House Under Contract

 

It's not unconditionally sold yet. I'm waiting on a building inspection, which I hope will happen this week. I am not expecting there to be a problem with the inspection but I'm not going to assume it will go through.  Not until the sign reads "sold"!!

It took two weeks from the day the ad went live online!!!!!

I have started properly packing up the house, ready for the proposed settlement on 4th August.

And Lindsey and I went to Docklands on Saturday to look at some apartments. We really liked the first one and didn't like the second two. I'm not sure why I didn't like them. One of them had a fabulous view of the marina and the river and even the sea, but it was right at the very top of my budget and the layout of the flat didn't excite me. You really can't spend a lot of money just on a view. The other one I just didn't like and I couldn't really tell you why. I'm beginning to think it's the building. I've seen other apartments in there and haven't liked them either, for no particularly good reason. Anyway, both apartments are tenanted and I need something I can move into quickly. If the first apartment is still on the market when my sale becomes unconditional I'll go and have another look at it and perhaps make an offer.

Lindsey and I went for a wander around Docklands, which she wasn't really familiar with. She was excited to discover that The District shopping complex has a UniQlo, Kathmandu, Skechers, plus quite a large food area. We had lunch in the Japanese restaurant. We walked back around the marina to the Victoria Quays side and inspected the library and the river. It was a good day.

Lindsey in UniQlo

Wedding party in The District

Saturday lunch
(I had a sandwich in the evening)

View from the library window

I spent Sunday morning packing boxes and thinking about what to do with all the furniture in my house, almost all of which won't be coming with me to my small apartment in Docklands (whichever I buy, it will be small).

Then Lindsey and I went to the Buninyong Pub for lunch. I had managed to get a table by booking it early in the week. It's lovely. Light and bright and spacious. Much, much lighter than its previous incarnation. You could actually see what you were eating. And the food was delicious. My barramundi was perfectly cooked. We will go there again.

Redesigned interior of the Buninyong pub

Sunday barramundi, with lemon sauce,
crushed potatoes and veg

House Progress

There has been quite a lot of interest in my house. Someone came from up country to look at it on Monday. Someone else came to look at it on Tuesday and yet someone else on Thursday. There were FIFTEEN registered viewings at the open inspection on Saturday.  I think that's more viewings in just over a week than the entire time that the house in Tupton was on the market. And I believe that there are also some online investors who have expressed a wish to see a video walk through. We didn't do a video walk through when the people came to take the photos but I expect one can be arranged.

Some of the people who have been through seem to be interested. I had a look on the real estate website and found that mine is the only place in Mount Helen that comes in under $525k. If you expand the search to include Buninyong there are a few more, and even more if you include Mount Clear. But if Mount Helen and Buninyong are your target, you don't have a lot of choice at the lower end of the market.

You never know. My place might actually sell in less than the three years it took to sell in Tupton. And there is the advantage here that once you put in a proper offer, you  have a three day (I think) cooling off period, pay a deposit and then you can't withdraw without forfeiting that deposit. You can, of course, make your offer conditional on something else happening but once that happens you can't withdraw. Much better than in England where a buyer can withdraw with no notice, at any point, up until contracts are exchanged.

I thought it was cold at my place when I dropped down on Saturday morning to check it over before the open inspection. And it was:

It was even colder outside

It was also foggy and damp. Outside, not inside!

So I put the heating on and turned on the lamps throughout the house.

Fortunately, by the time of the inspection the fog had cleared and the sun had come out. My place does look good when the sun is shining. It is bright and light.

I was in Daylesford yesterday for lunch at Gillie's house with the Sunday Lunchers. We had a delicious lunch which included parsnip and orange soup. I am not a huge fan of parsnips - I find them a bit bitter. But paired with orange the bitterness disappears and the soup was lovely. It was followed by a traditional British fish pie and then a peach and raspberry trifle.  All very delightful.  It was good to catch up with everyone and to hear Irene and Gillie's travel adventures.  A very good afternoon.

A Winter Weekend

The first open inspection of my place was at 12:30 on Saturday. Four couples came to look. One couple (apparently) liked it but the lounge was too small - so no, thank you. Another couple showed interest but had other places to look at. 

The estate agent had been hoping for six couples but I thought four wasn't bad when the place had only been on the market for three days. Plus it was very cold and gloomy on Saturday so people may have been put off by the weather.  The agent might have been disappointed but I was quite pleased. It was a long, long time after we put the house in Tupton on the market before anyone showed any interest at all!

In the meantime, Brandy, Whiskey and I have moved up to Hill House for a couple of weeks while Lindsey and Ian are away.  I must say, I am not looking forward to moving the cats to Melbourne. They howled all the way here and it's only a five minute drive.

