Little Things That Make You Smile 7: The Joy Department

[Neon Ignition]

Sheer sorcery that Alicia Silverstone has aged so little

[randombs]

We bought a 3 bedroom flat here in Tokyo and moved in today

It’s a bit surreal and it hasn’t properly sunk in that we’re homeowners, but then becoming a dad last year was surreal and that hasn’t quite sunk in!

We bought the flat last November and had it completely renovated - resizing rooms, installing double glazing, converting the Japanese tatami room into a normal room - before moving in.

The whole affair was a whirlwind of visits and long meetings at estate agents and banks. Stress levels occasionally flew through the roof and we’ve lost so much sleep poring over wallpaper swatches while also raising an admittedly super chill baby. Japanese wife and British me applying for a joint mortgage six months into our parental leave (on welfare, basically) raised many an eyebrow and needed all kinds of paperwork but goddamnit we’ve done it

[Asura]

We bought a 3 bedroom flat here in Tokyo and moved in today

It’s a bit surreal and it hasn’t properly sunk in that we’re homeowners, but then becoming a dad last year was surreal and that hasn’t quite sunk in!

We bought the flat last November and had it completely renovated - resizing rooms, installing double glazing, converting the Japanese tatami room into a normal room - before moving in.

The whole affair was a whirlwind of visits and long meetings at estate agents and banks. Stress levels occasionally flew through the roof and we’ve lost so much sleep poring over wallpaper swatches while also raising an admittedly super chill baby. Japanese wife and British me applying for a joint mortgage six months into our parental leave (on welfare, basically) raised many an eyebrow and needed all kinds of paperwork but goddamnit we’ve done it

Congratulations! From personal experience I know how hard it can be to just get a regular bank account or mobile phone contract there, so I can't imagine how difficult it must have been to get a mortgage!

[QualityChimp]

Amazing stuff, Random BS!
I'll be over to borrow some sugar soon.

[wakka]

Congrats dude. Really awesome.

I heard they got a 3 bed in order to keep 1 room for visiting Bordersdown forumites.

[teddymeow]

Congrats dude. Really awesome.

I heard they got a 3 bed in order to keep 1 room for visiting Bordersdown forumites.

Hey! HEY!! HEY!!!

I think you'll find there's a queue!!!

[wakka]

Yeah sorry, it's master bedroom, child bedroom, The Teddymeow Suite. And the weird thing is it's the biggest one, it's got an en suite, and it's completely decorated with posters of Sean Bean.

[randombs]

Congratulations! From personal experience I know how hard it can be to just get a regular bank account or mobile phone contract there, so I can't imagine how difficult it must have been to get a mortgage!

Honestly, I’ve had no trouble applying for stuff here - bank accounts, mobile phones, credit cards, etc - and the mortgage would’ve been easier if our situation was a bit more typical (both working full time) or if it was only one of us applying.

Our trouble stemmed from us wanting a joint mortgage but having different visa statuses (she’s a citizen; I’m on a work visa). Only one bank agreed to give us a mortgage despite that (albeit at an above-average interest rate). It would’ve been easier had we both been on a work visa!

I’ve applied for permanent residency in the meantime and that would put us on an equal footing mortgage-wise so we could shop around and remortgage at a lower interest rate.

[randombs]

Yeah sorry, it's master bedroom, child bedroom, The Teddymeow Suite. And the weird thing is it's the biggest one, it's got an en suite, and it's completely decorated with posters of Sean Bean.

Two posters:

1) WAKKA IS COMING

2) One does not simply walk into Random’s house and claim a bedroom

[teddymeow]

Yeah sorry, it's master bedroom, child bedroom, The Teddymeow Suite. And the weird thing is it's the biggest one, it's got an en suite, and it's completely decorated with posters of Sean Bean.

I'll take it!!

[Anpanman]

Excellent stuff randombs must feel great.

[Anpanman]

Sheer sorcery that Alicia Silverstone has aged so little

If you want some Greek sorcery, last year's Super Bowl had Salma Hayek (ten years older than Silverstone), with Arnie and Peggy.

[QualityChimp]

Two posters:

1) WAKKA IS COMING

2) One does not simply walk into Random’s house and claim a bedroom

It's an achievement to buy a house anyway, but doing all of this with the odds stacked against you is a real achievement, so thanks for sharing your win!

[speedlolita]

Found a certain Final Fantasy X-2 controller I've wanted for nearly 20 years on a random Greek sales site. I really hope the seller is willing to ship to the UK.

[Asura]

Found a certain Final Fantasy X-2 controller I've wanted for nearly 20 years on a random Greek sales site. I really hope the seller is willing to ship to the UK.

The guns?