My Irish Husband Tony and I moved to Birmingham in September of 2004. This past year we finally decided it was time to quit paying rent. This is a chronicle of our journey through the world of UK property buying.

This past week, while you were voting, one or both of us:

• Got up at 6:00am to drive three hours in the dark on windy roads through the mountains of Wales to get on a ferry, eat crap breakfast and get off in Dublin to drive to my Irish husband Tony's daughter Kerrie.

• Hung out in Kerrie's fabulous apartment north of Dublin and ate all the fabulous food she cooked.

• Drove in bright daylight on windy roads to the middle of nowhere, to Tony's daughter Naomi's brand-new house in a development that looks exactly like where my brother lived in Pittsburgh, PA.

• Left at 11:00pm to drive four hours in the dark on windy roads, wrapped in fog, through the mountains of northern Ireland and Northern Ireland, to Belfast to get on a ferry, eat sandwiches we brought with us and get off in Stranraer to drive four hours in the dark on windy roads, wrapped in fog, through the mountains of Scotland, stopping for a break until the sun came up, after 8:00am.

• Spent two fabulous days in Edinburgh in a two-bedroom apartment (gorgeous — we almost put in an offer. Force of habit) with Kerrie and eight-year-old granddaughter Erin, who is still trying to decide if she likes Edinburgh as much as or better than Paris.

• Left at a civilised time to drive eight hours in bright daylight on windy roads through the mountains of Scotland, and then (by 4:00pm) in the dark and rain on wide motorways through England, back home to Birmingham.

• Told the other one to forget about it each time she mentioned the two house choices or showed people the pictures and asked them to vote.

While we were driving and eating, you guys were hard at work. So many of you sent us emails with your advice!

And the winner is... Wait.

Geesh, you're a conservative bunch. 'Wait' got twice as many votes as Buxton Road. Upper Holland Road got none — well, no confident votes. Maybe none of you want to have to sleep on a sofa bed in the living room?

As David in Seattle, who is going through the same process there, asked, 'How often do you think you would have visitors, and how much do you want visitors?'

Dick in Florida advised waiting until the snow falls — but we don't really get much snow in Birmingham. Renee in Pittsburgh said you can't have too much closet space — but we don't have any closet space in the whole UK. It's bring your own; you buy a 'wardrobe'.

And Janie B in New York pointed out, 'If the Queen demands her rights it would be a good idea to have a guest bedroom where you can stay while she reigns over your domicile. Do corgis like cats? Do cats tolerate corgis?'

Probably the best advice came from, no surprise, real estate agent Mary in Iowa, who said, 'You'll know the house when you see it. And when the deal starts to go south, that's a sign too — let it go.'

So today, while Tony is at work, I’m going to drive (yes, I can drive over here. I'm just not very good at it) Kerrie and Erin to both properties and let them vote before we come back to have tea in our rented two-bedroom maisonette.

Fingers crossed.

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KDixonDonnelly

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