Just back from another Melbourne trip. With daylight saving gone it became a very dreary drive, but the audio books I took were great. I should have been listening to them ages ago. They keep you alert and some of the stories are so entertaining. It seems to shorten the drive.
It was a bad week with so many bills to pay. Some of them were late, some huge. The car insurance had gone up by $100 – great. It has left us short, and the cost of petrol edging up steadily doesn’t help. If for nothing else, my time in Melbourne gave S a rest with my help during my visit with the house tidy up sessions, prior to each open inspection.
The neighbour’s cat, Abo, seemed to have taken up residence in our place. I wonder if that’s because S has been feeding it and its owners hadn’t been.
I got the garage cleaned up and made a bit tidier, and some boxes of stuff were put into our storage space at Eltham. I spent some time rearranging the stuff that’s in storage to allow space for even more things if need be. Our little spot is now one-third empty; it seemed full before the tidy up. It’s amazing how much you can get in there if you pack it correctly. I should have done this much earlier, but there never seemed to be the time with so many other priorities.
Our fish is still dangling on the hook, but with no acceptable offers the property is still on the market.
It was a cold drive back to Canberra. I wasn’t going to turn on that smelly heater unless I had to. Some mice or rats had taken up residence in the car heater some months ago, and to say it smelled a bit was an understatement. The extra clothes alternative worked fine: two long sleeved skivvies under a hooded pullover, and a blanket over my knees. I must have looked a sight. It was pathetic, really.
22 April 2008
21 April 2008
A nibble on the line
Spotted a property in Calwell, south of Canberra. It is a good sized house with four bedrooms on a relatively small block, but it did have some views of the distant hills. It had an amazingly large kitchen with a huge bench surface and great kitchen storage. S liked the size of the kitchen when spotted on the web. It must have had about six metres of bench space down one side. Though, the rooms seemed on the smallish side. I got the building report. It has villaboard, like the Bonython place we liked a few months ago. We may need to put up with asbestos. Villaboard is asbestos.
I also came across a property at Macgregor that caught my eye. It was advertised for auction and the agent thought it would go for between $330 - $400k. This was an older house and not as well cared for as the previous one, but this is a house with style. It had a very large lounge and four bedrooms on separate wings; three on one wing and the main and ensuite on the other wing. The design left an area between the two wings that might be large enough for a small pool or secluded garden. There was little in the way of views from this house, but definitely a house with a difference. Some of the doors and walls had been knocked about, and the kitchen looked like it needed to be ripped out and started again. But for all that, there was something about the place that clicked. The trouble in favouring unusual properties is that they may be more difficult to sell.
In Melbourne, S came home after an inspection, and found a strange car parked in her spot. It looks like someone was testing the drive. We did this before we bought the place all those years ago. In fact, there was no way I was going to buy the property until I tested the driveway. I actually wondered if the car could make it up, as the grade was so steep. Of course it did, but the driveway gave troubles in winter as on the steeper sections the car would loose traction when it was wet. So, someone else is going through the same thought processes. This is good!
According to our agent, there are two punters nibbling at the bait: a mother and daughter pair, and another interested party operating through an agent-friend. Eventually, our agent phoned to say they were offering $345k. Apparently, he said, we had earlier knocked back an offer that was below $350k, which wasn’t true. The agent-fiend would probably suspect this to be a lie. It’s a game this negotiation. By their previous experience, the mother-daughter won’t buy as they’ve been looking in the area for 5 years. Russell says the others are dream buyers, with the money in the bank. If they raise their offer to $355k well take it. He’s concerned about interest rates restricting the market. Our advertising bill is $5,000, so far.
I also came across a property at Macgregor that caught my eye. It was advertised for auction and the agent thought it would go for between $330 - $400k. This was an older house and not as well cared for as the previous one, but this is a house with style. It had a very large lounge and four bedrooms on separate wings; three on one wing and the main and ensuite on the other wing. The design left an area between the two wings that might be large enough for a small pool or secluded garden. There was little in the way of views from this house, but definitely a house with a difference. Some of the doors and walls had been knocked about, and the kitchen looked like it needed to be ripped out and started again. But for all that, there was something about the place that clicked. The trouble in favouring unusual properties is that they may be more difficult to sell.
In Melbourne, S came home after an inspection, and found a strange car parked in her spot. It looks like someone was testing the drive. We did this before we bought the place all those years ago. In fact, there was no way I was going to buy the property until I tested the driveway. I actually wondered if the car could make it up, as the grade was so steep. Of course it did, but the driveway gave troubles in winter as on the steeper sections the car would loose traction when it was wet. So, someone else is going through the same thought processes. This is good!
