Ardnaslighe, Ford, by Lochgilphead, Argyll
We spotted the yellow 'For Sale' board that we had passed earlier that morning, and Owen turned up the long shared driveway. We kept our eyes down but could see that there was one neighbouring house at right angles to the house we had come to see. The house was set a good distance back from the road, and the road was mostly hidden from view by trees.
The first view of the house was promising as it was a traditional one and half storey house, very similar to so many that we had looked at so far. It looked in good condition and modern. We started off by filming our first reactions on the driveway from in front and again from behind. When the cameras were to our backs we could say whatever we wanted and Sonali made lots of hand gestures like she was pointing our various features of the property. So, we asked a few questions about the house that wouldn't be worthy of filming and as they couldn't see our mouths moving Sonali could tell us what she knew. One thing she advised was to try not to pay any attention to the current owners belongings because it's hard to envisage yourself there otherwise.
Inside, the lounge was a little dark and busy with ornaments and mementos (I liked many of them!) The rooms were good sizes, the kitchen was nicely done and neat. Upstairs was really the jewel though - the bedrooms looked out over the open hillside and the sun was shining right in bathing the rooms in a warm puddle of sunlight. It did look lovely from those windows, but you couldn't see very far as the ground angled up, hiding most of what was beyond that first rise. So far, good, but not amazing - it had some good points but it didn't inspire.
The location was also ok, but again not stunning, in a small hamlet called Ford, getting on for an hour south of Oban and over 2 hours from Glasgow airport. John had stated during the process that being about an hour from Glasgow airport was one of his key wants to help make it easier for the kids to come and see us. Although when asked to confirm our wish list it had said 1-2 hours from Glasgow and Liz had agreed that was ok - she calls it a compromise to her advantage!
We stepped out onto the veranda and saw the garden properly for the first time. And I think our hearts sank as low as the garden did. It sloped down 1-2 storeys below us, bordered by huge pines on one side and houses on the other 3 (two neighbours and this house) and felt dark and overshadowed. There were some fruit trees with ripe apples which looked nice, and some mature planting, proving things grew well there. But we struggled to be positive about the outdoor aspect of the house.
When we got to the crunch question, 'So Liz and John what do you think this house is on the market for?' we massively embarrassed ourselves by under valuing it by a long way (or maybe the house was massively over valued by the Estate Agent?) We guessed offers over £265,000 (Liz) and £240,000 (John). Sonali broke the astonishing news that the house was on the market for £325,000. Can we film that again? No. Oh well, let's see how arrogant that comes across on the telly!
Sonali asked what we thinking when we gave our guesses. We should have explained about the Scottish pricing being pretty much arbitrary as people could offer whatever they wanted, far in excess of the asking price, making the asking price irrelevant, but we were in shock and missed the beat on that one. Sonali explained that the reason for the high price was justified by the Home Buyers Report being virtually all 1's. Ever since filming Liz has been kicking herself over missed opportunities, clumsy narrative and one particular moment where her knees failed to lift her gracefully out of a low leather chair.... Guess this is what the post filming therapist is for!
We looked the property up after filming and the estate agents website says: Modern 2/3 bed detached family home located in a semi rural location with countryside views. 2 double bedrooms (with the option to reinstate 3rd instead of the open plan diner), lounge, open plan kitchen/diner, shower room, bathroom and utility room. The property further benefits from an underbuild with power and light workshop (that could be converted to further accommodation), additional large double timber frame stable/garage with power, light and water. Superfast broadband and digital television are available.
The property benefits from peaceful lane access, off street parking, a sloped but well stocked garden with many mature trees and shrubs, large wrap around decking area to the front and side. The village of Ford is famous for its nearby fishing lochs and numerous walking and cycle paths. Several standing stones are scattered around the area, there is also a crannog. The slightly bigger village of Kilmartin is about a 5-minute drive away which has a church, hotel, pub, museum and cafe. Lochgilphead is 8 miles further south of Kilmartin which has bigger amenities such as numerous cafes, pubs, restaurants, hotels, high school, supermarket, Tesco express, dentist, hospital, opticians, vets and many more.
We left the first house and drove to Tarbert, on the way to house number two. We stopped here and had a coffee on the harbourside in the sunshine whilst Owen shot some nice clips of the town across the water, and the rest of the team went on to get started at the second house.
I think we can endorse our price estimation as the house was still for sale as of 21st January 2023!
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