I have spent the last few days imagining my days spent here, on the veranda of our new house that overlooks the park across the street and the local kindergarten.. but it's not going to be I'm afraid.
An inspection of the property with Tom's dad (who has spent the last 30 years restoring old weatherboard houses) revealed that while the house certainly looks pretty, the current owners have done a really cheap and crummy job of renovating the property. They have obviously renovated to try and sell for a premium price but it has been done with no love or thought whatsoever.
The worst thing is that the entire house has been covered with fake plastic weatherboard and the old weatherboard underneath was just left raw and untreated. While it certainly looked pretty on the outside and provided a quick and cheap fix, it means that eventually that old weatherboard underneath will start to rot and we will be in for a huge bill to replace it in 5 years time.
This was just one of a very long list of things that had been done in a quick cover-up kind of way and would have caused us a lot of time and money to fix down the track. It is obviously really disappointing as it would have been the most perfect home for us (4 bedrooms, huge new kitchen, wooden floors, lots of light, a fireplace that worked, a studio out the back and across the road from the local school and a park.. Agh!) But at the end of the day we don't want to pay a premium price for a dodgy renovation that we will have to fix ourselves over the next few years.
I'm a little sad as I had spent the last few days imagining how every piece of our furniture will fit into the new house and all the things I could do to turn it onto a home, but I am confident that something else will pop up and that it will be even more perfect and hopefully, done with a little more love.
So the search goes on... but you know what? That's okay.
Sometimes I think that we will be so happy once we have this little baby that it won't matter where we live.. we could live in a cardboard box and we would be content just because our little boy arrived into the world safely. If we do happen to find the perfect house as well? Well, I think I will feel like the luckiest girl in the world!
12 comments:
Oh so bummed for you. Not meant to be. Something more wonderful is just around the corner!!
What a shame. And I was so excited about introducing you to my friend who lives across the road! Good to have picked up its faults on a first inspection, and to have a builder in the family. I am sure the perfect place will come up soon. x
Oh that's disappointing. But your right you could live in a cardboard box with your little family and be happy :)
What a shame, but it just means there's something even better and more perfect for your needs out there x
That is disappointing Kate but you're right it will all work out for the best and your dream home is out there. Good luck with the search xx
Onwards & Upwards I say! Something even better will be around the corner!
There is a saying "Whenever a door closes a window opens elsewhere" (sorry if the translation is not correct, I am from Austria) - You will find the perfect home soon. Delivering your little one should be top priority anyway. I so much keep my fingers crossed.
Sorry to hear about your house disappointment. Unfortunately this happens all too often with "renovating for profit" type houses. Often they are better off leaving things as is. I love old houses and I get upset watching shows like the block where some people have no real respect for period details.
Reading your last post, I can definitely relate. We moved about 20 odd times during my childhood, mostly rental and once government housing. It's made me appreciate being in my own place. We started off with the smallest, cheapest house in an okay suburb and pretty tiny mortgage. Though it was far from perfect it was ours.
Good luck with your search!
When we moved back to our hometown 2 years ago I found what I thought was our dream home. I called to make an offer but it had just gone under contract. I was GUTTED - I even called back to make a ridiculous counter offer (an amount that we honestly couldn't afford), but they refused to consider it. I was so upset... but then, a few weeks later, another property came up on the market. It needed a lot more work and I was hesitant at first (still so attached to the other house)... but my husband convinced me and we signed the dotted line.
Now, every time I drive past that other house, I am so grateful for the way things worked out. That house just wasn't meant to be ours. I can't imagine living in that house. We ended up where we were supposed to. I wouldn't go back and change it for the world.
Your home will find you when the time is right xx
That is disappointing but I think you have the right attitude! Something even better will turn up x
Hi Katie, what suburb was this house in? I'm curious as we are looking now in Perth to buy and wanted a character home like this - cute but obviously need to be cautious now after reading this! Congrats on your new place, hope we find something soon...... :/
Hi Nicki,
We decided to get a place down near Fremantle as I really love the area and most of my friends live around there too.
if you want to email me I can tell you the suburb where the house is.. growcooksew (at) gmail.com. (I just don't want to publish it on the net!)
x
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Thanks for your comment.. It is nice to know that there is someone out there (other than my husband) reading my posts! Xx