Aftershocks

When the 7.1 earthquake hit Christchurch last weekend we were out of town, and had been planning on going home that morning to move out of the gingerbread house. It was a bit worrying as we drove back not knowing what we were going to find! Fortunately our belongings were mostly fine (just a couple of things broke when they fell off shelves) but the house itself wasn't in the best shape...

The liquefaction and cracks weren't that bad (especially compared to some areas), but because the property is really close to a river the ground wasn't that stable and one corner of the house is on quite a lean. It wasn't a problem for us moving out, especially as we had already organised to stay with a friend for the next week, but luckily the land lord has insurance because apparently it isn't fit to be lived in anymore.

Before the earthquake we had been ready to settle on our new house (!!!) on Friday, but things were looking a bit uncertain when insurance companies started backing out of all new policies in Christchurch. Owen had managed to confirm our insurance the day before the earthquake and a builder had inspected the new house to make sure there was no damage, but the bank was still having difficulty making a decision about whether to go ahead with the purchase.

We had a deadline of 3.00pm on Friday, otherwise settlement would have to be delayed for a few days or possibly weeks, and at 2.50pm the bank finally confirmed! It was a very tense day, and I spent most of it trying not to huddle in a corner and cry. But everything worked out OK, and we moved in on Saturday!

There's still a lot of unpacking to do, but I took a few before photos of the house since we have plans to do a bit of work on it. If you'd like to have a look, here they are. I'm planning on posting some after photos as we make progress!