Being offered my dream! House hunting and other stupid ideas....

[WhoCares]

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[Little Linguist]

Aww...I was curious.

 

[Beorn]

So was I

 

[WhoCares]

It was a lot more tantalising in your imagination than the reality of my post. Savour your longing for what might have been.

 

[Betty Blue]

It was a lot more tantalising in your imagination than the reality of my post. Savour your longing for what might have been.

Hey I'm sure it was a lot better than what you are now giving it in credit. Myabe just too personal. Still interested though, pm it to me if you care to.

 

[Lady_X]

Come on lady!! We want to talk about your dreams and house shopping stuffs!! Why you deny us!?

 

[WhoCares]

Well okay then. If you insist. But I did warn you.

Once upon a time I wanted a cute little house, because little is cute and inexpensive. Six months ago I thought I hadit in the bag, but shit happens and I didnt. So back onto the market I go. Around this time some othe dream sarted creeping in, a long held one that I thought hell would freeze over before I ever had a chance of achieving. That dream looks likes this....

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-maclean-114439827

And this.....

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-bellingen-113811775

And this......
http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-dorrigo-107046204

I discovered that there were quite a few options locally that I could both afford and fix up. So I go and see a heap. One by one they are all shit in some way, mostly in ways I couldn't fix. Like sitting opposite an electricity substation, canning factory or feed lot. Then, an estate agent sends me pics of one just new to market, on an acre with rural outlook....yay! But having felt the sting of disappointment so many times I didnt hold much hope. Heard it all before. Lies, lies and damn lies they usually are.

But this one, it really does appear to be what he promised. I used google maps to check out the street, and behind the street and in all directions from the front and back of the property. It looks all okay....rolling hills, cows and stuff. The house itself is suffering from a paint assault and some truly godawful extensions but since they are modern and (hopefully post asbestos) wouldn't be difficult to fix, just expensive. Otherwise it is as he promised, intact with original features, french doors, bags of verandah space and a blank canvas garden I could turn into my own Giverny.

But....its at the top of my budget and still needs a good restore including some tesellated tiling, claw foot baths, chimney restore and reclaimed original windows to remodel the horrible bathroom extension. Its a risk, but is it worth risking for your dream? Once done up I have reason to believe the house would net good holiday or wedding rental, especially given its location in a popular holiday spot. Especially with a rambling country garden and the geese I plan to have. So pretty....

Everytime I see one of these old country homes restored I stop on the street and sigh, vowing that one day, such a thing will be mine.

 

[Little Linguist]

Hmmm...I would say as long as it doesn't put too much of a burden on you, do it, if it makes you happy. Typical rule of thumb I have heard is: no more than 25–33% of your income should be for rent/mortgage.

 

[WhoCares]

Hmmm...I would say as long as it doesn't put too much of a burden on you, do it, if it makes you happy. Typical rule of thumb I have heard is: no more than 25–33% of your income should be for rent/mortgage.

Yes. That is what they say but in Australia rent alone can be over 30% of income so we are kind of used to it.

 

[Little Linguist]

Yes. That is what they say but in Australia rent alone can be over 30% of income so we are kind of used to it.

Oh, my, really? Jeez. That's rough.

 

[PeaceBaby]

Its a risk, but is it worth risking for your dream?

Is your answer not here? Go! Go see it!

 

[Lady_X]

Who cares!! That's awesome!! Imagine the satisfaction you'll feel after making that dream a reality! Definitely drive out and look at it. Take pictures and imagine it finished. Imagine yourself walking around the place.

Are you planning on living there or just renting it out until you retire or something?

 

[WhoCares]

Well I went and saw it.. The agent failed to mention the illegally run panel shop next door, an industrial unit in the middle of a residential area. Yeah sure I want my lungs filled with toxic overspray and the sound of compressors running at all hours. So I went and saw the next one, beautiful home, perfect and the home is invfaded twice a day by hundreds of school kids, SUVs and diesel buses because it sits perched on top of a local school. I refuse to see another house, all of my weekends have been wasted looking at dump after dump with serious issues I cant fix. So fucking sick of this shit.

 

[Lady_X]

Aw man that completely sucks. Well hopefully you have the luxury of time and can wait until something perfect comes along.

 

[WhoCares]

In other news, a plain jane house sitting on a small acreage has caught my eye. The area is well sought after but I can clearly see why no-one has snapped up this house after a year on the market. Its an ugly house, no thanks to zero landscaping and some awkward retrofitted windows. All fixable......if everything else is at it appears to be.

 

[WhoCares]

Funny to read my last posts in this thread. Happy to share that today I got acceptance on an offer I put on a 5 acre property with small cute workers cottage on it. It's in the most beautiful countryside surrounded by farms, only 10 mins to town. It's a fixer-upper but I got it for a very good price. My mortgage will be so low it's almost unbelievable and I will have plenty of cash still left over to fix it up. This property is everything I was looking for, character home, hobby farm lot and the right price. Rolling green hills, near a river, heritage town nearby, beautiful subtropical climate. I'd get excited except I'm a bit stressed by the whole process, I'm sure I'll be excited when I get the keys next year though.

 

[Redbone]

This sounds so great...*sighs with envy*