new dream and accept that we were where we needed to be, right now.