Sunday and Monday ...

 ... continued warm, sunny and gentle.

Not much happened. I did a bit more packing, a bit more organising, a bit more tidying.

I was surprised, while gazing out the kitchen window while making breakfast on Sunday, to see this:

I would not have been surprised had I been in East Melbourne, Northcote or even Docklands. It is not absolutely unknown to see balloons in Mount Helen but it is not as common.

I am trying to work out the logistics of moving me, my belongings and the cats to the new place in Docklands. Most of my stuff is in storage and the storage company tells me that they can move my things to the flat. The building management wants to know their insurance details. The storage company seems strangely reluctant to give them to me. If they continue to delay I shall find another removal company (although I am not sure how I will get my things out of storage; I don't have a key to the facility or to the storage unit. But I am sure that can be worked out.) Then I have boxes of stuff at Hill House, which I can take to Melbourne in the car although I might have to book the lift for that too. I will talk to the concierge on Monday. Plus, of course, I have to move the cats and all their stuff. I will probably do that last.

In the meantime, I have rented a parking space, at vast expense,  for two months in the parking facility across the road from Victoria Point (which is the building my flat is in). I am not anticipating keeping the car once I get settled in, although Freyja, Simon and I might share it and keep it in the parking space which comes with their apartment. Mine does not have a parking space.

Today, the weather is cooler and greyer. Having beguiled us with the promise of spring, winter is returning this week. Which I suppose is fair; it is, after all, still August. 

Saturday

 It was a glorious morning yesterday

The view from Hill House
at about 9:00

So I went to the Lakeside Market. It was a considerable improvement on the previous market day, which was wet, cold and horrible with few visitors and few stalls. I got there just after 9:30 and it was packed, plus there were LOTS of stalls

I bought some tomatoes and some meat, some raspberries and some blueberries. I had a wander around. I bought a chicken shish for brunch and went and sat by the lake to eat it

Brunch view

I had a stroll around the Piper's end of the lake. It was still and quiet and peaceful. There were people around but it was still quite early so the large groups and activities hadn't arrived yet. People were strolling or sitting or eating and drinking. The birds were enjoying the sunshine

I came back to Hill House via Wilson's where I bought some vegetables. I had fruit toast for afternoon tea and did some more organising of my stuff. Is it coming to the new place? Yes - then into this box. No? Then either into what will probably be the last box to go to the Lion's shop in Buninyong, or into the skip.

It was a beautiful afternoon and quite warm for August. It held a strong promise of spring. So I opened the door between the kitchen and the lounge ends of the houses and opened the front door to let some air in since I didn't have the heating on.

Brandy and Whiskey thought this was a bit good!

(Whiskey was also looking out but every time I got my phone up to take his photo, he moved away!)

It was a lovely day. Relaxed, calm, peaceful. And sunny!

The estate agency that I used to sell Tani sent me some flowers on settlement day

So kind. I love flowers

And the new owner hasn't mucked about. It's already on the market as a rental. I thought they might at least paint inside. It was looking a bit tired once I moved all my things out.

Homeless

I couldn't decide whether to title this "Farewell to Tani" , or "Of No Fixed Abode". Perhaps "Between Residences".  "Homeless" seemed suitably melodramatic 😊

I have spent the past week and especially the weekend cleaning and taking things out of the house, aided and abetted by various other people. Julia organised A Bloke to come yesterday afternoon and to take away things that I would have put in the skip if I had had a skip. Lindsey came with her station wagon and took garden stuff and other bits and pieces up to her place. I brought things up to her place as well. I scrubbed and cleaned and cleared and brushed and vacuumed and polished.  It took several goes to clean the oven!

(Memo to self: if you use the oven in the new place, you should perhaps clean it more than once every two or three years.  Better yet, don't use it)

By the end of yesterday afternoon, the place looked like this:

I have said goodbye to my lovely neighbours. Hilary next door will put the bins out tomorrow. I went down this morning and cleaned up the garage and that was that. All done.

Farewell to Tani. It was a happy and sunny home for not quite 8 years

Many thanks to everyone who turned out to help get it all organised

Lindsey and I went to the Buninyong Pub for lunch yesterday. They had been advertising a Sunday special of roast beef with Yorkshire pudding. It is not common to get Yorkshire puddings in Australian country pubs.  Lindsey and I both fancied it. So I booked a table for a late lunch. And this is what we got:

It was delicious, and a perfect lunch for a weekend spent cleaning and clearing.

