Photo by Harmen Jelle van Mourik on Unsplash
We were so excited to go and see the house that seemed to fit our needs, but it wasn't to be.
From the start, it was very obvious that the real estate photos we saw online were real glamour shots. It looked nothing like its photos. The exterior of this house needed a lot of work, and paint. Inside, the front rooms were really nice, but the bathroom was a worry. It had looked "new" in the photos, but everything was dinged and scratched and chipped. It would be a complete replacement job.
Outside the bathroom, the floor had been patched in a very strange way. I felt major concern for the floorboards underneath the patch as there had definitely been significant water leakage from the bathroom. As one of our expected projects would have been to remove the carpets and lino and polish the floors, this was a huge red flag. The rear living area was nice and airy, but with an inordinate amount of cracked tiles and windows that would not close. The kitchen and appliances all needed an update. There was also an outdoor structure that was clad in disintegrating fibro.
With the potential reno budget skyrocketing, I made the call that it wasn't the house for us and didn't put in an offer. We were prepared to purchase a house that needed some renovations, but this one was quite a bit outside our abilities and budget.
As it turns out, it was lucky we didn't put in an offer. My place has had its settlement date extended again. I've decided to take this all as a sign from the universe that I need to be patient and wait until I get this place finalised. To keep watching the market and gathering information so that when the right house pops up, I'm ready to pounce.
Until next time,
@Sammie
