What a pile of WIP’s….
Hmmmm, you know how you hear people saying how stressfull house hunting can be? Well, I will openly admit – I used to think "Huh? How can that be stressful. Bank gives you money. You find a house. You move."….end of story.
Well, that’s not really what I thought – but I didn’t know. I have to say after only 2 weeks of looking at approx 9 houses, in various price ranges/suburbs/styles/sizes/state of disrepair/renovation etc etc etc I am feeling flat flat flat.
How do people actually "take their time" doing this.
"Don’t rush into it" they say.
"Look around, something will just appeal and you will know" they chant.
What I want to know is how do people function with jobs/life/kids etc whist waiting for the proverbial bolt of lightening to strike as they wend their way through scurrilously worded descriptions that do not actually describe the houses that they are trying to flog?
I quake in my boots when I see "needs a little elbow grease".
I blow my nose in their general direction when they describe the house as a "cute cottage".
I also now know that there is no such thing as a bargain.
If a house seems incredibly cheap in a great area there is usually a very very very obvious reason for this – but you never get to find out what that is until you have left work early, had the children baby sat, and tromped around a garden with either one or two fences falling down, a HUGE storm water drain as the main feature of the backyard or the Steel works appears to be the amazing view on offer…..or was that the broken pipe in the back yard next door to the broken retainer wall. Sorry, it was probably the bathroom that is in such a bad state that you would need the Noxious/Toxic Substances Committee of the Eastern Seaboard to come and give you gas masks to make taking a shower a little easier. All accompanied to the tune "Oh, I hadn’t noticed that" sung by "Various Realtors We Have Met" – the dodgiest band in the area.
I try an calm my already overactive imagination with the possibilities of "what we could do with that" when the mortgage we are going to take out will all but rule out going to the toilet without calling the bank to see if I can afford it!.
SO! In the fact of all adversity (and to stop my incessant whinging) I present a pile of WIP’s. Whew! I bet you are pleased that you don’t sell Real Estate in Wollongong.
Elphine Socks in Mountain Colours
Some Blah Brown Socks in Regia Africa – destined to a life a long way from here.
Some embroidery practice to see if my skills are as good as I think they are (answer = nope)
A Swatch for Bianca’s Cardi (IK Fall 2006)
Keefleys Mittens that look a lot better than the photo (Handknit Holidays)
And my all time love (of the moment) – my version of Silken Spencer (IK Fall 2006)
Oh my god I am so in love with this YARN – Karabella Frost. I have had this yarn kicking around for 2 years – thinking I would make the long coveted Kyoto in it. But it was talking to me when I swatched it for Silken Spencer….and boy is it going to be dynamite. I am sure I will rave on with this for a little while but for now I must bid you all a fond adieu.
Adieu.
Sorry you are having such a hard time finding a house. It can be a very long and frustrating process. After we found our house I swore that we would never move again. Good Luck!
I love it when you talk about house-hunting, reminds me what I have in store for me…I remember 1 very clever estate agent who talked so much that we didn’t realise there was NO bathroom (toilet and shower in the laundry) until she shut up. Sending heaps of good wishes your way, it is exciting and daunting – but trust that everything will be the way it is supposed to be(says she who just found out her dream house is under contract!)
Love the WIPs, very clever 2 elfine socks on 2 needles!
House hunting and buying is very stressful. I’ve done it twice and can tell you I don’t want to do it again for a long time. I’ve got no advice for you except to say, you’ll know when you’ve found the house. Trust yourself and your instincts.
Personally I’ve purchased 5 houses and built another which makes 6. Be v happy that you are not in the situation of having Found the house you want, made an offer on it, and then sit waiting for the house you are in to sell so that you don’t end up making 2 mortgage payments. Most nail biting stressful times possible.
It may help if you look at getting into a house as something that isn’t necessarily forever. It doesn’t have to meet Every need, just the most important ones.
Yeah – we’ve bought one house – the one we’re in now. I’ll be happy if we never move again… (Mind you, that year we moved (from one rented house to another) 3 times in one year. That’s waaaay more than enough for one lifetime.
The biggest lesson I learned while house hunting was not to be afraid to widen my scope. My agent was working with a price range that I had given her, and after four weekends of 12-20 houses per weekend (whew!) I had found nothing. I told her to increast the price range and voila! I found my house. The kicker is that it was listed for $1 higher than the range I had given her … argh!
For me, I had to be able to see our family in the house, kids running around, BBQ’s out the back, that sort of thing. Whatever it is for you.
Another thing, you will nevr find everything that you are after. SO you have to decide in the cold light of day what features of a house you are really after.
And in Qld, saying that you want to “make an offer” means you sign the contract and it is presented to the seller for acceptance – signature. Viola! Fait accompli! If you want special conditions, these must be included in your offer and prepared by your lawyer, and not the agent. That said, there are an ethical bunch of REA’s , I’ll see if I can dig out a book on this for you. We ended up singling out REA’s that we liked and trusted to a degree and asking them what properties they had on their books.
It is like another full time job. When we were house hunting in Cairns, we did three inspections through the week after Tony finished work and up to 8 a day (ridiculous!) on the weekends. We didn’t use the internet, just the newspaper. We burned out.
Hope some of this helps you out.
You know, house hunting is really fun if you aren’t looking for a house! My husband and I love going to open houses but vow not to move again for a very long time! But if you are actually going to buy one then, man is it ever stressful!!
I KNOW! I have NO idea how people do it either. I’d rather never knit again than look for a house to buy! The sole reason for our renovations is because I FLAT OUT REFUSED TO GO HOUSE HUNTING! How did I come by the house I live in you ask? Easy. My BF owned it b4 I met him!
House hunting is awful… if it’s anything like here in California, there is no way you can just be “casual” about it. It’s like having another full-time job. And sort of like the worst parts of dating, too. And don’t get me started on shifty real estate agents. Good luck, may you find someplace you love enough to forget all the hassle and cash you’ve invested. I love my tiny, old, squeaky house so much that sometimes I don’t even notice that it’s crumbling around me, or think about the upcoming property tax payment.