You don't often get spectacular sunrises at Hill House. The sun rises behind the hill. You more often get spectacular sunsets in the west behind the plain.  This morning, however, Lindsey came rushing back into the house as she was leaving for work and exhorted me to go out and look. So I did:

An auspicious dawn for my New Life
in the City, which should 
come to be in a fortnight

Cleaning

I have had this week off work and have spent most of it cleaning, or more accurately, not cleaning enough.

The storage facility people came on Monday, but not until 12:00 (they did ring to tell me) instead of 9:30.  I tidied up a few things and packed some things to come up to Hill House.

On Tuesday I cleaned and vacuumed my room and the little bedroom and did a bit more tidying up and sorting out. A bloke came and took away the skip, which was full to the brim.

On Wednesday Julia and Baby Theo (who is 4 months old) came around and helped smash up the wooden boxes which we had had for 5 or 6 years and had grown vegetables and raspberries in. Julia has organised for someone she knows to come around on Sunday to take away the smashed up boxes and other things, I assume to the tip.

On Thursday I did some more cleaning and tidying. Lindsey came down and we went to Bunnings for supplies of sugar soap, which I don't remember having used before. We had a toastie and some chips at Tim's Toasties. We went to Wilson's for some veg. I did a bit more tidying up and sorting. We had chicken Kievs and veg for dinner.

Today I did a second clean of the bathroom, plus the toilet and laundry. I have swept and washed the dining room floor. I have pretty much got everything out of the house; just a few odd bits and pieces still to go. There is a lot of cleaning yet to do. I haven't even touched the kitchen and there is still the lounge room carpet to sort out. An estate agent and a representative of the new owner came (by appointment) for a final look around. The representative wants me to take away the compost bins and the free standing herb beds. Plus there is stuff in the garage and some other garden stuff  to organise.

Fortunately, Lindsey is around over the weekend and I'm sure we can get most/all of it done. Settlement is at 2pm on Monday so if necessary I can do a bit of extra cleaning in the morning. If nothing else, I'll put the bins out ready for pick up on Wednesday morning. If there is nobody about I'll bring them in again once they've been emptied.

In the meantime, things seem to be proceeding on the purchase of my new flat.  I have filled in a form for the State Revenue Service applying for a reduction in stamp duty because the new place will be my principal place of residence. This is a substantial discount so well worth filling in the form. I think that everything else is in place apart from confirmation of finance.  My mortgage broker doesn't seem to be expecting a problem with the loan. We have approval for it, conditional on a valuation survey which is happening first thing on Monday morning. I would be very surprised if the valuation survey was a problem but in any case, I should have just enough left from the sale of Tani to pay for the new place and the associated expenses if the loan falls through. I hope it doesn't though. I would like the financial buffer of a small mortgage so I have some savings in case things break, fall apart or otherwise need replacing in the next couple of years

Moving Out

Lindsey and I braved the dreadful weather and went to the market on Saturday morning. The weather wasn't quite as dreadful as the forecast predicted but it had been very, very windy and very, very wet overnight. The people of Ballarat are generally hardy souls but there weren't a lot of people at the market when we got there at around 9:30. We even got a parking space almost opposite the entrance. There weren't as many stalls either. But the tomato bloke was there and the Mornington cheese woman was there and the veg people were there. Apart from the olive oil man, the people I wanted were around.

Then we went to Stockland for a potter around the shops.

I went home and did some more packing.

Freyja and Simon arrived late afternoon, with a van. We had Thai takeaway for dinner.

On Sunday Freyja and Simon took all the stuff that was going up the hill, including the dryer, garden benches and citrus trees in pots that Lindsey was expecting, plus the barbecue and a few other bits and pieces that she might not have been expecting. There is more stuff heading her way but it is mostly things that will be coming with me but that I don't want to put into storage, or which I will want between now and Moving Day (TBA) or as soon as I arrive. Julia came and took some things that she could use or find homes for.

We all went to Okami for an All You Can Eat Japanese lunch, and were joined by Travis, Henry and Baby Theo.

The skip is now full, the house is full of detritus and things that I will want but which haven't been packed yet.

The cats and I are back at Hill House.

