New Year - old/new start

 It all feels rubbish to be honest.  No point trying to kid myself.  

As I said last night a lots happened in the last 9 months.  From a practical point of view selling the family home was a no brainer really.  It was a window of opportunity to move. I'm not getting any younger and it was probably a case of it now or never.  The area is currently very quiet and nice but it's full of rental properties and it would only take one bad household to totally destroy the tranquility/ambience of the neighbourhood.  That looks awful reading it back but please don't judge me too harshly for saying that. Think I've done my time.

So me and Ian decided to sell up at the beginning of April. Me and Shamila (mainly me) did some minor repairs and decoration work and we put it up for sale in the middle of June.  We agreed a sale 5 weeks later and completed the sale in the middle of September.  All done in 3 months. Bop, bop, bop.

So after nearly 60 years the Spences no longer have a base in East Middlesbrough.  There were lots of tears from me and my close neighbours (think they were probably more worried about who they might get as their new neighbour) at the end and I still miss them all terribly 3 months on.  I guess I could go back and see them from time to time and in truth I had to just before Christmas but I simply don't like seeing somebody else living in our house.  Hail the Spences, 25 Kirkstone Road, Berwick Hills.

A very proud man. 

So I'm back in my 'Acklam house' which it's become known over the last 10 years.  You know with me being such a property tycoon and all that.  

Ha ha, don't think so, I just fell into being a landlord.  I never planned it at all.  It just came about because of the financial crash in 2008.  My mam was going to come and live with me but due to the property crash she couldn't sell her house so on a whim I decided to rent my house out and move back in Chateau 25.  It was ok. Actually it was brill while my mam was still alive and it brought me a few bob which meant I could go part-time at work.  That said the cash I received didn't really compensate me enough for the dreaded phone calls from the tenants or even the fear of receiving them. I hated ringing round for tradesmen to do repairs and doing my Tax returns was a drag. It was all terrible, I mean apart from the rent obviously.  Does that make me a bad person?  

I don't think so and my tenants loved me.  Shamila said I was too soft and I can now admit I was.  I only put the rent up once and I pretty much let them do what they wanted with the house.  To say it looked a bit tired when they moved out was an understatement.   

Hey ho, it all worked out. Me and Sham have totally renovated it (in fairness think Shamila did more work than me) and its now looking the best it's ever looked. It's all worked out.  Anyway here you go, here are a few photos think Shamila took.