From what I remember, the home buying process in the UK is fraught with unknowns and uncertainties. It’s really not a process at all. More like a gamble, on a series of blindly optimistic decisions. You make a verbal offer, and hope the seller lets you know what they think at some point. Once you've agreed a price you start doing your due diligence, spending money on surveys and hoping you don’t find out the property isn’t scheduled to be knocked down to make room for a new stadium anytime soon. You have an ‘inspection’ and hope the inspector will spot any major structural faults – which is a bit of a punt given they can’t really get into the nooks and crannies since you don’t own the house yet. All of this time you are hoping no-one comes along with a better offer and ‘gazumps’ you. Eventually you exchange contracts, and complete the sale, and pick up the keys hoping the place still looks like it did when you last saw it. It might not. They might have removed all the window lo...

The Open House is another feature of the real estate market here that needs a little translation for us Brits. When a home is up for sale, it is opened up to any old nosey parker who wants to snoop around it, on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, until it sells. The Open House isn’t just a matter of tidying up a bit. This is a lifestyle we’re selling here, and to people who may have no imagination, too. We’ve hidden all our clutter, put fresh flowers in every room, and put away all our family photos in order to depersonalize it. Though the smiley face I drew on the back of our bathroom door is hard to depersonalize. I set up a little tray with drinks and a coffee table book outside on the deck, just in case people didn’t realize this was a place you might sit and have a drink and read a book. My husband even did a special double-fold trick with the towels, which our realtor thought was a nice touch. And it worked! We had a couple more viewings after the Open House and ended up with...

Actually our house was built in 1984. It was extensively remodeled in 2011,   we redecorated in 2015 and have added some new appliances and repainted the outside of it since then too. By British standards I think it would be considered rather modern, if not exactly brand new. By Hermosa Beach standards it's ancient. Around here the only new houses are the ones that were just built, and have never been occupied, smelling of fresh paint and with the odd smudge of builder's dust still visible on the front path. We learned this when we looked at a 1980s house and a new build on the same day. The 1980s house was in pretty good nick, had been expensively (if badly) decorated, was significantly bigger and on a much much nicer street. The new build around the corner was still priced higher. I don't get it. I understand the appeal of 'turnkey' versus a tear down. And I can see how homes that were decorated in the ‘60s and have popcorn ceilings and 2 prong el...