The storage people are coming at 9:30 or so to pick up the things that are going into the storage unit. I will shortly head back down to my place and make sure everything is ready. I might even get one more box packed to go with them. Not everything that is left in the kitchen needs to go in the Have This Ready For The First Night box. 

Enjoying the fire on their last night at Tani:

Although, the fire was still glowing with tiny flames on Sunday morning and I still had some fuel available so I got it going again for the day

Settling back in, up at Hill House. They hadn't forgotten where things were supposed to be

Many thanks to Julia, Freyja and Simon for helping to move all the big things. And the little things. And for helping fill the skip

Waiting (Again)

I am not waiting for anything on my place now. Everything is in place and it would be extraordinarily unusual for things to fall apart at this stage. Settlement is on Monday 4th August and I am confidently expecting that to go ahead as planned.

I am waiting for the delivery of a skip sometime today. Although - the weather is absolutely appalling and I wouldn't be all that surprised if they postponed it to tomorrow. I won't be here tomorrow morning but they've delivered skips before and I can't see there being a problem. Or not with the skip. I am a bit worried about falling trees squashing my house - which would certainly delay the sale. Fingers crossed no trees fall, or if they do that they fall the other way, hopefully squashing no houses.

I am actively waiting for things to be organised for the new place. It would again be unusual for things to go awry at this stage but I am waiting for my solicitor to approve the sales contract and then for my mortgage application to go through. I am not really expecting any problems but the waiting is taxing! 

Always assuming that settlement of the new place happens as planned, the storage unit where my stuff is going on Monday can potentially also move it all to Docklands. They will give me a quote when they see how much there is.

Things are slowly falling into place. But there is still an unnecessary amount of waiting to do 😂

The Community Care Centre people took all the things I had set aside for them, including my wooden bed base which we bought when we were in Khartoum Road for the attic bedroom which Freyja mostly used. It came with us when we moved to Tupton and went into the spare bedroom. It came to Australia with us and was promoted to the main bedroom both in the first unit and then in Tani. Unfortunately I decided that it would simply be too bulky for the new place and it has gone for a new life with a new family. Obviously they don't take mattresses but I am going to take my mattress up to Lindsey's place. It's a Koàla mattress and they are  very comfortable and very expensive. I do not want to send it off in a skip! Anyway, if my single bed plan proves not to be feasible, I am going to want it.

The cats have been very puzzled. by the state of my bedroom!

There are lots of boxes in there now.
I am using it as a storage space ready for next Monday

Sold

The sale of my house has now become unconditional and will settle on Monday August 4th.

My offer on the view in Docklands has been accepted and should settle on Friday 18th August - always assuming I can find a way to transfer the 10% deposit. My daily limit is $5000 and I suspect the estate agent will not be pleased if I send the deposit in $5000 lots over several days!

The Ballarat Community Care Centre is coming this morning to cherry pick their way through my furniture. Once I know what I've got left, I'll organise a skip. Freyja and Simon are coming next weekend to help fill the skip and to take away things that are going to other places. Then on the following Monday people from the storage facility are coming to take away things that are going to Docklands with me. Then I have a week to clean the house.

The cats and I will decamp back to Hill House until I can arrange to get my stuff moved to the new place.

💲💲💲💲💲💲💲

If you want to transfer money somewhere and it is considerably above your daily limit, ring your bank just after 8am when the phones open and there isn't much of a wait. Discuss it with someone who will put you through to the bank's safety people. These people will put the fear of Osiris in you that a nefarious scammer is trying to defraud you of all your money. Then they will raise your daily limit. You then, in fear and trembling, transfer the money and then immediately reduce the daily limit to its original amount.

Seems to have worked. I hope the deposit has in fact gone to its intended recipient. It would be annoying and inconvenient if it has wandered off to some tropical island in an unnoticed part of the Pacific

You don't need whiskers to ...

Or perhaps you do, I thought to myself yesterday. Maybe you do need a Y chromosome to install a toilet seat successfully.

When I put the house on the market I bought a new, wooden toilet seat to replace the disabled friendly one we had for Jim. I installed it. I do not, as far as I am aware, have a Y chromosome. And I did install it but it wobbled from the day I installed it. Every now and then it just fell off.

When Dean the Tradie came to do a few bits and pieces I asked him to try and fix it. And he did. And it didn't wobble. Nice and firm.