According to our agent, there are two punters nibbling at the bait: a mother and daughter pair, and another interested party operating through an agent-friend. Eventually, our agent phoned to say they were offering $345k. Apparently, he said, we had earlier knocked back an offer that was below $350k, which wasn’t true. The agent-fiend would probably suspect this to be a lie. It’s a game this negotiation. By their previous experience, the mother-daughter won’t buy as they’ve been looking in the area for 5 years. Russell says the others are dream buyers, with the money in the bank. If they raise their offer to $355k well take it. He’s concerned about interest rates restricting the market. Our advertising bill is $5,000, so far.
16 April 2008
It's not so easy
I still have the touch of a cold lingering – a tickle in my chest that, almost but not quite, makes me cough in Canberra’s cold air. Canberra can have some nice warm days with beautiful blue sky, but the morning and late afternoon air seems to cut right through your body. The doc thinks Echinacea is the bees knees for keeping colds away.
The credit card just went over its limit, and my ISP have suspended service because they didn’t get paid. A cheque goes winging its way toward them. The first half of the year has always been bad for bills in Melbourne. I wonder how it’ll be in Canberra when we get here permanently.
The credit card just went over its limit, and my ISP have suspended service because they didn’t get paid. A cheque goes winging its way toward them. The first half of the year has always been bad for bills in Melbourne. I wonder how it’ll be in Canberra when we get here permanently.
15 April 2008
Fighting with the real estate agent
Our house is currently advertised for $330-370,000. The real estate agent was pushing S to reduce the listing to $330-360,000. They have been at her on this level for some time, and she is getting tired of this kind of pressure. I emailed the real estate agent to say we’d prefer to leave it advertised as is until May, when the tender period expires. Has the agent forgotten the meaning of the word “tender?”
He came back promptly with a note saying how other properties sold quickly, that although our presentation was good, he implied the problem with our property not selling must be related to the price. It’s true that there had been no offers made. Though, he didn’t consider the possibility that lowering the price will indicate a general lack of interest by other buyers. He didn’t consider the punters may consider us desperate to sell.
S is wondering whether we should take the house off the market, and put it up for rent, and use it as equity to buy another house in Canberra. I think that was rage speaking, and very understandable. It’s an option. Anyway, the renters may stuff up our garden. She rang him and put to the agent the notion of pulling it from the market, and putting it up for rent. He volunteered to manage the rental – an opportunity at every corner. Anyway, it was sufficient for him to pull the pressure off.
We may have over capitalised in some of the work we did on this property, but we are not going to give it away. Someone paid $365,000 for a property literally around the corner from us, that shocked S in its price and quality. It was on a quarter acre block, weatherboard, no garage, one bathroom. So why should our place be valued for less?
He came back promptly with a note saying how other properties sold quickly, that although our presentation was good, he implied the problem with our property not selling must be related to the price. It’s true that there had been no offers made. Though, he didn’t consider the possibility that lowering the price will indicate a general lack of interest by other buyers. He didn’t consider the punters may consider us desperate to sell.
S is wondering whether we should take the house off the market, and put it up for rent, and use it as equity to buy another house in Canberra. I think that was rage speaking, and very understandable. It’s an option. Anyway, the renters may stuff up our garden. She rang him and put to the agent the notion of pulling it from the market, and putting it up for rent. He volunteered to manage the rental – an opportunity at every corner. Anyway, it was sufficient for him to pull the pressure off.
We may have over capitalised in some of the work we did on this property, but we are not going to give it away. Someone paid $365,000 for a property literally around the corner from us, that shocked S in its price and quality. It was on a quarter acre block, weatherboard, no garage, one bathroom. So why should our place be valued for less?
14 April 2008
Another nothing weekend
It was a very disappointing weekend. I suppose everyone is on the lookout for a bargain, and no one wants to pay more than they have to for a property. Hell, I’ll settle for a fair price for a fair deal, but there weren’t many out there that I saw.
It almost seemed that to get a decent place you have to pay $500,000+. An okay place is about $400,000. Roughies are in the $300s. There are probably exceptions, and it depends where you buy, but they eluded my search. I wish people would be a bit more honest when they advertise their places.
We are still getting a lot of people through our own property. It feels so weird to be house hunting here in Canberra, strolling through houses for sale and thinking there are other people strolling about my place in Melbourne. What we need is to find someone who lives in Canberra and wants to live in Melbourne; then we can do a house swap.
