Furnishings

Although the property was vacant, it was furnished. The vendors had been renting the house to weekend visitors and holidaymakers for a few weeks or days at a time. In fact, the real-estate ad gave a brief run down on how much the property could earn from casual rentals.

Short term rental properties at the coast probably do quite well, particularly as the local motels get booked out on long weekends and the Christmas-New Year holiday season. The summer temperatures at Batemans Bay are usually a few degrees cooler than Canberra, making it a very pleasant place to be. Winter too is a nice change from Canberra with its day and night temperatures generally always being colder than they are at the coast. Weather wise, the appeal of the coast is fairly universal throughout the year.

The house was kitted out almost in a motel fashion with almost everything anyone would need to move in and spend a few days. In addition to the furniture there were stereo systems, TVs, microwave ovens, crockery etc. Some of the furniture was in very reasonable condition; other pieces were virtual throw outs. I particularly liked the dining table and chairs. There were two double beds that looked okay. Though, I didn’t have much use for the bunk beds. The lounge chairs seemed well past their best, as were some of the cabinets and wardrobes. The crockery and kitchen items could have been good to have. Although I didn’t need any more TV, video, nor stereo systems they could have been OK to have. There was always ebay to get rid of any unwanted stuff. There was a mixed bunch of stuff in the house. We wondered if they would be available for sale too.

I had taken photos of all the rooms in the weeks prior to making the offer. I’d poured over them studying every detail of the place. In all, I think I had taken about three hundred pictures both inside and outside the property, and around the garden and in the garage. I knew exactly what all the furnishings looked like. With any property I’ve had an interest I’ve snapped a few photos. If I have been very interested I’ve taken dozens of photos. Perhaps four or five photos per room, including the hallway, bathroom, toilet, and laundry. And I’d go for close ups of anything that looks dodgy so that I can study it later, but in fairness I also take photographs of the good aspects as well.

It’s possible to miss things that will be captured in a photograph. You might not spot rusted gutters until you see them in one of your photos, or rotting timber decking, or a roof line that might be a problem or the general condition of the roofing steel or weather boards. Photographs can reveal so much when you study them later. Even aspects you weren’t able to study while inspecting the property become available to you later: the street, the neighbour’s place, and the general lie of the land. Inevitably, taking so many photos gave me an idea of the furnishings and fittings that were in the house.

Anyway, using ebay I checked the completed listing prices as a guide to estimating the value of everything. This is not a reliable method, but it does provide a general idea of price. There is no way I could match any ebay items exactly with my photographs, but a lot of ebay stuff comes remarkably close. Because I was checking completed auctions on ebay I didn’t care where they were located; just the last selling price. I think it helped.

If you use ebay and didn't know this feature was available, you should give it a go. When you are signed in, click on the 'advanced search' function, and tick the 'completed listings' box. When you search for anything its only completed auctions that are displayed. All the green items were things that sold at the price shown, which gives you a good idea of what people are paying. The red items are the things that didn't sell. It's really handy.

We made an offer on the furniture and contents which was subsequently upped to $2000 and we accepted. The deal was to be done privately. It would save us transporting furniture and saved the vendors from having to clear the house prior to sale. The vendors may also have priced it accordingly as they may have considered the cost of removal, or there may have been storage costs to consider. Anyway, what can you get for $2000? It seemed an okay price.

Some reflections on the move

Now that the shift is over, well mostly, I can reflect on the various experiences. I hope my experience will help you avoid some of the traps that caught me.

Here are a few things that might be useful to do months before you pack. These things all take time, but they are worthy of consideration.

Trash or treasure
Have a look around the house and work out your valuables from the junk. Transporting stuff to your new home that will get thrown away after a few months might as well be thrown out before you go. It can take a lot of time going through stuff. Make a realistic assessment of all your stuff. Start doing this early. Try for three to six months early. You’ll need a long time because you don’t want to get rid of good stuff.

Garage sale
You should consider having a garage sale. I’m not keen on them but I’ve heard of them working for others. The best garage sale ever I went to was organised by the street residents, and about a third of all homes in the street had stalls. It was great just wandering up and down. They may have got more people there because everyone was close by with less need for driving around.

ebay sales
I found ebay worked remarkably well for me, but of course these sales take time with photographs and the write-ups you have to do, and because of that should be organised many months before moving day. Ebay got rid of some large items that would have caused me a problem, and included an old rusty car with a blown up engine. I also had a rusted out trailer which also sold. Why anyone wanted them I don’t know, but they brought in a bit of cash when I would otherwise have had to pay someone to take them away. Ebay was also useful for getting rid of some left over mild steel that I had (recycle merchants won’t pay for steel unless you have a truck load, so you might as well sell it; they will pay for copper and aluminium etc), a motorcycle and cement mixer were also sold, along with various other stuff. It didn’t all sell, but most did.

