I called around to the Flynn house around 5.30pm as arranged to inspect the work that had been done, which was a bit pointless as the wardrobe doors had not yet been fitted. That was rather disappointing, as it was promised to be done. Some work had been done, but it was unfinished. People shouldn’t make promises they can’t keep.
I met K, one of the owners of the house, and she ran through a few things in the house. She showed me the laundry, which had had some work done and wasn’t quite finished. There were still a few tidy up things to do. She worked in a kitchen renovation company, and I presume she was able to use these contacts to get some work done on the house, and the laundry revamp was one of the renovations in progress, which was nice. And why wouldn’t you do that if you worked at a place like that. And of course, the kitchen itself had been renovated not long previously by the look of it. The kitchen floor looked better than it had done when I saw the place last during the inspection. Areas of the floor had been revarnished. It appeared as though there had been a few spillages of varnish on the floor that had been allowed to dry, as some areas of varnish on the floor looked to be much thicker in areas than in others. They didn’t do the entire floor for some reason. I wonder why they stopped part way through the dining room. Anyway, it’s something that can be done again later.
K produced a letter while I was there to say the robe doors would be completed. She seemed concerned at their absence, and presumably this letter of commitment was to make me feel at ease. She was probably embarrassed. I was disappointed it hadn’t been done, but she seemed genuine enough.
We had a chat. She was very chatty, in fact. She promised to steam clean the carpets to remove the stains. She said the stains were just surface marks and would be easily removed.
I couldn’t stay. It was getting late. I was in a hurry to pick up some removalist cartons that I had arranged through work, and then I was off to Melbourne. I was aware the drive from Canberra to Melbourne was about eight hours for me. I didn’t want to be driving too far into the early hours. K seemed oblivious of my need to keep this visit short. It would have been nice to have spent time there studying the property and chatting to the owner; there could have been things that would have been useful to know about the property, but I had to go.
I made my second visit for the evening to someone’s house who worked in the place I work. They had some removalist cartons they no longer needed which I wanted. I loaded my little EXA brimful of folded cardboard boxes and was off arriving at Warrandyte at about 2.00am. What a day.
Showing posts with label preparation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label preparation. Show all posts
23 May 2008
22 April 2008
Another Melbourne visit
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.
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.
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.
27 March 2008
Problems and solutions
The sore throat I was developing in Melbourne seemed to have changing into a cold. An early night for me. It seems that S caught it too, and feeling grouchy.
A couple of people who saw the house a few days ago had prepared a list of questions. Our real estate agent was able to deal with all but two of their questions. They were passed on.
A couple of people who saw the house a few days ago had prepared a list of questions. Our real estate agent was able to deal with all but two of their questions. They were passed on.
- What’s the water in the hole at the side of the house? Oops! That was the drain at the side of the house; the problem I had been trying to fix with a suction plunger and length of wire. Unsuccessfully, it would seem. I can’t help wondering if the question was an attempt at sarcasm. Isn’t it obvious: a blocked drain.
- What’s the serial/model number of the solar hot water heater? Apparently they wanted to confirm the capacity with the manufacturer. (They’ve got to be joking.)
25 March 2008
On the road again
A short day at work at the end of last week, then I was off to Melbourne. I took some audio books borrowed from the local public library. This was great. I should have done this ages ago. I do enjoy the open road stretching in front of me, but sometimes you get fed up with the same stuff over and over again, and any delights there might have been while driving during the day are lost at night. I found the audio books filled the gap really well. You can get audio tapes as audio books as well as CDs. Some are read by the author, but I gather most aren’t. It sounds a bit weird with the reader trying to take on different accents and voices, and the gender difference can be just a bit too difficult for some readers and is kind of funny to listen to then trying to emulate another gender. But, for all that, I can thoroughly recommend you give audio books a try if you are involved in long distance driving. I was actually looking forward to the trip home when I could listen to the remainder of the book.
Anyway, at home, I had a tour of inspection of the house. The house was looking great. It was strange to see it looking so tidy. And the lounge, with the settee in a new position simply looked weird. Still, if that’s what our stylist thinks is a good thing, who am I to argue.
I experienced a few open inspections while there on this visit, so had my share of cleaning up the house prior to the inspections. There seems to be a virus in the house that keeps blowing light bulbs. It was really weird; perhaps it was just a bad batch of globes, but what can you do. You wouldn’t be very successful going back to the retailer, even if you did have the receipt, saying it’s blown, give me another one. You’d be laughed at. One of the car head lights also went out on the drive down to Melbourne too. We took a trip to one of the local lighting specialists. You’d think it would be easy to buy a fluoro tube, but no lighting shop had any in stock. It was a slim line thing for the kitchen bench, under the cupboards.
Still, we got some stuff done as well as having some fun. Got some rubbish to the dump. The bastards at the dump wouldn’t take our unmarked chemicals or paint tins. They wanted the old paint tins opened before accepting them, but flatly refused the chemicals. What are people supposed to do? This was the Eltham Council. Is the council trying to encourage you to wrap them with the rest of the household rubbish? It seem like they are. I don’t know how a Council can become so short sighted. They have an obligation to accept everything and accept the cost of disposal. Stupid twits. I don’t know what to do with the stuff. Does the Eltham Council want me to dig a hole in my back yard and dump it there? That would be dumb, but this council is certainly encouraging that.
We got some more stuff into storage. Through the garage is still pretty full. I fixed the bathroom cupboard door that threatened to fall off before our first inspection. These modern bathroom fittings are made of crumby materials. It’s a wonder they last as long as they do made out of the stuff that gets used now a days. Longer screws in the door fixed the hinge.
We spent some time tidying up the place. We spread some cream pebbles around some of the plants in the garden to tizzy them up a bit. The ferns growing out of our driveway repair that I’d mentioned earlier were all doing very well and were looking really good, the lawn was looking surprisingly lush too, and despite S saying the vegie patch looked rough, seemed fine to me.
I gave the drain at the side of the house a couple of vigorous pumps with the plunger, and it seemed to drain slowly. There is something mysterious going on down there. If I had more time I could do something better than poke bits of wire down and attack it with a rubber suction plunger. Digging up the place is something you don’t do in the middle of an inspection period. On the positive side, the drain was only to take away a few drips from an overflow pipe.
We bought some new plants and put them around the place, and put some flowering pots around by the water tank. The water tank was not one of the properties best features. It has seen better days and is showing a few rust spots here and there. Interestingly, when the tank is full it doesn’t leak and in fact the rusting slows. However, when the water level is very low, the rust spots grow. I guess that’s because air is circulating.
S’s becoming friends with the wildlife. There always have been a lot of birds (lorikeets particularly), possums and lizards in Warrandyte. The two lorikeets here are being fed with a preparation that’s available in the supermarkets. It comes as a powder and when mixed with water into a watery paste and put out in a bowl they just go mad for it. They figh
t each other off and the pecking order is very evident in their behaviour. But besides their nasty temperament toward each other some of the more bold, like these two, can come so close you would think they were tame. They are so cute. They stick their little tongues in and out to suck up all this nice sweet tucker. Also while I was there, I watched her pick up one of the possums that come onto our block. It was a baby when she first started to pet it, when I saw her I was shocked by what she was doing. It was almost the size of its mother. It probably has some very sharp claws and teeth. Still, if you are kind to animals they may well be kind in return.
I had mentioned earlier that the car had kept smoking following the repair to the turbo. On the trip back to Melbourne this had gradually cleared until there was no smoke at all from the exhaust. All it needed was a good drive. And the extra power was great too.
But on the way back the car began jumping out of overdrive. If I lent on the gear leaver I could keep it in gear. The teeth on the synchro must be wearing round edges. I got fed up with it after a while and stopped using overdrive and left it in fourth gear. It its not one thing it’s another.
Anyway, at home, I had a tour of inspection of the house. The house was looking great. It was strange to see it looking so tidy. And the lounge, with the settee in a new position simply looked weird. Still, if that’s what our stylist thinks is a good thing, who am I to argue.
I experienced a few open inspections while there on this visit, so had my share of cleaning up the house prior to the inspections. There seems to be a virus in the house that keeps blowing light bulbs. It was really weird; perhaps it was just a bad batch of globes, but what can you do. You wouldn’t be very successful going back to the retailer, even if you did have the receipt, saying it’s blown, give me another one. You’d be laughed at. One of the car head lights also went out on the drive down to Melbourne too. We took a trip to one of the local lighting specialists. You’d think it would be easy to buy a fluoro tube, but no lighting shop had any in stock. It was a slim line thing for the kitchen bench, under the cupboards.
Still, we got some stuff done as well as having some fun. Got some rubbish to the dump. The bastards at the dump wouldn’t take our unmarked chemicals or paint tins. They wanted the old paint tins opened before accepting them, but flatly refused the chemicals. What are people supposed to do? This was the Eltham Council. Is the council trying to encourage you to wrap them with the rest of the household rubbish? It seem like they are. I don’t know how a Council can become so short sighted. They have an obligation to accept everything and accept the cost of disposal. Stupid twits. I don’t know what to do with the stuff. Does the Eltham Council want me to dig a hole in my back yard and dump it there? That would be dumb, but this council is certainly encouraging that.
