What do we do now?

We have recently had notice that our tenant will be vacating our home at the end of the month. It looks like a change of our plans as we are reluctant to get another tenant now.  We have been extremely lucky in the last 6 years when we headed for the UK to live on our narrowboat.  For the first few years my eldest son lived there before he moved to Hastings in 2010. When he shifted north he found his partner’s mother who has rented it until now. How lucky we have been with such excellent tenants and the property is as good as the day we left, if not better.

The problem is, no furniture! So yesterday Kathryn took us into the Hutt and we traipsed through all the appliance stores to see what was on offer.  The list had to start with a washing machine and a bed.  The rest will follow later as time and funds allow.

After several years using a front loader machine in the UK, this was our preferred choice.  Due to the recession it is a good time to bargain with the salespeople.  Don’t pay the advertised price, always negotiate.  We were able to purchase a brand new Electrolux Front Loader Machine as recommended by the Consumer Magazine for half price.

Electrolux Front Loader Machine.

Today it was extremely wet and cold, so another good day to walk around and check out prices so that we can get an idea on what we are looking at.  Although we had no intention of buying anything we actually ended up with a lovely bed at several hundred dollars below the advertised price.  Another example of negotiating, it was too good a deal to walk away from.  They really don’t want you to walk out of the door empty handed.

In the meantime the exchange rate is improving in our favour to bring the funds in from the UK to pay for them.