Hi, I'm Chloe. In January 2025 my partner Matt and I picked up the keys to our first house: a 1930s end-of-terrace in Walkley, on the north-west side of Sheffield, about a mile up the hill from the flat above a shop in Crookes that we rented for four years.
I work in payroll for a big public-sector employer in the city, which means I spend my days making numbers add up and my evenings doing the same with our bills. Matt teaches design and technology at a secondary school, so he's the one with the mitre saw, the school-holiday project lists and strong opinions about pilot holes. Pickle, a black-and-white rescue cat, joined us in May 2025 and supervises most jobs from the top of the stairs.
Why Keys and Kettle?
On completion day the estate agent handed us the keys at 2.40pm. Our kettle was packed in a box we couldn't find, so the first thing we ever bought for our own house was a £22 kettle from the supermarket on the way over. It's still on the worktop. The keys got us in, but the kettle is what made it feel like ours, and it has made a great many cups of tea for a great many tradespeople since.
What you'll find here
This is the honest version of buying and running a first home in the UK: the Lifetime ISA and the mortgage, conveyancing searches and exchange day, moving in, setting up the energy, water, broadband and council tax, insurance, and slowly doing the house up on a budget. I write down the real numbers, including the jobs that went wrong and the quotes we turned down.
We're not builders, electricians or financial advisers. Anything involving gas, wiring or structure goes to a registered professional, and I'd always suggest checking your own situation with your solicitor, lender, insurer or a qualified tradesperson before you decide anything.
If you'd like to say hello, our e-mail address is on the contact page.