We got some more stuff into storage. Through the garage is still pretty full. I fixed the bathroom cupboard door that threatened to fall off before our first inspection. These modern bathroom fittings are made of crumby materials. It’s a wonder they last as long as they do made out of the stuff that gets used now a days. Longer screws in the door fixed the hinge.
We spent some time tidying up the place. We spread some cream pebbles around some of the plants in the garden to tizzy them up a bit. The ferns growing out of our driveway repair that I’d mentioned earlier were all doing very well and were looking really good, the lawn was looking surprisingly lush too, and despite S saying the vegie patch looked rough, seemed fine to me.
I gave the drain at the side of the house a couple of vigorous pumps with the plunger, and it seemed to drain slowly. There is something mysterious going on down there. If I had more time I could do something better than poke bits of wire down and attack it with a rubber suction plunger. Digging up the place is something you don’t do in the middle of an inspection period. On the positive side, the drain was only to take away a few drips from an overflow pipe.
We bought some new plants and put them around the place, and put some flowering pots around by the water tank. The water tank was not one of the properties best features. It has seen better days and is showing a few rust spots here and there. Interestingly, when the tank is full it doesn’t leak and in fact the rusting slows. However, when the water level is very low, the rust spots grow. I guess that’s because air is circulating.
S’s becoming friends with the wildlife. There always have been a lot of birds (lorikeets particularly), possums and lizards in Warrandyte. The two lorikeets here are being fed with a preparation that’s available in the supermarkets. It comes as a powder and when mixed with water into a watery paste and put out in a bowl they just go mad for it. They figh
t each other off and the pecking order is very evident in their behaviour. But besides their nasty temperament toward each other some of the more bold, like these two, can come so close you would think they were tame. They are so cute. They stick their little tongues in and out to suck up all this nice sweet tucker. Also while I was there, I watched her pick up one of the possums that come onto our block. It was a baby when she first started to pet it, when I saw her I was shocked by what she was doing. It was almost the size of its mother. It probably has some very sharp claws and teeth. Still, if you are kind to animals they may well be kind in return.I had mentioned earlier that the car had kept smoking following the repair to the turbo. On the trip back to Melbourne this had gradually cleared until there was no smoke at all from the exhaust. All it needed was a good drive. And the extra power was great too.
But on the way back the car began jumping out of overdrive. If I lent on the gear leaver I could keep it in gear. The teeth on the synchro must be wearing round edges. I got fed up with it after a while and stopped using overdrive and left it in fourth gear. It its not one thing it’s another.
07 March 2008
Open for inspection
I had trouble getting to sleep and had a restless night. Was I suffering sympathy insomnia for S who was at home and stayed up all night cleaning the house in preparation for our first open inspection? It was all very a nerve-racking, and I’m not even located in the same State. Perhaps it was guilt for not being there to help out.
It seemed that one of the hinges on a cupboard door in the ensuite gave up the ghost. Why would the door decide to fall off its hinges now, after all these years, on the day of the first inspection? We were hoping no one would want to open it and look inside. I think most people are too polite to go looking in cupboards, unless they are really serious; perhaps during a second visit. It wouldn’t set much of an impression of the house in that condition. Apparently, light bulbs are going out all around the house too.
The inspection time was changed by the real estate agent before settling on 1.00pm to 1.30pm (which cut into S’s cleaning time by a couple of hours). I’m surprised the agent did that so late; messing the punters around. Also, the agent was late for his own open day. S passed him on the road as she was driving away. It’s unprofessional.
There were two groups of people waiting for the agent before he arrived. There were eight groups all up. One guy came very late. Perhaps he’d seen the original times before the agent changed them. A builder seemed interested in an investment property and was asking various enquiries the agent couldn’t answer.
So that was how it started. A bit of a shaky start, but start it did.
It seemed that one of the hinges on a cupboard door in the ensuite gave up the ghost. Why would the door decide to fall off its hinges now, after all these years, on the day of the first inspection? We were hoping no one would want to open it and look inside. I think most people are too polite to go looking in cupboards, unless they are really serious; perhaps during a second visit. It wouldn’t set much of an impression of the house in that condition. Apparently, light bulbs are going out all around the house too.
The inspection time was changed by the real estate agent before settling on 1.00pm to 1.30pm (which cut into S’s cleaning time by a couple of hours). I’m surprised the agent did that so late; messing the punters around. Also, the agent was late for his own open day. S passed him on the road as she was driving away. It’s unprofessional.
There were two groups of people waiting for the agent before he arrived. There were eight groups all up. One guy came very late. Perhaps he’d seen the original times before the agent changed them. A builder seemed interested in an investment property and was asking various enquiries the agent couldn’t answer.
So that was how it started. A bit of a shaky start, but start it did.
D-day minus one
S and I were editing the text that was to appear in the ad. The convenience of email, with S in Melbourne and me in Canberra. Though, with the first open insepction tomorrow I can't help but wonder if the real estate agent has left all this stuff a bit late. We got the term ‘rustic’ out of the text quickly. Why do people use that word so often? I think everyone puts a different meaning to it. So it doesn’t really mean anything anyway. S was relieved when they hadn’t used the “first home buyer” phrase. Curiously, we had both chosen the same photos to be used in campaign. Poor S is finding it a hard slog, and is considering an all night session of cleaning.
- The bedroom needs a tidy up
- The shower and sinks need to be cleaned
- The laundry needs a tidy
- There are piles of boxes stored in the end bathroom that have to go
- The study is neat but has a few boxes remaining, and
- Everything needs to be vacuumed
The widows need to be washed, perhaps tomorrow, but with that line up there may not be time nor the energy left in her body.
My landlady has seen her solicitor, and is signing papers for the sale of her house – the contract. They will then contact the buyer’s solicitor. As far as I know, there is no firm date set for settlement, other than a possible end of the month.
I rang the mechanic. No car until possibly Wednesday. There was no gasket provided, hence the delay.
06 March 2008
The photographer
I had a look at the photos the photographer took of our house. There were eight that we could select from. A wide angle lens was used with most pictures, and the rooms looked much too large because of that. It’s fake. The dead or dying tree out the front almost looked alive in the photos. The picture taken under the pergola at the rear of the house looked insignificant. Though, I have to admit that the interior shots, fake as they were, made the place sparkle and everything looked good. The first open day was set for the coming Saturday. Presumably the pictures and the write up will be completed tomorrow. There is only a small sign on the street at the moment. For S, the remaining time will be a frenzy of cleaning and tidying.
27 February 2008
A reprieve
This was the day that the photographer didn’t come (again). This is no drama, as the extra time will be welcome. It took ages to get the brushed wood sideboard that’s in the lounge looking good, and S knows her efforts may not be well regarded by the stylist, who has some pretty definite ideas on what looks good and what doesn’t. Apparently, the study still needs a lot of effort.
No more news on the sale of my landlady’s house; the place that I live. Presumably the sale is still going ahead. It would be nice to find our new dream house, rent it until our house sells, and then complete the transaction. I’m not sure if such things are possible. Do people rent the property they are about to purchase?
No more news on the sale of my landlady’s house; the place that I live. Presumably the sale is still going ahead. It would be nice to find our new dream house, rent it until our house sells, and then complete the transaction. I’m not sure if such things are possible. Do people rent the property they are about to purchase?
25 February 2008
A few developments
S was beginning to flake out with the workload of tidying the house constantly, and finding it difficult to find places to put everything. The photographer was delayed and couldn’t come, which is probably a blessing in disguise as there is now more time to tidy up.
At work, I asked my boss (by email) about extending the period for claiming removal expenses. He was confident it wouldn’t be a problem, but asked me to raise the subject again later, whatever that means. That’s not the most reassuring of responses, but at least I got a response, and its good to have these things in writing. It’s a great help that the company will cover some of the cost. The HR department said that I must make a claim for the funds within six months of starting employment. Not a chance of that, and I don’t want to miss out on the money just because I might exceed the deadline.
I felt lost without the car. The garage said they wouldn’t be able to get to it until Friday. I went to the National Library of Australia on the weekend, using Canberra’s bus services. It’s strange using the buses after so many years. The library has a rather nice café – now that’s a lovely idea.
This library was a strange place. There were hardly any books on public shelves, most having to be retrieved by staff from storage. Though it resolves the problem of books being incorrectly re-shelved, but it limits your browsing ability. The 30 minute wait for materials to be delivered seems a bit much. All the books are referenced by an online catalogue, which is okay in that you can check things out from your home computer if you need to, but was a problem in that you have to compete with the web sufers who sit monopolising the computers, preventing others from using the catalogue. It's easy to whinge. I shouldn't really as it's a wonderful place and must see for everyone.