Damage and insurance
Think about insurance if you are doing your own move. If you are being moved by your employer the chances are high that you will be covered by the company insurer, but check.

Take photographs of your valuables to help with that insurance claim you hope will never have to be made. Digital cameras make this so easy. Just think about it. If you get your furniture to your destination and find your antique dresser has been gouged by some mishap you are certain occurred during transit or storage you’d be disappointed and angry if the insurance assessor knocked back your claim. An accident could happen during transit, and some employee not wanting to upset their boss by their incompetence may have kept quiet about the incident and rubbed some dirt or stain into the fresh scratch to cover it up. The insurance assessor might reasonably assume it was you who had damaged the item before the move. A few suitably date proven photographs before and after may help with your claim. And if you are going to do this do it well otherwise don’t bother. As well as a distance shots of the items, get your camera close up and cover all surfaces, and have good lighting on the subject.

More logistics

Fay, our Warrandyte conveyancer, rang to say everything was going fine. Hey. That’s a surprise.

She said settlement will take place at 11.30am on the 13th, that a cheque will be made out and sent to the Canberra solicitor to cover Stamp Duty, with the remainder left over for the purchase of the Flynn property. She also said that a section 27 form has been faxed to our real estate agent in Warrandyte to release the deposit to us.

I called by and picked up the cheque from the real estate agent. The deposit had been eaten into by the agent’s commission: $9230, advertising: $4115.74, GST: $1339.07, other expenses: $45 (I wonder what that was). The timing for this cheque was good, as I’d just stretched my credit union cheque account to the limit.

There was no sign of the Virgin Home Loan documents as yet, so I rang them. Apparently, they were very busy, but I was on the list of things to do their end. Well, at least the wheels were turning.

The lease for the car seemed to be a more difficult process than I’d expected, and not real cheap either. Though the exact costs will have to be worked out later, when I get some time.

A few things were selling on ebay: my old motor cycle, mulching machine, and of course the trailer were the biggest items.

Early days in Canberra

I had a motel room paid for by my employer, and the accommodation was fine. I had breakfast in a nearby shopping centre; Westfield Belconnen. These complexes seem to be the same everywhere you go. Inside the mall it was easy to forget that I was now in another state. It’s a pity the architects don’t have a bit more imagination, and vary the design from one to the next.

I bought myself a street directory and studied the real estate section of the local newspapers over breakfast. My first priority was to find a place to live; some rental accommodation. I couldn’t stay in the motel for long, as I was only funded for a short time. There were quite a few ads, but it’s difficult when you don’t know your way around. I got in touch with a few real estate agents, and soon discovered that Real Estate agents don’t help out much for renters, at least not in Canberra. This is probably related to the ratio of rentals properties and punters looking for them. Still, it’s early days yet. One thing I did forget to bring, not having rented for years, was that the real estate agents want references. I used to rent in Melbourne, and I could have got a reference from the agent who managed the property I rented. I didn’t give it a thought, which was a bit of an oversight.

Feeling lonely I rang home. There were a few bits and pieces I had advertised on ebay when I was in Melbourne. We used to have a ute that gradually fell apart. I got $50 for it on ebay. This car had so much rust in it that you could actually see through it in spots, and the engine had blown a gasket. So, the $50 was okay. We sold a dog kennel for $26. I suppose we could have left the kennel for the new owners of our house as it wouldn’t have been in the way, but having an old car in the driveway was definitely a problem. So getting some cash for it was okay.

Ebay is a funny thing to deal with. I also had an old cement mixer for sale. I bought it second hand for about $80 or so, about 10 or more years ago. It was a rough old machine when I bought it, but it worked. It needed new bearings when I bought it, but somehow it survived without any attention, and I made it do a lot of work. Anyway I put it up on ebay for $30 because I thought that was a fair price, and if that’s all I got for it I would be happy. So, I was surprised to see the bidding getting up to $50. Mixers must be hot items on ebay, but I was feeling embarrassed because it had seen better days, and the neighbour borrowed it at one point leaving it uncleaned; there was a fair amount of lumpy bits on the inside. (There’s a lesson - don't lend your stuff.) I put a note on my ebay ad advising the bidders to slow down, that the mixer wasn’t in pristine condition. I asked them to study the photograph, and I reemphasized the problems, but they kept bidding, and I sold it for $120.