S was chatting to our real estate agent after the inspection, just before she was about to drive off, when some latecomers called by. They went through by themselves. Things are getting very casual.
It almost seemed that to get a decent place you have to pay $500,000+. An okay place is about $400,000. Roughies are in the $300s. There are probably exceptions, and it depends where you buy, but they eluded my search. I wish people would be a bit more honest when they advertise their places.
We are still getting a lot of people through our own property. It feels so weird to be house hunting here in Canberra, strolling through houses for sale and thinking there are other people strolling about my place in Melbourne. What we need is to find someone who lives in Canberra and wants to live in Melbourne; then we can do a house swap.
S was chatting to our real estate agent after the inspection, just before she was about to drive off, when some latecomers called by. They went through by themselves. Things are getting very casual.
09 April 2008
The drought ends
Pay day at last. Heave a sigh of relief. I can get some credit on the mobile phone, and talk to S again. Though there are still some bills to pay; car rego amongst others.
S said the garden in Warrandyte is looking spectacular, but the big tree out the front is looking really dead. Perhaps with it being autumn the punters will be fooled into thinking the tree is deciduous.
S said the garden in Warrandyte is looking spectacular, but the big tree out the front is looking really dead. Perhaps with it being autumn the punters will be fooled into thinking the tree is deciduous.
08 April 2008
A sign of the times
I forgot to bring my lunch to work, and didn’t have any money to buy anything. Fortunately, I had an orange on my desk that I forgot to eat yesterday. Funnily enough, the orange and a cuppa seemed just fine.
07 April 2008
Security
As I walk through the front door of any of the properties I visit there is usually a well dressed real estate agent at the door to greet you. If they are not at or near the front door they may be in the lounge, and they are generally quite good at noting your name and asking for some contact details, which is generally your telephone number. Some agents use a clip board and write your name and phone number themselves. Others leave the sheet somewhere easily accessible, usually on the kitchen bench, and leave it to the punters to write their own details.
As I walk through the doors of these properties and provide this information I often think of a similar thing going on at my own place that’s for sale in Melbourne. Several things flit through my mind as this takes place.
I wonder why they are doing this. Real estate agents, generally, push the line that the services offered by agents will be superior to anyone attempting to sell their house privately, and one of the services they may cite is security. An agent may well argue, if on returning to your house you find that something has mysteriously gone missing, that by having a visitors list a degree of scrutiny is provided. Ha. I think it would be better if the agent recorded drivers licence numbers after having matched the image on the licence to the person walking through the door. A crook is unlikely to provide their real name and contact information if they go there with the intention of lifting some jewellery or other small valuables. The real reason they do it is because they have $ signs in their eyes for each person who walks in the door, and they want to keep you on a string.
As I walk through the doors of these properties and provide this information I often think of a similar thing going on at my own place that’s for sale in Melbourne. Several things flit through my mind as this takes place.
I wonder why they are doing this. Real estate agents, generally, push the line that the services offered by agents will be superior to anyone attempting to sell their house privately, and one of the services they may cite is security. An agent may well argue, if on returning to your house you find that something has mysteriously gone missing, that by having a visitors list a degree of scrutiny is provided. Ha. I think it would be better if the agent recorded drivers licence numbers after having matched the image on the licence to the person walking through the door. A crook is unlikely to provide their real name and contact information if they go there with the intention of lifting some jewellery or other small valuables. The real reason they do it is because they have $ signs in their eyes for each person who walks in the door, and they want to keep you on a string.
04 April 2008
Dreams and nightmares
My rent was due and when that was paid I had $15 left in the bank. There’s a little petrol in the car, enough for a few carefully selected open inspections. I spotted a property at Chapman in which the write up seemed interesting. It was across the road from a couple of burnt out blocks with remnants of houses on them. The remains of Canberra’s bushfire.
This property was to be auctioned, and by the looks of the place would be miles too expensive for me. Just a short distance down the road was a very ordinary looking house advertised for $510,000. The property that was up for auction was very well finished by comparison. So I suspect it’ll go for something higher than that. We can have dreams.
While waiting for the agent to arrive, I walked onto one of the two ‘vacant’ blocks the bushfire had attacked. There was no sign of the inferno on the land, except for the fact that the driveway went nowhere, the level spots where the house used to be, and the empty swimming pool in the back yard. A few of the larger trees on the nature reserve at the back adjoining the block of land had clearly been ablaze, still showing charred trunks. It takes a long time to heal.