My landlady has had an offer on her house and a deposit has been paid. The sale will be pending the sale of their own house, and the settlement is expected to take place at the end of March. Now this is a problem. I’ll have to find somewhere else to live. Anyway, it was on the cards and mentioned when I moved in. I was rather hoping that I’d be in my house before she sold her place. That’s the way things go. It does go to show that private house sales do work. She said she got a price she’s happy with and has no agent’s fees to pay. She said when first put on the market not so many people showed interest. A few punters came by, but it wasn’t until she posted the house for sale on the allhomes web site that things took off. And, if that was her only cost then that’s not bad indeed.
At work, I asked my boss (by email) about extending the period for claiming removal expenses. He was confident it wouldn’t be a problem, but asked me to raise the subject again later, whatever that means. That’s not the most reassuring of responses, but at least I got a response, and its good to have these things in writing. It’s a great help that the company will cover some of the cost. The HR department said that I must make a claim for the funds within six months of starting employment. Not a chance of that, and I don’t want to miss out on the money just because I might exceed the deadline.
I felt lost without the car. The garage said they wouldn’t be able to get to it until Friday. I went to the National Library of Australia on the weekend, using Canberra’s bus services. It’s strange using the buses after so many years. The library has a rather nice café – now that’s a lovely idea.
This library was a strange place. There were hardly any books on public shelves, most having to be retrieved by staff from storage. Though it resolves the problem of books being incorrectly re-shelved, but it limits your browsing ability. The 30 minute wait for materials to be delivered seems a bit much. All the books are referenced by an online catalogue, which is okay in that you can check things out from your home computer if you need to, but was a problem in that you have to compete with the web sufers who sit monopolising the computers, preventing others from using the catalogue. It's easy to whinge. I shouldn't really as it's a wonderful place and must see for everyone.My landlady has had an offer on her house and a deposit has been paid. The sale will be pending the sale of their own house, and the settlement is expected to take place at the end of March. Now this is a problem. I’ll have to find somewhere else to live. Anyway, it was on the cards and mentioned when I moved in. I was rather hoping that I’d be in my house before she sold her place. That’s the way things go. It does go to show that private house sales do work. She said she got a price she’s happy with and has no agent’s fees to pay. She said when first put on the market not so many people showed interest. A few punters came by, but it wasn’t until she posted the house for sale on the allhomes web site that things took off. And, if that was her only cost then that’s not bad indeed.
22 February 2008
Reviewing the stylist’s work
Was it worthwhile? A very definite: yes. She provided a perspective in the preparation of property for sale that would have been a pity to have missed. Oh, grant us the gift to see our property as others see it. Okay, Burns didn’t write it like this but the meaning is the same. And the power of this is in employing the talents of a stylist.
The stylist’s job is to present the property in its most attractive light. Removing the curtains and fly screen doors may not be a practical thing to do to a house. It made no sense to me at the time. But it ensures the punters see the view from the window, and that’s up for sale too when it comes down to it. Show it to them. The lack of curtains also makes the room very light. Show the punters you are not hiding anything. It also serves to let them imagine their own curtains hanging there rather than looking at your choice.
My initial thought was to leave the wall hanging. It was attractive. However, it may not have been attractive to others. If the house contains unappealing fittings, ornaments, wall hangings then the house may be interpreted as unappealing. Removing the wall hanging removed our personal stamp or brand, and allowed others to look at the space on the wall, encouraging them to think of it as a place to hang their own decorations, paintings and the like. Its absence also demonstrated there to be no nasty cracks in the wall.
It’s so common to go to open inspections and see mounted photographs on dressing tables, desks, and on the walls. Children’s photographs of all kinds, the uncles and aunts, and all the relations and friends in either formal poses or the result of a happy snap from a party. The problem is that these personal photographs reflect your life and your family. These things are of your life, not for anyone else. Removing all aspects of your personal life from the house more easily allows the potential buyer to see themselves in the house. People can inspect a property without paying too much attention to them. But the trouble is that we do look at them when passing through the rooms. It may be for only a second, but there is a curiosity about who lives there. If you remove the personal items the punters will spend more time looking at the property and more time considering who will get which room, should they consider buying it. That should be your aim in preparing a house.
Do you have a large house for sale? Are all the rooms large? You can make a room appear larger by removing the clutter. Things can also be helped by swapping furniture around. Though, if you cheat too much this trick will be seen as a con job. Does your King size bed fill the main bedroom? Take it out and put up with a double bed. The room will look a lot better for it. The smallest bedroom should have the smallest bed. Remove any unnecessary furniture. Get rid of the bean bags, extra chairs, boxes. Aim for neat simplicity. Go for small rather than large.
No one wants to see any creams or lotions in the bathroom that may have been prescribed for you. The bathroom bench tops should be clear or with very minimal items that are tastefully arranged. We swapped all our mixed coloured towels with white towels, and neatly hanging, with spares neatly rolled on a towel rack, and matching hand towels on the bench the effect was very nice if not a touch clinical. The place looked clean and welcoming. Leave nothing hanging on the shower screen. The bathroom should look like the bathroom you’d expect to see when you walk into a quality hotel.
The laundry should be neat and smell free. Leave the exterior door open if you need to. Put everything away, and don’t leave washing on the line. And while on the subject of smell. A few hours before the inspection is scheduled bake a cake, time things so that it’s cooling in the oven before the inspection time. The wonderful aroma that emanates from the kitchen and pervades the house will make the punters drool. We didn’t need the stylist to tell us this. It just works. If the punters leave the place thinking they’d like to stay longer you already have them in the right frame of mind.
Our stylist suggested a lot of things, many of which seemed weird, but we didn’t know what she was on about at first. And then her ideas hit home. It was well worth the effort.
The stylist’s job is to present the property in its most attractive light. Removing the curtains and fly screen doors may not be a practical thing to do to a house. It made no sense to me at the time. But it ensures the punters see the view from the window, and that’s up for sale too when it comes down to it. Show it to them. The lack of curtains also makes the room very light. Show the punters you are not hiding anything. It also serves to let them imagine their own curtains hanging there rather than looking at your choice.
My initial thought was to leave the wall hanging. It was attractive. However, it may not have been attractive to others. If the house contains unappealing fittings, ornaments, wall hangings then the house may be interpreted as unappealing. Removing the wall hanging removed our personal stamp or brand, and allowed others to look at the space on the wall, encouraging them to think of it as a place to hang their own decorations, paintings and the like. Its absence also demonstrated there to be no nasty cracks in the wall.
It’s so common to go to open inspections and see mounted photographs on dressing tables, desks, and on the walls. Children’s photographs of all kinds, the uncles and aunts, and all the relations and friends in either formal poses or the result of a happy snap from a party. The problem is that these personal photographs reflect your life and your family. These things are of your life, not for anyone else. Removing all aspects of your personal life from the house more easily allows the potential buyer to see themselves in the house. People can inspect a property without paying too much attention to them. But the trouble is that we do look at them when passing through the rooms. It may be for only a second, but there is a curiosity about who lives there. If you remove the personal items the punters will spend more time looking at the property and more time considering who will get which room, should they consider buying it. That should be your aim in preparing a house.
Do you have a large house for sale? Are all the rooms large? You can make a room appear larger by removing the clutter. Things can also be helped by swapping furniture around. Though, if you cheat too much this trick will be seen as a con job. Does your King size bed fill the main bedroom? Take it out and put up with a double bed. The room will look a lot better for it. The smallest bedroom should have the smallest bed. Remove any unnecessary furniture. Get rid of the bean bags, extra chairs, boxes. Aim for neat simplicity. Go for small rather than large.
No one wants to see any creams or lotions in the bathroom that may have been prescribed for you. The bathroom bench tops should be clear or with very minimal items that are tastefully arranged. We swapped all our mixed coloured towels with white towels, and neatly hanging, with spares neatly rolled on a towel rack, and matching hand towels on the bench the effect was very nice if not a touch clinical. The place looked clean and welcoming. Leave nothing hanging on the shower screen. The bathroom should look like the bathroom you’d expect to see when you walk into a quality hotel.
The laundry should be neat and smell free. Leave the exterior door open if you need to. Put everything away, and don’t leave washing on the line. And while on the subject of smell. A few hours before the inspection is scheduled bake a cake, time things so that it’s cooling in the oven before the inspection time. The wonderful aroma that emanates from the kitchen and pervades the house will make the punters drool. We didn’t need the stylist to tell us this. It just works. If the punters leave the place thinking they’d like to stay longer you already have them in the right frame of mind.
Our stylist suggested a lot of things, many of which seemed weird, but we didn’t know what she was on about at first. And then her ideas hit home. It was well worth the effort.
20 February 2008
The last tidy up
It was an intensive few days in Melbourne. S had been advised by our stylist to make some changes to our house, the general theme of which was to reduce the clutter. So, we rented some space from the Fort Knox storage facility in Eltham and went to Rent-a-Bomb for a van to cart the stuff. It was a bomb to be sure, making my EXA seem like a luxury vehicle. Driving the thing was an interesting experience. It was difficult to tell the difference between 2nd and 4th gear, and at the first set of traffic lights in this thing I pulled the hand brake on and had difficulty releasing it. So, without really panicking, but feeling a sense of tension I worked at it. It doesn’t take long before the people behind you start honking their horns.
