To keep things interesting on my daily walks throughout Bromley, I vary my route and make sure that my iPod is loaded with a good selection of music and podcasts. I also make sure that my iPhone is fully changed as I often stop to take pictures of flowers, plants, trees, animals, houses, etc. – basically, anything that tickles my fancy!

Seeing the houses across Bromley (especially the large ones), fills me with excitement and also turns me into a dreamer. I dream about what it would be like to own and decorate one of these mansion-like houses that are much larger than my two up/two down end terrace home. The voyeur in me wonders about their current state on the inside and the people who currently live in them.

Since I don’t know anyone who lives in these homes, to gain perspective, I search Zoopla.co.uk which in my opinion is property porn. Particularly as they display historical and current property listings along with value and price trend information. Thus, I can easily find out the current valuation for a property along with previous sale prices. Also, I can see pictures of inside these homes – well as least the ones that have recently been on sale. Exciting stuff I tell, VERY EXCITING!

So beyond snooping into other people’s property from the comfort of my couch, I constantly check out the current valuation for my own home, as well as the valuations for others in my street and the neighbourhood at large. I do so for reassurance that buying a property at the height of the most recent UK boom (Summer 2007) wasn’t a crazy decision.

Thankfully things are going my way. Heck, another house on my street with exact layout and similar standard is currently on sale for £25,000 more than I paid. So I am quietly rooting them on – hoping and praying that someone comes along who is willing to pay the asking price. Heck, maybe even a bit more. As when I come to sell this place (one day!), I need to recoup my initial investment which was a huge chunk of my life savings and then make a bit of profit so I can work my way up the property ladder.

Hopefully, just hopefully – I’ll be heading back in the city closer to the action and who knows, maybe even Notting Hill my dream destination! Of course, unlike the homes in Bromley, it most likely won’t be a detached or semi-detached, but who cares. It just needs to have three/four bedrooms and a small garden. Now that’s not too much to ask, is it? Hopefully not as I already have a picture of the house on my vision board. Hmmm!

You can view more photos of properties in Bromley in my Facebook Around Bromley: Houses album.