I felt a chill through my spine walking on this land, trying to imagine what it would have been like during the inferno. I have goose pimples on my arms while I write this just thinking about it.
There was a hell of a good view over Canberra from that block. My, oh my, was that a magnificent panorama.
I had a look at a few properties in Dunlop, that’s one of the newer northern Canberra suburbs. There are some very nice houses but generally on very small blocks which in turn have been covered with as much concrete paving as space for garden. I was shocked to see a property where the gutters seemed to be touching the neighbour’s house. There was a gap between the two brick walls of each building, but only barely wide enough to fit a broom. What a joke. How can builders get away with that? It’s not a design feature I’d be happy with.
I spent some time tidying up my new digs after my shift. I found some gold coins as I was going through my stuff; a few dollars of actual money. I’ll be able to buy some petrol and be able to get to work confidently. I’ll have enough cash until pay day. Isn’t this pathetic? If it wasn’t so serious it’d be funny.
This property was to be auctioned, and by the looks of the place would be miles too expensive for me. Just a short distance down the road was a very ordinary looking house advertised for $510,000. The property that was up for auction was very well finished by comparison. So I suspect it’ll go for something higher than that. We can have dreams.
While waiting for the agent to arrive, I walked onto one of the two ‘vacant’ blocks the bushfire had attacked. There was no sign of the inferno on the land, except for the fact that the driveway went nowhere, the level spots where the house used to be, and the empty swimming pool in the back yard. A few of the larger trees on the nature reserve at the back adjoining the block of land had clearly been ablaze, still showing charred trunks. It takes a long time to heal.
I felt a chill through my spine walking on this land, trying to imagine what it would have been like during the inferno. I have goose pimples on my arms while I write this just thinking about it.
There was a hell of a good view over Canberra from that block. My, oh my, was that a magnificent panorama.
I had a look at a few properties in Dunlop, that’s one of the newer northern Canberra suburbs. There are some very nice houses but generally on very small blocks which in turn have been covered with as much concrete paving as space for garden. I was shocked to see a property where the gutters seemed to be touching the neighbour’s house. There was a gap between the two brick walls of each building, but only barely wide enough to fit a broom. What a joke. How can builders get away with that? It’s not a design feature I’d be happy with.
I spent some time tidying up my new digs after my shift. I found some gold coins as I was going through my stuff; a few dollars of actual money. I’ll be able to buy some petrol and be able to get to work confidently. I’ll have enough cash until pay day. Isn’t this pathetic? If it wasn’t so serious it’d be funny.
Relocation costs
I got some good news work about relocation costs. My boss’s boss said the money comes from his budget and not HR, which means he can set the expiry date, and he’s leaving the date open. That was a relief, and it put my mind at rest. He said he’d confirm this in writing. I found it curious that having done that, later in the day HR emailed me with noises that my time is almost up and I should make arrangements. I suspect they did not read BL’s email carefully, saw my name, and jumped to conclusions.
02 April 2008
Hard times
The days are beginning to blend. It’s been so busy at work that I’d liked to have been able to flake out at the end of the day. There were heaps of problems at work that I just didn’t need. But it’s been busy at home too. Tonight it was moving day and clean up.
So, I shifted the remainder of my stuff to my new address, down the street. It was surprisingly tiring. Of course, I had to give the bathroom and toilet a good clean to make it sparkle. Signed off on the bond, and with the money in my pocket for just a day, passed it along to my new landlord. He was pleasantly obliging. I’m being made to feel so welcome. There are some decent people around the place.
My new room was smaller than the one I had last, and it has a single bed instead of the double, but I still had my own toilet and bathroom. There is a fabulous big kitchen, and the house is very comfortable. I find I can talk to him easily. I think its going to be good.
In Melbourne, our house was to be advertised from Thursday as being up for sale by tender at the newly reduced price. The agents got their way. S is getting really fed up with things, and feeling lonely. With all the problems at work and extra time I’ve been putting in at work I’ve worked up a few days of flex time. S didn’t think it worthwhile coming across to Melbourne, but I think we both need a cuddle and each other’s company. So, I’ll be heading off again, soon.
Neither of us have much money this week. S’s phone ran out of credit, and I couldn’t afford to put more credit on it for her. I rang Optus and they were able to transfer some credit from my phone to her phone. Oh, the wonders of modern technology. Mind you, I was on the phone for about half an hour talking to someone in India while it was organised. That’s ironic.