Anyway, the van rattled along and it did the job. We ended up putting the good desk in storage (we had two of these monsters), along with the chairs we’d been asked to get rid of, the box seats, filing cabinet, table and a few boxes packed with stuff. If you pack these storage facilities carefully, with stuff stacked well, it’s amazing just how much you can fit inside. After about two van loads the storage room still looked mostly empty.
The stylist said she had an arrangement with Fort Knox to give us a discount, but when we mentioned this they claimed ignorance, saying they didn’t know our stylist. Now that’s interesting. Someone was lying. Anyway, they gave us the first month free. Perhaps we just looked honest. It all helps.
S had done a surprisingly reasonable job of the painting, considering some of the work was very awkward, and she doesn’t like painting. I just couldn’t keep on going when I was at it a few weeks earlier. Anyway, I touched up some gaps on the ceiling that seemed to be missed, and fixed up the gaps in the cornices, which all turned out okay. I find it amazing how interior paint (flat or semi-gloss) can blend into the existing paint without showing any tell tale marks. Doing this might be a quick way of freshening up the place, with the minimum of effort. If you don’t have time to paint the whole place, and you can’t wash off any scuff marks that have developed over the years, just paint over the marks. It does a great job, and you’d never know there was a touch up, unless of course the paint is very old and faded.
We removed the lounge room curtains as we had been advised by the stylist, as well as removing the fly screen doors, and they went to Fort Knox. This seemed like a very strange thing to do, I thought. But it worked. This house was a bit unusual in that the front entrance had two standard sized glass doors that swung open, kind of like French doors, only larger. So with both doors open wide and no curtains hanging it left the lounge with a wonderful open feeling. The vista from the floor to ceiling windows, which occupied the entire length of one side of the lounge, was spectacular, and with the doors open it had a pleasantly inviting feeling. It brought a surprisingly pleasant atmosphere to the room, and made it very light inside as you’d imagine. Though, the effect was kind of cold and exposed at night, but was fabulous in the day. Anyway, the punters only come during the day, and it was done for their benefit.
Lots of little things were done. We dusted the lounge ceiling to get rid of the cobwebs (cathedral ceiling), got the whipper snippering finished, repaired the nest of tables, a bit roughly I must say. We removed the various boxes that were cluttering the place, and removed the wall hanging, which all went into storage. The amount of dirt that was impregnated in the wall hanging over the years was amazing. Tiny pieces of brick and cement must have been falling from the ceiling. You wonder how it happens. I got some boxes packed and into the EXA for the trip back. I also took the small filing cabinet with me, so the car was well loaded.
We got rid of a spare mattress from under the bed. Perhaps it should have chucked out, but why do that with stuff when it’s still good. People throw too much away. It went into the caravan for storage. It was a very neat fit in the caravan, standing on its edge in the walkway of the caravan.
I was disappointed I couldn’t clear an outside drain that was at the side of the house, and there was the smell of something dead somewhere out there too. Bugger. I hope the blockage had nothing to do with the smell; thinking something might have crawled down the drain and died. The smell of something dead is the last thing we needed when the punters come round.
I got most of the garage sorted. It’s funny how the stuff builds up in sheds. I was surprised by the amount of rat and possum crap all over the place, the smell of which was almost overpowering. Which was all very disappointing because I had some good things stored in there. I had a stereo amp, turntable, notebooks and textbooks carefully wrapped in old sheets, plastic wrapping and in cardboard boxes and the little blighters had used as building materials to build their nests. Their little teeth marks were everywhere, as well as the holes they had made in the timber sideboard to get to where the stuff was kept, there were nibble marks everywhere. Of course the cardboard boxes were no trouble for them. This material and the pages from my textbooks must have made lovely nesting material for them.
We were beginning to get ruthless in sorting through what could be kept and what gets dumped. That’s a lesson on starting the job in plenty of time. It takes a lot of time to go through your old stuff, and you do become distracted in looking through things you haven’t seen in years, reminiscing in old notebooks that you had at school or wherever. It can be difficult to decide whether to keep or discard them.
So, in the end a lot of work had been done, and although the place was cleaner, a whole heap of a mess was left for S to put out in the rubbish. A lot of work was left to do before the photographer came. Still feeling unhappy with the selling price. Considering talking to the agent with a view to increasing it.
Anyway, the van rattled along and it did the job. We ended up putting the good desk in storage (we had two of these monsters), along with the chairs we’d been asked to get rid of, the box seats, filing cabinet, table and a few boxes packed with stuff. If you pack these storage facilities carefully, with stuff stacked well, it’s amazing just how much you can fit inside. After about two van loads the storage room still looked mostly empty.
The stylist said she had an arrangement with Fort Knox to give us a discount, but when we mentioned this they claimed ignorance, saying they didn’t know our stylist. Now that’s interesting. Someone was lying. Anyway, they gave us the first month free. Perhaps we just looked honest. It all helps.
S had done a surprisingly reasonable job of the painting, considering some of the work was very awkward, and she doesn’t like painting. I just couldn’t keep on going when I was at it a few weeks earlier. Anyway, I touched up some gaps on the ceiling that seemed to be missed, and fixed up the gaps in the cornices, which all turned out okay. I find it amazing how interior paint (flat or semi-gloss) can blend into the existing paint without showing any tell tale marks. Doing this might be a quick way of freshening up the place, with the minimum of effort. If you don’t have time to paint the whole place, and you can’t wash off any scuff marks that have developed over the years, just paint over the marks. It does a great job, and you’d never know there was a touch up, unless of course the paint is very old and faded.
We removed the lounge room curtains as we had been advised by the stylist, as well as removing the fly screen doors, and they went to Fort Knox. This seemed like a very strange thing to do, I thought. But it worked. This house was a bit unusual in that the front entrance had two standard sized glass doors that swung open, kind of like French doors, only larger. So with both doors open wide and no curtains hanging it left the lounge with a wonderful open feeling. The vista from the floor to ceiling windows, which occupied the entire length of one side of the lounge, was spectacular, and with the doors open it had a pleasantly inviting feeling. It brought a surprisingly pleasant atmosphere to the room, and made it very light inside as you’d imagine. Though, the effect was kind of cold and exposed at night, but was fabulous in the day. Anyway, the punters only come during the day, and it was done for their benefit.
Lots of little things were done. We dusted the lounge ceiling to get rid of the cobwebs (cathedral ceiling), got the whipper snippering finished, repaired the nest of tables, a bit roughly I must say. We removed the various boxes that were cluttering the place, and removed the wall hanging, which all went into storage. The amount of dirt that was impregnated in the wall hanging over the years was amazing. Tiny pieces of brick and cement must have been falling from the ceiling. You wonder how it happens. I got some boxes packed and into the EXA for the trip back. I also took the small filing cabinet with me, so the car was well loaded.
We got rid of a spare mattress from under the bed. Perhaps it should have chucked out, but why do that with stuff when it’s still good. People throw too much away. It went into the caravan for storage. It was a very neat fit in the caravan, standing on its edge in the walkway of the caravan.
I was disappointed I couldn’t clear an outside drain that was at the side of the house, and there was the smell of something dead somewhere out there too. Bugger. I hope the blockage had nothing to do with the smell; thinking something might have crawled down the drain and died. The smell of something dead is the last thing we needed when the punters come round.
I got most of the garage sorted. It’s funny how the stuff builds up in sheds. I was surprised by the amount of rat and possum crap all over the place, the smell of which was almost overpowering. Which was all very disappointing because I had some good things stored in there. I had a stereo amp, turntable, notebooks and textbooks carefully wrapped in old sheets, plastic wrapping and in cardboard boxes and the little blighters had used as building materials to build their nests. Their little teeth marks were everywhere, as well as the holes they had made in the timber sideboard to get to where the stuff was kept, there were nibble marks everywhere. Of course the cardboard boxes were no trouble for them. This material and the pages from my textbooks must have made lovely nesting material for them.
We were beginning to get ruthless in sorting through what could be kept and what gets dumped. That’s a lesson on starting the job in plenty of time. It takes a lot of time to go through your old stuff, and you do become distracted in looking through things you haven’t seen in years, reminiscing in old notebooks that you had at school or wherever. It can be difficult to decide whether to keep or discard them.
So, in the end a lot of work had been done, and although the place was cleaner, a whole heap of a mess was left for S to put out in the rubbish. A lot of work was left to do before the photographer came. Still feeling unhappy with the selling price. Considering talking to the agent with a view to increasing it.
14 February 2008
The stylist
S has been continuing with the house painting, including the cornices but isn’t happy with them. Cornices are difficult and you need a steady hand. I’m going back to finish off. Driving back this time. I checked the various web sites for air fare prices, but prices seem to change like a roller coaster and higher than I’d like. S said she was feeling rather sad about selling. There are so many memories in this house. So much work has been put into the place, for someone else. And the work doesn’t stop.