They were a bit puzzled when we got out of the car and all their things came in. But they seem to have settled in quite well

Fascinated by the glass walls

We have commandeered Rupert and Hugo's feeding station

They found their cosy beds

and the actual bed

Paws tucked under -
must be feeling relaxed

Found a cosy bed on a comfy chair

I've got them confined to the kitchen end of the house. They are VERY curious about what is behind this door! (Piano room, lounge room and bedrooms - they can explore them in a few days)

I didn't do very much over the weekend, apart from clean Tani's floors, sweep leaves up from the patio and little lawn and move up here. I'll go back down to my place later this morning. There's an inspection at lunch time and another mid-afternoon and it's still very cold in Ballarat. I'll sweep the floors again and this time I'll put the heating on and make a pot of coffee so the place feels warm and inviting.

(And if you're reading this and thinking now would be an ideal time to head to Tani and clear it out - my neighbours are keeping an eye on the place. And so am I!)

It's suddenly got properly real!

 

The sale is live on realestate.com.au

There are inspections and viewings booked in.

I may have to actually move!

(I haven't told the cats yet!)

It's a glorious morning. But very frosty

Long Weekend

Yesterday was a public holiday across much of Australia.

And in Ballarat, the weather was awful pretty much all weekend. Winter most definitely came out to play.  It rained with enthusiasm. It was windy. It was foggy. It was COLD

Sunday's weather forecast from the BoM:

Monday morning:

 My place, pretty much all weekend:

I did go out, a bit, but no garden tidying got done. Lindsey and I  didn't go to the Bridge Street market on Saturday, but we did go to Wilson's and Petstock  and then had lunch at Oscar's. We don't go to Oscar's very often and we aren't sure why. The food is good and the place is handy for Central Square. I think it's because we usually go out for lunch on Sundays, and then usually go to pubs. We should go more often. I think it's two years or so since we last went in.

On Sunday we went early to Stockland so Lindsey could get a hair cut and then went for a wander around.

Yesterday I only went as far as Mount Clear, to get some firewood at the IGA.

It was a very relaxing long weekend but I didn't get a whole lot done. I really should get some things done - I am expecting the first open inspection of Tani on Saturday and I would like it to be shiny and beautiful for any people who come to look.

House Photos

Two photographers came on Thursday afternoon, one with a machine to make a video tour and floor plan, the other with a camera. They were here for around 45 minutes. I'll get their photos and video for approval on Tuesday or Wednesday.

I cleaned the house as thoroughly as I could before they came. And for the record - here are my photos:

(The cats on my bed are not included in the sale!)

Busy

I've been quite busy this last week or so.

Things have been busy at work. We are preparing for an accreditation visit in August or September. We have appraisals and meetings and training to organise, plus absolutely masses of paperwork to get done. (I originally typed "asses of paperwork" which I might not disagree with 😂), not to mention all the usual activity of the business.

I have been busy at home. The initial stages of the proposed sale of my place are underway.  A handyman has been and is coming again this morning to finish those few things that needed doing, such as painting a couple of kitchen cupboards and touching up some paintwork on the walls. A photographer is coming at lunchtime to get the advertising underway. Then the estate agent and I will talk on Tuesday and the first open day will happen the following Saturday.

The house is pretty much ready for the photos. I need to do a quick tidy, sweep the floors and hide the cat bowls and general paraphernalia, such as the oil bottles in the kitchen. I might even set the dining room table so it looks like a dining room table and not like a desk.

I have done quite a bit of work in the garden but there is still lots to do. A lot of it will be done by the time the first open inspection happens. But gardens are never finished. I will do my best.  I have planted more pea and broad bean seeds out the front and taken down some of the bamboo canes. I have cleared the little flower bed out the front ready for next season's planting. I have been weeding along the back garden bed, which isn't finished but will be by Saturday week. I have not really tackled the back walkway but definitely need to. Oh - and I should really sweep the patio before the photos!

I am quite pleased with this bed. It has a Bramley apple tree, a Tahitian lime tree and a miniature peach tree, plus various bedding plants. There is an asparagus bed behind it.

There has been time for a bit of fun as well. Lindsey and I went to the Red Lion for lunch last Sunday. We haven't been there since we went with Stella a couple of weeks before she died. So a year ago! I'm not sure why we haven't been since. They do a good Sunday roast, with  lots of roast meat and lots of well cooked vegetables. We still have the Buninyong pub on our list, but you need to book well in advance for a lunch table on Sundays. We tend to think about Lunch Out much closer to the time.  We'll get there.

Had I been in  Tupton rather than Ballarat I would have been very suspicious of these clouds, which were travelling south to north, rather than the more usual west to east

Fortunately, they delivered nothing more exciting than some icy drizzle. I am looking eastward towards Lindsey and Ian's hill. They may have got more than drizzle.