Wednesday:
Another couple of days of various things getting ready for moving. Today we had a handyman here fixing a final couple of things, then the building and pest inspection man to do his inspection (no major issues there). An endless parade of strange men in my house! That sounds more exciting than it is. I did a bit more housework. I cleaned under the sink, where the bin sits and exudes nastiness, and wiped down all the walls and doors around the inside of the house. Also did a lot of research about houses to potentially build on this empty block we are considering buying.
I don't think that is going to work out. It is quite a small block, and the house I want just won't fit on it. There is a "carriageway" (right of way, presumably in case they later build in what is currently bushland) down the side that you can't build on and that takes up a lot of space, and the block is at the end of a cul-de-sack so it is an odd fan shape, very narrow at the front and wide at the back. I have a copy of the plans for the house that the previous owner planned to build, they obviously had architects work out the optimal floor plan for the space instead of going to one of the big building companies. We would have to get something very similar, and it's not exactly what we want. Do we go to all the trouble (and waiting up to a year) of building for ourselves when it's not perfect, and might be really expensive to organise? If we're going for close-enough, we might as well buy a pre-built house. Still thinking about it.
Luckily I have found about ten houses to look at this weekend. We really need to find and buy in the next couple of weeks if we want to avoid renting for a while. Kinda stressful. But we'll find somewhere eventually. What I find stressful is that it's not just a matter of finding a house we like and can afford, but then we have to go through the whole auction process and probably not get it anyway! Some of those we'll look at this weekend have a listed price instead of going to auction, maybe we'll like one of those.
Showing posts with label land. Show all posts
Showing posts with label land. Show all posts
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Land
Tuesday:
I wrote this post at three different times during the day. It is clear my mood was different each time!
morning
Not quite so frantic this morning! Although our real estate agent was coming to have a proper look around, things were still pretty good from yesterday. With children (or, indeed, anyone living in the house), nothing stays perfect for long; but I only had to pick up some clothes, make the beds, wipe down the kitchen, stuff like that. It's looking pretty good here. Apart from the dining table, which is covered in stuff we still need to deal with, and a few things like cleaning the outdoor furniture, we're feeling close to ready for our house to go on the market Saturday week.
Also today the window guys came to deal with our bathroom window which needed some work. Another thing done and dusted.
afternoon
I've been dealing with mood swings a bit lately. Probably a combination of stress, not enough sleep, and poor diet. I'll go from feeling confident and relaxed to depressed and overwhelmed for no obvious reason. I know I feel better when I've achieved something in the day and eaten well, but it's hard to do either of those things when I'm feeling low. It's easier to sit around and feel sorry for myself.
evening
I spent a couple of hours at a friend's house after school and we looked at houses online while the kids played. She found a block of land I'd somehow missed, in the area we want to move into and apparently within our price range (taking into account the cost of building a house on the land, which we are still looking into). It is going to be auctioned on Saturday - which means of course the price is only a guide. I have looked at land before, but it was either too expensive or on a sloping rocky difficult block which would make building the house a lot more expensive. This block is relatively flat and has already been cleared - someone bought it a year ago and had housing plans approved but it seems they don't want it any more - it is not a huge block which has its downside of course but also makes it more affordable.
My friend and I looked at some builder's sites and I found a house plan that I love, hopefully they will contact me soon with prices. I know the price can vary a lot depending on a lot of factors but it would be nice to have a general idea so we know how much we could spend on the land.
Having to rent for a while, while the house is built, is a bit of a hassle, but it would solve some problems. It would give us time to sell this house (we'd need some money to buy the land, but not as much upfront as if we bought an existing house), we'd know what area we'd end up in so could settle the kids into the correct school straight away, and we would end up with a house that suited us perfectly! I am quite excited by the prospect. But there are many hurdles to jump yet. I can dream, can't I?
I wrote this post at three different times during the day. It is clear my mood was different each time!
morning
Not quite so frantic this morning! Although our real estate agent was coming to have a proper look around, things were still pretty good from yesterday. With children (or, indeed, anyone living in the house), nothing stays perfect for long; but I only had to pick up some clothes, make the beds, wipe down the kitchen, stuff like that. It's looking pretty good here. Apart from the dining table, which is covered in stuff we still need to deal with, and a few things like cleaning the outdoor furniture, we're feeling close to ready for our house to go on the market Saturday week.
Also today the window guys came to deal with our bathroom window which needed some work. Another thing done and dusted.
afternoon
I've been dealing with mood swings a bit lately. Probably a combination of stress, not enough sleep, and poor diet. I'll go from feeling confident and relaxed to depressed and overwhelmed for no obvious reason. I know I feel better when I've achieved something in the day and eaten well, but it's hard to do either of those things when I'm feeling low. It's easier to sit around and feel sorry for myself.
evening
I spent a couple of hours at a friend's house after school and we looked at houses online while the kids played. She found a block of land I'd somehow missed, in the area we want to move into and apparently within our price range (taking into account the cost of building a house on the land, which we are still looking into). It is going to be auctioned on Saturday - which means of course the price is only a guide. I have looked at land before, but it was either too expensive or on a sloping rocky difficult block which would make building the house a lot more expensive. This block is relatively flat and has already been cleared - someone bought it a year ago and had housing plans approved but it seems they don't want it any more - it is not a huge block which has its downside of course but also makes it more affordable.
My friend and I looked at some builder's sites and I found a house plan that I love, hopefully they will contact me soon with prices. I know the price can vary a lot depending on a lot of factors but it would be nice to have a general idea so we know how much we could spend on the land.
Having to rent for a while, while the house is built, is a bit of a hassle, but it would solve some problems. It would give us time to sell this house (we'd need some money to buy the land, but not as much upfront as if we bought an existing house), we'd know what area we'd end up in so could settle the kids into the correct school straight away, and we would end up with a house that suited us perfectly! I am quite excited by the prospect. But there are many hurdles to jump yet. I can dream, can't I?
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