The real estate agent had recommended a stylist. Was this a hair stylist calling by to do an in house haircut? No. The stylist offers her opinion as to what to do to improve the presentation of the property. I’d never heard of anything like this before. The agent said some people find her confronting, but it turned out that S didn’t mind her. Possibly people can be offended by her manner. Though, it’s probably the suggested improvements that offend people.
Her recommendations included
The dates for the photographer have been moved. So, with that extra week and me being able to take a couple of rec days off work to give me a decent weekend just prior to the photo session should give the place a boost. Well, at least relieve the load on S a bit.
The real estate agent had recommended a stylist. Was this a hair stylist calling by to do an in house haircut? No. The stylist offers her opinion as to what to do to improve the presentation of the property. I’d never heard of anything like this before. The agent said some people find her confronting, but it turned out that S didn’t mind her. Possibly people can be offended by her manner. Though, it’s probably the suggested improvements that offend people.
Her recommendations included
- getting rid of any personal items (photographs etc)
- we have a handmade wall hanging that has to go
- two chairs in the dining room have to be moved into the lounge by the table, and
- the four chairs from the table have to go
- the fly screen doors have to be removed and stored
- the curtains in the lounge have to come down
- she liked the brush wood cabinet, but not the antique oil lamps that were on top
- the CDs have to go from the bookshelves
- the bedspread had to be replaced with a yellow one, no doubt to match the walls
- she offered the loan of another bedspread for the end bedroom, which was generous
- the nest-of-boxes in the end bed room that had been purchased recently had to go
- but she did like the wardrobe that was in that room, but wanted it moved
- we had to put white towels in every bathroom
- she was not impressed by the garage, at all
The dates for the photographer have been moved. So, with that extra week and me being able to take a couple of rec days off work to give me a decent weekend just prior to the photo session should give the place a boost. Well, at least relieve the load on S a bit.
05 February 2008
Watching the sun rise
So many things took longer than expected. We’d bought a flat pack desk to replace the old desk we’d removed. We wanted something special in that spot to spruce up the room. I decided to assemble the new desk in the evening, while watching telly. There were so many pieces to this thing that were almost identical which was confusing. And the instructions could have been written better, but I expect we’ve all been there at some time.
I used to fit accessories to new vehicles. This included anything from installing radios (when they were not a standard car accessory), to fitting towbars, mudflaps and the like. One of the things I quickly learnt was that the manufacturer’s fitting instructions often left a lot to be desired. We would often joke that one of the first things to do when fitting a car accessory is to throw away the instructions. They were often badly written, written in AsianSpeak with incorrect spellings, poor grammar, or sometimes the instructions were plainly incorrect. Thankfully, things are getting better in terms of AsianSpeak, and it's probably due to the number of overseas students who study in English speaking counties who go home with a better command of English than their peers.
I felt capable of assembling the desk, but my intention of completing the job during the evening was a plan that went astray. I pushed the desk into position just as the sun was rising in the morning. Feeling pleased that I'd finbished, but dissappointed in how long I took, I flopped into bed to hear a sleepy voice, “Is it time to get up?” Yeah, right.
I used to fit accessories to new vehicles. This included anything from installing radios (when they were not a standard car accessory), to fitting towbars, mudflaps and the like. One of the things I quickly learnt was that the manufacturer’s fitting instructions often left a lot to be desired. We would often joke that one of the first things to do when fitting a car accessory is to throw away the instructions. They were often badly written, written in AsianSpeak with incorrect spellings, poor grammar, or sometimes the instructions were plainly incorrect. Thankfully, things are getting better in terms of AsianSpeak, and it's probably due to the number of overseas students who study in English speaking counties who go home with a better command of English than their peers.
I felt capable of assembling the desk, but my intention of completing the job during the evening was a plan that went astray. I pushed the desk into position just as the sun was rising in the morning. Feeling pleased that I'd finbished, but dissappointed in how long I took, I flopped into bed to hear a sleepy voice, “Is it time to get up?” Yeah, right.
01 February 2008
Feeling like the Mad Hatter
It was a very busy time and throughout my stay in Melbourne I could see that time was running out. Time just seemed to evaporate. So much to do, so little time.
We bought some ferns to cover a hole in the driveway. There is a wood burning stove in the house. These things can set a nice mood on a cold evening, but wood fires are messy, and the firewood needs to be carried by hand. Woodstoves are hard work, and I won’t miss it. Anyway, the driveway is bitumen, and a firewood delivery truck had one of its wheels put a depression in a corner of the drive that gradually turned into a pothole. Filling it with concrete would have been a solution, or calling in some bitumen repair company would be another solution. An easy alternative solution, since this was in a corner of the driveway that doesn’t get driven over, was to fill the hole with soil and a few plants. Half a dozen ferns of different sizes and shapes from the local nursery transformed an eyesore into a pretty highlight of the garden. Another way of considering what we did was that we didn’t repair the drive, but we did a cover up job, which irks me. But it did look good. So, I’m not feeling so bad.
I must reinforce some advice I’ve mentioned earlier: before moving house, get yourself fit. Make yourself nice and strong. You are going to need those muscles. Spend some time in the gym or do some home exercises to build up your strength in the months beforehand. The following exemplifies how unfit we were.
We shifted a desk from the house into the garage. This was a large desk that I grabbed when one of the places I worked about eight years earlier was doing a clean out. It was going to be dumped. It wasn’t a brilliant looking desk but was very large and functional. It dominated the room and made it look small, but it was a great surface to work. Getting rid of it and putting a smaller desk in its place helped make the room look spacious. Spaciousness is good for the punters.
Anyway, I can remember carrying this desk into the house. It was heavy, but we did it. The two of us, one on each end carried it through the garage, popped it on its side, and up the narrow garage stairs and into the house. The desk was so big it wouldn’t fit through the hallway and into the study. We had to remove the study window glass and lift it through the window.
So, here we are, eight years later, wanting to take this desk out the window and down the stairs and into the garage. That was the plan. You’d think it would be easy, and it might have been for other people; we were going down hill, after all. But we could barley lift it over the window sill. Getting it out the window seemed positively dangerous with it threatening to crush us.
It would have been best to lift it clear of the ground and carry it down the garage steps to prevent it from becoming damaged (just like we did in bringing it up the stairs all those years ago). Concrete steps can be very rough on polished wood. We had no energy, and it got dragged and bumped down those concrete steps. Why was it so heavy, this time? Where had all our muscles gone? It was a surprisingly shocking experience.
We cleaned and painted the decking out the front of the house. The job took a whole day from start to finish, but it looked so good in the end that we didn’t re-clutter it by putting our pot plants back. It was a huge area, all under a covered veranda. With the decking left clear like this, it seemed such a huge expanse. Doing jobs like this and seeing the end result so quickly made me feel like reconsidering selling. The interesting thing here is that I thought the task would have taken a few hours, but no, the whole day was gone.
The bedroom and ensuite and toilet got painted. I was standing on the bed painting the bedroom ceiling. S got tipsy that day, and I became distracted with her lying on the bed and tickling me. So many distractions.
If you are planning to do some work prior to selling, make a reasonable estimate of the time things might take, then double it. You need to rest at times, problems occur, and you get side tracked. No, quadruple the time estimate.
We bought some ferns to cover a hole in the driveway. There is a wood burning stove in the house. These things can set a nice mood on a cold evening, but wood fires are messy, and the firewood needs to be carried by hand. Woodstoves are hard work, and I won’t miss it. Anyway, the driveway is bitumen, and a firewood delivery truck had one of its wheels put a depression in a corner of the drive that gradually turned into a pothole. Filling it with concrete would have been a solution, or calling in some bitumen repair company would be another solution. An easy alternative solution, since this was in a corner of the driveway that doesn’t get driven over, was to fill the hole with soil and a few plants. Half a dozen ferns of different sizes and shapes from the local nursery transformed an eyesore into a pretty highlight of the garden. Another way of considering what we did was that we didn’t repair the drive, but we did a cover up job, which irks me. But it did look good. So, I’m not feeling so bad.
I must reinforce some advice I’ve mentioned earlier: before moving house, get yourself fit. Make yourself nice and strong. You are going to need those muscles. Spend some time in the gym or do some home exercises to build up your strength in the months beforehand. The following exemplifies how unfit we were.
We shifted a desk from the house into the garage. This was a large desk that I grabbed when one of the places I worked about eight years earlier was doing a clean out. It was going to be dumped. It wasn’t a brilliant looking desk but was very large and functional. It dominated the room and made it look small, but it was a great surface to work. Getting rid of it and putting a smaller desk in its place helped make the room look spacious. Spaciousness is good for the punters.
Anyway, I can remember carrying this desk into the house. It was heavy, but we did it. The two of us, one on each end carried it through the garage, popped it on its side, and up the narrow garage stairs and into the house. The desk was so big it wouldn’t fit through the hallway and into the study. We had to remove the study window glass and lift it through the window.
