Losing The Plot

We found our plot about 12 months ago, in April 2019. We (my husband Lanre and I) had decided it was time to buy a ‘grown-up house’ and leave the flat that we’ve made a home in Forest Hill. Evolving this flat from a cockroach-infested, unlivable rental to a haven where we’ve raised our daughter for the last 3 years has left some deep emotional ties, but as I said, it was time.

We had always discussed building a home, but in the context of it happening way down the line, closer to our retirement age (which I assume will be 85), as a last hurrah for Lanre to realise all the architectural dreams his clients hadn’t followed through on. However, while looking for houses we also kept a squinted eye out for plots…. just in case.

We found a small plot (approx. 500 square feet) in Ladywell, South London. It already had planning permission for a beautifully considered modern home designed by Sketch Architects and we knew this was IT. We spent the night after we saw the plot planning, re-designing, budgeting… we were already in love.

So long story short. We put an offer in (a well-considered offer, informed by advice from experts, which I will post more about soon) and we were quickly outbid by a developer who offered asking price (we didn’t as the numbers really didn’t stack up to us). To say we were disappointed would be an understatement. I cried.