Until yesterday when it simply exploded off the toilet and fell to the floor, spattering nuts and bolts and washers all over the toilet floor.

I gave up, went to Bunnings and bought another toilet seat with less complicated fixings.

Or so I thought. 

It looked easy enough but I struggled and struggled and struggled. One of the bolts got stuck and had to be liberated with WD40 and hot water. 

I nearly gave up. Who needs a toilet seat anyway?

Eventually, though, it all came together and I have a toilet seat, installed, not wobbling. And it is fixed with wing nuts so should be easy to fix if it loosens again.

So apparently you don't need whiskers or a Y chromosome to fit a toilet seat successfully.

Lindsey and I went to the market on Saturday morning. We haven't been for ages. I came home with eggs and vegetables and belly pork and bacon. I also came home with garlic oil and lemon oil but I got those at the supermarket because the olive oil man wasn't at the market.

Lindsey came for lunch on Sunday. Apart from the potatoes and gravy, everything we ate came from the market

$30 worth of shopping from the market.
That doesn't include the belly pork or the bacon

We have had some very wintry weather recently. No snow, although we have had some icy rain. And it's been cold. I am going to miss this:

It keeps the house lovely and warm

A winter morning sunrise:

 

Still Waiting

The Building and Pest reports have come back and are absolutely fine.

The buyer's finance has not yet been approved 😢

It was supposed to be done by yesterday but their bank has decided that they need to have a valuation done on my place. The valuer is coming shortly. The buyer's conveyancer has asked for a week's extension, which both my conveyancer and estate agent have recommended I agree to. So I did. Reluctantly.

You would have thought they might have got around to that before now.

Sigh!

Freyja and I went to look at the Flat with a View after work yesterday. Freyja hadn't seen it before and I thought it was a good idea to get her to look it over with fresh eyes. It's a good size, in a good location and, of course, has a fabulous view. It's a bit tired in some ways. It's had a tenant in until recently and could do with a bit of a spruce up and a couple of (minor) repairs and a coat of paint. It does have new flooring, which is an advantage. The estate agent says the owner probably won't take a low offer because a similar flat on the 9th floor sold for 400k+ three months ago. Which is all very well, but this place has been on the market since the beginning of April and has already had a price reduction and still hasn't sold yet. I shall wait and see what is happening when my place eventually becomes unconditionally sold and I have a mortgage pre-approval. And if it is sold by then, or the owner really won't take a lower offer, then there are other places available. I am not paying lots of money just for a view, no matter how fabulous.

Freyja and I went for coffee at Southern Cross Station and then she took a train to her place and I drove back to mine.

Waiting

The Building and Pest Inspectors came on Thursday, late in the morning. I was expecting serious, even severe people, suited and stern. In fact they were jolly and friendly and funny. They were also thorough. They flagged a couple of small things but did not indicate that there were any major problems. Of course, they weren't working for me so they may not have felt they had to alert me to major problems, but I think they might have given at least an indication.

The potential buyer needs to make the purchase unconditional or pull out by Wednesday and they can only pull out without penalty if their finance falls through or if there are serious defects with this place.

So I wait.

I went and looked at a flat on Friday afternoon. I first notice it online some many weeks ago and had flagged it as being interesting but it was a bit expensive. They've recently reduced the price so I thought it was worth a look - mainly for this:

I could definitely live with this view.

It does have a balcony, which is fully enclosed and also very narrow. It would make a great cat run, and possibly even a morning coffee nook for me

Bedroom with a view:

Freyja and I are going to have another look at it on Wednesday after work. And the flat that Lindsey and I looked at a couple of weeks ago is still available. Plus I've spoken to my mortgage broker and she is going to see what she can do about a small mortgage for me. I might be able to pay for either of the flats outright if the seller would take a low-ish offer. I might even be able to pay outright at the full asking price but it would leave me with absolutely no financial buffer and I do not want to do that.

So I wait.

I do not like waiting!!!

Lindsey and I went out to the Wallace Pub for lunch on Sunday. We haven't been since last October and I cannot tell you why. We like the pub, the owners, the ambience and the food. We just haven't been. It's not even as though it's particularly far. It's a 20 minute drive from my place!

Lindsey in her magnificent cardigan
showing off her lunch

That's not beer I'm drinking.
It's a lemon, lime and bitters 

Sunday roast:
a pork stack

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!)