So, here we are, eight years later, wanting to take this desk out the window and down the stairs and into the garage. That was the plan. You’d think it would be easy, and it might have been for other people; we were going down hill, after all. But we could barley lift it over the window sill. Getting it out the window seemed positively dangerous with it threatening to crush us.
It would have been best to lift it clear of the ground and carry it down the garage steps to prevent it from becoming damaged (just like we did in bringing it up the stairs all those years ago). Concrete steps can be very rough on polished wood. We had no energy, and it got dragged and bumped down those concrete steps. Why was it so heavy, this time? Where had all our muscles gone? It was a surprisingly shocking experience.
We cleaned and painted the decking out the front of the house. The job took a whole day from start to finish, but it looked so good in the end that we didn’t re-clutter it by putting our pot plants back. It was a huge area, all under a covered veranda. With the decking left clear like this, it seemed such a huge expanse. Doing jobs like this and seeing the end result so quickly made me feel like reconsidering selling. The interesting thing here is that I thought the task would have taken a few hours, but no, the whole day was gone.
The bedroom and ensuite and toilet got painted. I was standing on the bed painting the bedroom ceiling. S got tipsy that day, and I became distracted with her lying on the bed and tickling me. So many distractions.
If you are planning to do some work prior to selling, make a reasonable estimate of the time things might take, then double it. You need to rest at times, problems occur, and you get side tracked. No, quadruple the time estimate.
30 January 2008
Preparation gets serious
I didn’t manage to get all the painting completed in the main bedroom on this trip to Melbourne. It’s so tricky and time consuming painting cornices, when they are a different colour from the ceiling and walls. I threw in the towel at 2.00am. There was no way I could possibly finish the job at the rate I was going before it was time to leave. Anyway, I was beginning to feel wobbly on the ladders, and there’s no point risking an injury over a coat of paint.
With two and a half hours sleep under my belt I was whisked off to the airport. For the first time ever and despite my child like fascination of the view from aeroplane windows, I dozed during the bulk of the flight back to Canberra. I felt dead all day at work. I hope no one noticed. I couldn’t concentrate on work, and left for the day earlier than usual. I caught the bus home, but unfortunately got on board the wrong bus and had to walk miles in the hot afternoon sun.
Less than 12 hours earlier I was cleaning paint brushes in another state, and here I was trudging along a street swishing flies away on a hot afternoon. What a day!
Not sure why my back was aching: because of the strange angles I was standing while hanging onto the ladders, or because we slept on the lounge room floor on the last night trying to avoid the paint smell that was in the bedroom.
So many things didn’t get done on this trip, but a lot did get done. The house is taking shape ready for sale, but oh, it’s a slow, painstaking, painful, tedious, boring job. I'll say more shortly.
I phoned home in the evening. S said that Elsa (our cat) was pining for me. She had been wandering around the house looking for me. Poor thing. I played a trick on her when I got home. When I arrived, I crept quietly into the house by the back door, and tiptoed into the bedroom, hid behind the bed, and called her name when she walked past. She took a double-take when she saw me. Okay, I’m a softy for our cat. Her nineteenth birthday has just gone.
With two and a half hours sleep under my belt I was whisked off to the airport. For the first time ever and despite my child like fascination of the view from aeroplane windows, I dozed during the bulk of the flight back to Canberra. I felt dead all day at work. I hope no one noticed. I couldn’t concentrate on work, and left for the day earlier than usual. I caught the bus home, but unfortunately got on board the wrong bus and had to walk miles in the hot afternoon sun.
Less than 12 hours earlier I was cleaning paint brushes in another state, and here I was trudging along a street swishing flies away on a hot afternoon. What a day!
Not sure why my back was aching: because of the strange angles I was standing while hanging onto the ladders, or because we slept on the lounge room floor on the last night trying to avoid the paint smell that was in the bedroom.
So many things didn’t get done on this trip, but a lot did get done. The house is taking shape ready for sale, but oh, it’s a slow, painstaking, painful, tedious, boring job. I'll say more shortly.
I phoned home in the evening. S said that Elsa (our cat) was pining for me. She had been wandering around the house looking for me. Poor thing. I played a trick on her when I got home. When I arrived, I crept quietly into the house by the back door, and tiptoed into the bedroom, hid behind the bed, and called her name when she walked past. She took a double-take when she saw me. Okay, I’m a softy for our cat. Her nineteenth birthday has just gone.21 January 2008
Another real estate hunting weekend
There was a house for sale in Macgregor that I’d seen a week or so previously, and I returned for a second look with my camera in hand. I took a swag of photos for S to look at. She seems keener that me. Maybe I talk up the properties too much. Of course, that’s the trouble with me being in Canberra and her being in Melbourne.
It’s interesting what people will put up for sale. There was ducted air conditioning in the house, which would have been a bonus, but I noticed something on the outside of the house. There was what looked like an air return for the air conditioner in the hallway. Not sure. Some sort of vent. On the outside of the house, on a section of the wall near where this air return would have been positioned, there was a large discolouration in the brickwork. Condensation? I had an image of the brick cavity being full of water. Hardly likely, but air conditioners can develop condensation. It had me concerned. There was also some cracking of bricks running up from this area to a nearby window. It may have worried other punters too, so why didn’t they fix it. I find it difficult to work out why people leave things like that. Structural repairs can be expensive. Would you sell a car with a flat tyre or broken windscreen? Who knows, maybe that problem was one of the reasons the place was being sold; to get rid of their problems.
I also checked out the deep south of Canberra. Banks is one of the southern most suburbs of Canberra. I thought it was bit like Dunlop but with views, and boy, are some of those views spectacular. There seem to be a lot of new houses as well as building activity. There are a lot of large houses on small blocks in Banks, and a lot of them don’t have any style to them. Building houses without style seems to be an architectural trend I’ve noticed in recent years.
I had been passing a property in Banks that had an open-house sign out the front. So, why not just have a look; nothing to loose. It was a hot day, and the coolness of its air conditioned rooms was welcome. It wasn’t a property for me; far too large, but I had a pleasant chat while there. The very friendly real estate agent gave me the address of a house in Gordon, which is also in the south, and not too far away. We had a chat about Canberra weather. Her advice: get a house with central heating, saying that it can get into minus figures during winter in Canberra. And of course, as I am only too well aware it gets darn hot in summer. So, an air con too presumably.
I had a look at the Gordon house the agent had recommended. No one was living there so I peered in the windows and had a walk around the property, but my attention was taken by the view to the south west. The panorama of the ranges that was visible from the property was astounding. There are some beautiful vistas to be had in the northern side of Canberra, but none are a patch on the rugged majesty of southern districts. Being a bit closer to the hills makes a lot of difference.
It’s interesting what people will put up for sale. There was ducted air conditioning in the house, which would have been a bonus, but I noticed something on the outside of the house. There was what looked like an air return for the air conditioner in the hallway. Not sure. Some sort of vent. On the outside of the house, on a section of the wall near where this air return would have been positioned, there was a large discolouration in the brickwork. Condensation? I had an image of the brick cavity being full of water. Hardly likely, but air conditioners can develop condensation. It had me concerned. There was also some cracking of bricks running up from this area to a nearby window. It may have worried other punters too, so why didn’t they fix it. I find it difficult to work out why people leave things like that. Structural repairs can be expensive. Would you sell a car with a flat tyre or broken windscreen? Who knows, maybe that problem was one of the reasons the place was being sold; to get rid of their problems.
I also checked out the deep south of Canberra. Banks is one of the southern most suburbs of Canberra. I thought it was bit like Dunlop but with views, and boy, are some of those views spectacular. There seem to be a lot of new houses as well as building activity. There are a lot of large houses on small blocks in Banks, and a lot of them don’t have any style to them. Building houses without style seems to be an architectural trend I’ve noticed in recent years.
I had been passing a property in Banks that had an open-house sign out the front. So, why not just have a look; nothing to loose. It was a hot day, and the coolness of its air conditioned rooms was welcome. It wasn’t a property for me; far too large, but I had a pleasant chat while there. The very friendly real estate agent gave me the address of a house in Gordon, which is also in the south, and not too far away. We had a chat about Canberra weather. Her advice: get a house with central heating, saying that it can get into minus figures during winter in Canberra. And of course, as I am only too well aware it gets darn hot in summer. So, an air con too presumably.
I had a look at the Gordon house the agent had recommended. No one was living there so I peered in the windows and had a walk around the property, but my attention was taken by the view to the south west. The panorama of the ranges that was visible from the property was astounding. There are some beautiful vistas to be had in the northern side of Canberra, but none are a patch on the rugged majesty of southern districts. Being a bit closer to the hills makes a lot of difference.
02 January 2008
Working holiday
I spent a bit too much time having fun. But the weather was very hot at times so we went to the movies a lot. Got two rooms painted. Shell Cove was a strange colour that looked different on ceiling and walls which seemed to vary in colour between rooms. It looked pink in one room and yellow in the other. How is that possible?