So, I shifted the remainder of my stuff to my new address, down the street. It was surprisingly tiring. Of course, I had to give the bathroom and toilet a good clean to make it sparkle. Signed off on the bond, and with the money in my pocket for just a day, passed it along to my new landlord. He was pleasantly obliging. I’m being made to feel so welcome. There are some decent people around the place.
My new room was smaller than the one I had last, and it has a single bed instead of the double, but I still had my own toilet and bathroom. There is a fabulous big kitchen, and the house is very comfortable. I find I can talk to him easily. I think its going to be good.
In Melbourne, our house was to be advertised from Thursday as being up for sale by tender at the newly reduced price. The agents got their way. S is getting really fed up with things, and feeling lonely. With all the problems at work and extra time I’ve been putting in at work I’ve worked up a few days of flex time. S didn’t think it worthwhile coming across to Melbourne, but I think we both need a cuddle and each other’s company. So, I’ll be heading off again, soon.
Neither of us have much money this week. S’s phone ran out of credit, and I couldn’t afford to put more credit on it for her. I rang Optus and they were able to transfer some credit from my phone to her phone. Oh, the wonders of modern technology. Mind you, I was on the phone for about half an hour talking to someone in India while it was organised. That’s ironic.
01 April 2008
Showdown with the agent
A meeting with the real estate agent resulted in the price of the house being lowered. Real Estate agents are only interested in their commission. There was talk at the meeting of spending costs on advertising.
The real estate agents also produced a report showing comments the punters had made up until this point. Some were complementary, others were not. Some of which included the following:
“Steep block” Yes, this is Warrandyte. That’s what you get in a lot of Warrandyte properties. Though, I have to admit the block nearly scared me away from purchasing it all those years ago.
“Nice house” Well, thank you, whoever you were.
“Too much work required” I don’t quite know what to think of that one. I wonder if they got their properties confused. That’s easily done.
“Unsuitable for renovating” Is that because we’ve done it all.
“Clients wouldn’t like the driveway” That’s a fair comment.
“No back yard” The property layout was unusual. Most houses have a patch of lawn and shrubs in the front of their house which may account for about a third or half of the land area, with the remaining two-thirds or so as back yard, and it’s in the back yard that people will have their shed, fruit trees and vegie garden. This property had a lush vegie garden at the back, a shed at the back and the side and the car garage in the front of the property. The remaining three quarters of the land area was at the front of the house and included a levelled but small front garden. In front of that was a small orchard and ornamental trees. In front of that was a large flat parking space. In front of that was a nature reserve, then the road. The back yard was in the front yard.
“Unsuitable for kids” I wonder why. We bought it from people who had two young kids.
“Not enough parking” It was unfairly advertised as having a double garage; it had a very large single garage, with space for parking one or two cars on a flat space in front of the garage. There was also parking in front of the orchard for four vehicles. And then of course, there was the driveway itself, which is always a good place for parking.
“Small rooms” Alas, this was true.
The real estate agents also produced a report showing comments the punters had made up until this point. Some were complementary, others were not. Some of which included the following:
“Steep block” Yes, this is Warrandyte. That’s what you get in a lot of Warrandyte properties. Though, I have to admit the block nearly scared me away from purchasing it all those years ago.
“Nice house” Well, thank you, whoever you were.
“Too much work required” I don’t quite know what to think of that one. I wonder if they got their properties confused. That’s easily done.
“Unsuitable for renovating” Is that because we’ve done it all.
“Clients wouldn’t like the driveway” That’s a fair comment.
“No back yard” The property layout was unusual. Most houses have a patch of lawn and shrubs in the front of their house which may account for about a third or half of the land area, with the remaining two-thirds or so as back yard, and it’s in the back yard that people will have their shed, fruit trees and vegie garden. This property had a lush vegie garden at the back, a shed at the back and the side and the car garage in the front of the property. The remaining three quarters of the land area was at the front of the house and included a levelled but small front garden. In front of that was a small orchard and ornamental trees. In front of that was a large flat parking space. In front of that was a nature reserve, then the road. The back yard was in the front yard.
“Unsuitable for kids” I wonder why. We bought it from people who had two young kids.
“Not enough parking” It was unfairly advertised as having a double garage; it had a very large single garage, with space for parking one or two cars on a flat space in front of the garage. There was also parking in front of the orchard for four vehicles. And then of course, there was the driveway itself, which is always a good place for parking.
“Small rooms” Alas, this was true.
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