I had never used a paint roller before, but it wasn’t so scary after all. Rollers leave a mottled finish on the surface that I dislike that the brush doesn’t, but you can cover a lot more area much faster with the roller. Over the years, we got into the habit of painting the walls, ceiling, cornices, and skirting board different colours, and wished to continue it. It looks good when done nicely, and when selling your property if your place looks good it will attract the punters. When I say different colours, the colours have to blend. The colours must be shades of one another. Perhaps a very, very light yellow on the ceiling, with a deeper yellow of the same hue on the walls and the cornice and skirting board in a mustard to make it stand out, but it too has to be of a colour that fits appropriately with the other two. So, painting the wall and ceiling was easy, but the cornices nearly broke my back in the painstaking work that it was with fine brush strokes and keeping a straight edge between the different colours.
S got me a video game for Xmas – Doom. I got hooked and spent hours at it. I shouldn’t have, but I was on holiday so I don’t feel too guilty. I don’t think Doom is a game you can win, and it was kind of scary if you let yourself become engrossed in it.
I was looking in the roof space for some cardboard packing boxes. After we unpacked from the move to Melbourne we had kept the old removalist packing boxes. We stored these fire hazards in the attic space. They store well when flattened out, and surprisingly after about 15 years in the attic still seemed remarkably well preserved.
While I was in the attic I saw about 4 or 5 rats climbing over the bricks at the far end of the house. There was no scurrying away when they saw me. Mamma rat and her children or friends stopped dead in their tracks, looked at me for a moment, looked away, and continued on their way as though I hadn’t been there and casually went about their business. A couple of rat traps were purchased; we got cages that captured the little blighters rather than killing them. Three were caught within two days, though we couldn’t decide whether they were baby rats or large mice. We released them away some distance from the house and they scurried into the bushland. They ran like the blazes.
I had been reading some material on the web and had made a few phone calls about rats and how they are controlled. One of the more interesting things one of the commercial contacts said to me was something along the lines of wherever you are at any time, on average, you will be within 10 metres of a rat, and it doesn’t matter where you live or work; they will be there. Some of the poisons used to kill rodents sound nauseatingly unpleasant. There seems to be no regard for animal welfare in their development. From preparations that cause rats to thirst to the extent they will drink until they are dead to chemicals that induce bleeding both internally and externally. These animals will suffer an agonizing death. My solution to remove them harmlessly will at least provide some nutrient to the local wedge tailed eagle or other wild life interested in eating them, but at least their death will be relatively quick. And if some of them get away to live in the wild, that’s fine.
Looking back I recall watching one of our cats sitting on the lawn looking up at a tree. This was a cotton palm tree. As an old cat, she was content to watch the rats. I didn’t know it at the time but these trees are a lovely refuge for rodents. One evening I crept up to the tree and could hear a lot of rustling between the large leaves that was more than just the wind blowing.
I had never used a paint roller before, but it wasn’t so scary after all. Rollers leave a mottled finish on the surface that I dislike that the brush doesn’t, but you can cover a lot more area much faster with the roller. Over the years, we got into the habit of painting the walls, ceiling, cornices, and skirting board different colours, and wished to continue it. It looks good when done nicely, and when selling your property if your place looks good it will attract the punters. When I say different colours, the colours have to blend. The colours must be shades of one another. Perhaps a very, very light yellow on the ceiling, with a deeper yellow of the same hue on the walls and the cornice and skirting board in a mustard to make it stand out, but it too has to be of a colour that fits appropriately with the other two. So, painting the wall and ceiling was easy, but the cornices nearly broke my back in the painstaking work that it was with fine brush strokes and keeping a straight edge between the different colours.
S got me a video game for Xmas – Doom. I got hooked and spent hours at it. I shouldn’t have, but I was on holiday so I don’t feel too guilty. I don’t think Doom is a game you can win, and it was kind of scary if you let yourself become engrossed in it.
I was looking in the roof space for some cardboard packing boxes. After we unpacked from the move to Melbourne we had kept the old removalist packing boxes. We stored these fire hazards in the attic space. They store well when flattened out, and surprisingly after about 15 years in the attic still seemed remarkably well preserved.
While I was in the attic I saw about 4 or 5 rats climbing over the bricks at the far end of the house. There was no scurrying away when they saw me. Mamma rat and her children or friends stopped dead in their tracks, looked at me for a moment, looked away, and continued on their way as though I hadn’t been there and casually went about their business. A couple of rat traps were purchased; we got cages that captured the little blighters rather than killing them. Three were caught within two days, though we couldn’t decide whether they were baby rats or large mice. We released them away some distance from the house and they scurried into the bushland. They ran like the blazes.
I had been reading some material on the web and had made a few phone calls about rats and how they are controlled. One of the more interesting things one of the commercial contacts said to me was something along the lines of wherever you are at any time, on average, you will be within 10 metres of a rat, and it doesn’t matter where you live or work; they will be there. Some of the poisons used to kill rodents sound nauseatingly unpleasant. There seems to be no regard for animal welfare in their development. From preparations that cause rats to thirst to the extent they will drink until they are dead to chemicals that induce bleeding both internally and externally. These animals will suffer an agonizing death. My solution to remove them harmlessly will at least provide some nutrient to the local wedge tailed eagle or other wild life interested in eating them, but at least their death will be relatively quick. And if some of them get away to live in the wild, that’s fine.
Looking back I recall watching one of our cats sitting on the lawn looking up at a tree. This was a cotton palm tree. As an old cat, she was content to watch the rats. I didn’t know it at the time but these trees are a lovely refuge for rodents. One evening I crept up to the tree and could hear a lot of rustling between the large leaves that was more than just the wind blowing.
06 December 2007
Presentation
Presentation is important when you’re selling your house. Don’t people know that? A coat of paint where it’s needed can do wonders to a place, which gets back to my ‘make it sparkle’ notion, but for heavens sake, do the job right. If your window frames have weathered, a coat of paint may brighten them up. Here’s the important bit: if they need to be sanded – then sand them, undercoat them, paint them properly. If there are a few pits in the woodwork – fill the holes with putty, sand it back, and paint properly. If the wood is rotten or so badly weathered that it looks and feels like a sponge then rip it out and replace it before paining. A coat of paint over rotten timber looks like the rough job it is. When I see it I tend to wonder what other botched jobs have been done on the house. This type of work does nothing toward presentation.
29 November 2007
Four days in Melbourne
It was 10.15pm when I got back to Canberra, after an eight hour trip. Eight hours seems to be the time it takes me to drive between Canberra and Melbourne. I don’t quite know how I did the trip in seven and a half hours on my first run through, but that was in the MR2. Maybe I was speeding.
The speedo in the EXA reads high – in so far as I can tell 110 on the dial is actually 100, and 120 is actually 110km/hr. The highway speed check systems that are put on the highway every now and again are a great service. Though I have to wonder why so many of them have been installed on sections of the road that are on a slope. This is a difficult situation for people driving a standard car without cruise control. I find I’m forever adjusting the throttle to try and maintain a constant speed to compare it with the over head indicator. The trouble with that is that I could be accelerating or decelerating at the point in the road where you pass the speed sensor, which kind of makes the whole thing pointless.
It was a fabulous trip, and with the new tyre fitted the vibration that worried me on the last trip was gone. I enjoyed it immensely, except for the last couple of hours from Gundagai to the ACT, at night. I don’t have a heater in the car. The return trip contrasted with the run to Melbourne with the sun in my eyes. I have to wonder if when engineers and surveyors are planning highways they consider just how they can annoy motorists, for a bit of mischief. I can imagine them sitting in their site office looking at a topographic map of the district where the road is planned to run, and considering the options of where to site the road. I can just imagine a handful of young civil engineering graduates who might have been sitting around in a site office under a shady tree in a paddock in the middle of nowhere, before the Hume Highway had been built. I can imagine these highway engineers in a conversation, joking around, wondering where the sun sets in the afternoon, and then having the highway surveyed so that at certain times of the year the sun hits you square in the eyes as you top the crest of a hill. Just kidding; this would never happen, would it? Would it? Surely, not.
After taking advantage of an early break from work (3 hours) I got to Melbourne at about 10.00pm. Squeak, one of our cats, bolted out the door as soon as she saw me. Frightened of the stranger at the door. She always was a scardy cat, but it hasn’t been that long since she’s seen me. And Elsa, our other cat, ignored me. What a welcome. S is obviously the only one who loves me.
What a huge house this place at Warrandyte seems. It’s funny how you forget things. Oh, well, there is an excuse for the cat’s behaviour. The polished wooden kitchen bench tops seemed strange and stood out. I guess I was getting used to the plastic bench tops of where I was in Canberra. The lounge room seemed huge. Outside so much had grown; even the weeds.
I spent more time lazing around than I should have, but made good inroads with the list of things to do. There was a stuck key to the back door that had been broken off in the lock, not long after I left. It took me two minutes to get the broken key from the back door lock, and here was S unable to get out the back door for about 6 weeks. A quick tug with a pair of long-nose pliers and it was easily pulled out. We bought a new hand-truck to help get the old fridge and dishwasher onto the street for the hard rubbish collection that the council had planned. So, that was a bit of good luck that resolved a problem and the expense of taking it to the dump. I should have bought a hand truck years ago. I used it the whole weekend, and advocate anyone who is doing a move go get one. They are very reasonably priced at the large hardware stores.
It’s amazing how the wildlife takes over the things you don’t use often. We had an old fridge in the garage. The fuse blew as soon as I switched it on. I hope I didn’t electrocute any of the little creatures that seemed to be setting up home in there. The fridge and a dishwasher had to be dumped. It was kind of sad dumping these two items. The dishwasher was a Bosch. It was a brilliant appliance. We had it for years and it was superb, and it had been in the house when we bought the place. I must get another Bosch as this one gave fabulous service and lasted for years. So, now we have a gap in the kitchen where the dishwasher used to be. Is it better to have a hole where the dishwasher used to be, or have a dishwasher in place that doesn’t work? The punters, when they come walking through, might see there’s no dishwasher, and take brownie points away from their assessment of the property. On the other hand they might think, “beauty, I can buy my favourite brand.” These things are hard to say, really.
The vegie patch up the back looked great, and I saw the new brick path that S had put in. We were sitting under a shady tree having a cuppa, and I was looking around at the house and garden. There were certainly some things that were wrong with this place, work that needed to be done, but by and large it was a nice property. We had put a lot of time and work into this place and it was about to go on the market. Were we making the right decision? At that moment I could have easily stay there for ever. Have you spotted the image at the top of my blog? The garden was an oasis.
I used to go snow skiing. One of the tips the experienced skier will always pass along to novices: Get fit before your ski trip. The same advice can apply equally to preparing a house for sale and or moving home. I began to do some real work that weekend, and discovered how unfit I was. I found myself becoming exhausted after only a sort time.
I packed the car on Monday with another load of things. You can’t get too much into a car that is not more easily left to removalists, but I think it does help. There are some things I’d prefer not to leave to removalists. Delicates and valuables, mainly, and of course, the newly repaired TV went back with me. Tom Kerkhof Television is the guy I've been using and he's good and resasonably priced. Give him a try if live in the area; though it probably is a bit much driving from Canberra like I did, but what the hell.
Our various trips up and down the Hume Highway have fallen into a routine of stopping at the McDonalds come petrol station, service centre, combination that’s not so far from Benalla in Vic for a snack and fuel stop, and then again at the Gundagai McDonalds in NSW to do the same again. I can’t actually stand McDonalds stuff. McDonalds don’t cater for vegetarians in a big way, the serves are meagre, and the thick shakes, while they taste okay, gives me an after effect in my throat like I might need a doctor’s visit and leaves me with a niggling cough for ages after. The fish roll things McDonalds sell are mostly okay, but once again you don’t actually get much of it, and because few other people actually order them, there never seem to be any ready and you always have to wait for them. At least that means they are fresh. Have you ever tried those apple pies that they do? In my experience, apple pies should be baked. McDonalds apple pies seem to be deep fried which makes them the biggest yuk I’ve ever come across. So, I continue to stop at the same places and phone home for a chat from each one. Poor S was feeling flat when I rang from McDonalds. I hope we can sell up and buy a new place quickly.
The speedo in the EXA reads high – in so far as I can tell 110 on the dial is actually 100, and 120 is actually 110km/hr. The highway speed check systems that are put on the highway every now and again are a great service. Though I have to wonder why so many of them have been installed on sections of the road that are on a slope. This is a difficult situation for people driving a standard car without cruise control. I find I’m forever adjusting the throttle to try and maintain a constant speed to compare it with the over head indicator. The trouble with that is that I could be accelerating or decelerating at the point in the road where you pass the speed sensor, which kind of makes the whole thing pointless.
It was a fabulous trip, and with the new tyre fitted the vibration that worried me on the last trip was gone. I enjoyed it immensely, except for the last couple of hours from Gundagai to the ACT, at night. I don’t have a heater in the car. The return trip contrasted with the run to Melbourne with the sun in my eyes. I have to wonder if when engineers and surveyors are planning highways they consider just how they can annoy motorists, for a bit of mischief. I can imagine them sitting in their site office looking at a topographic map of the district where the road is planned to run, and considering the options of where to site the road. I can just imagine a handful of young civil engineering graduates who might have been sitting around in a site office under a shady tree in a paddock in the middle of nowhere, before the Hume Highway had been built. I can imagine these highway engineers in a conversation, joking around, wondering where the sun sets in the afternoon, and then having the highway surveyed so that at certain times of the year the sun hits you square in the eyes as you top the crest of a hill. Just kidding; this would never happen, would it? Would it? Surely, not.
After taking advantage of an early break from work (3 hours) I got to Melbourne at about 10.00pm. Squeak, one of our cats, bolted out the door as soon as she saw me. Frightened of the stranger at the door. She always was a scardy cat, but it hasn’t been that long since she’s seen me. And Elsa, our other cat, ignored me. What a welcome. S is obviously the only one who loves me.
What a huge house this place at Warrandyte seems. It’s funny how you forget things. Oh, well, there is an excuse for the cat’s behaviour. The polished wooden kitchen bench tops seemed strange and stood out. I guess I was getting used to the plastic bench tops of where I was in Canberra. The lounge room seemed huge. Outside so much had grown; even the weeds.
I spent more time lazing around than I should have, but made good inroads with the list of things to do. There was a stuck key to the back door that had been broken off in the lock, not long after I left. It took me two minutes to get the broken key from the back door lock, and here was S unable to get out the back door for about 6 weeks. A quick tug with a pair of long-nose pliers and it was easily pulled out. We bought a new hand-truck to help get the old fridge and dishwasher onto the street for the hard rubbish collection that the council had planned. So, that was a bit of good luck that resolved a problem and the expense of taking it to the dump. I should have bought a hand truck years ago. I used it the whole weekend, and advocate anyone who is doing a move go get one. They are very reasonably priced at the large hardware stores.
It’s amazing how the wildlife takes over the things you don’t use often. We had an old fridge in the garage. The fuse blew as soon as I switched it on. I hope I didn’t electrocute any of the little creatures that seemed to be setting up home in there. The fridge and a dishwasher had to be dumped. It was kind of sad dumping these two items. The dishwasher was a Bosch. It was a brilliant appliance. We had it for years and it was superb, and it had been in the house when we bought the place. I must get another Bosch as this one gave fabulous service and lasted for years. So, now we have a gap in the kitchen where the dishwasher used to be. Is it better to have a hole where the dishwasher used to be, or have a dishwasher in place that doesn’t work? The punters, when they come walking through, might see there’s no dishwasher, and take brownie points away from their assessment of the property. On the other hand they might think, “beauty, I can buy my favourite brand.” These things are hard to say, really.
The vegie patch up the back looked great, and I saw the new brick path that S had put in. We were sitting under a shady tree having a cuppa, and I was looking around at the house and garden. There were certainly some things that were wrong with this place, work that needed to be done, but by and large it was a nice property. We had put a lot of time and work into this place and it was about to go on the market. Were we making the right decision? At that moment I could have easily stay there for ever. Have you spotted the image at the top of my blog? The garden was an oasis.
I used to go snow skiing. One of the tips the experienced skier will always pass along to novices: Get fit before your ski trip. The same advice can apply equally to preparing a house for sale and or moving home. I began to do some real work that weekend, and discovered how unfit I was. I found myself becoming exhausted after only a sort time.
I packed the car on Monday with another load of things. You can’t get too much into a car that is not more easily left to removalists, but I think it does help. There are some things I’d prefer not to leave to removalists. Delicates and valuables, mainly, and of course, the newly repaired TV went back with me. Tom Kerkhof Television is the guy I've been using and he's good and resasonably priced. Give him a try if live in the area; though it probably is a bit much driving from Canberra like I did, but what the hell.
Our various trips up and down the Hume Highway have fallen into a routine of stopping at the McDonalds come petrol station, service centre, combination that’s not so far from Benalla in Vic for a snack and fuel stop, and then again at the Gundagai McDonalds in NSW to do the same again. I can’t actually stand McDonalds stuff. McDonalds don’t cater for vegetarians in a big way, the serves are meagre, and the thick shakes, while they taste okay, gives me an after effect in my throat like I might need a doctor’s visit and leaves me with a niggling cough for ages after. The fish roll things McDonalds sell are mostly okay, but once again you don’t actually get much of it, and because few other people actually order them, there never seem to be any ready and you always have to wait for them. At least that means they are fresh. Have you ever tried those apple pies that they do? In my experience, apple pies should be baked. McDonalds apple pies seem to be deep fried which makes them the biggest yuk I’ve ever come across. So, I continue to stop at the same places and phone home for a chat from each one. Poor S was feeling flat when I rang from McDonalds. I hope we can sell up and buy a new place quickly.
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