My parents’ unit was shown for the first time last Saturday. Apparently there were 20 groups through, of whom 8 asked to see the documentation – vendors’ statements, etc.
One of them came back through today for a private showing.
Tomorrow, the house is open again.
I am optimistic that the outcomes will be good.
Last time I counted, it was 6 weeks till we left.
Ah, heaps of time.
Now, it is three-and-a-half.
Just to put that in perspective:
Dear friends,
I need your advice. And your support. And – just possibly – any spare prescription tranquilisers that you happen to have lying around.
The builders started at my parents’ yesterday. Read the rest of this entry »
Well, I sort of made my Monday deadline, after working pretty much all weekend and proving that I *can* still survive on 3 hours’ sleep.
Texted the person pulling it all together at 3.15pm to say, how urgent is this last report, because I need to go to my parents’ – the response was, possibly predictably, “Well I haven’t finished yet, so not desperate” 
In the end, I finished it – at least to ‘acceptable draft’ standard (which is what the deadline was for) at 8:50 this morning.
In my world, “Monday” sometimes means “Before start of business Tuesday”.
Meanwhile, more parent drama. Arrived at 4.07 yesterday to find the interior designer was on time. Sigh. Mum was already stressed, upset, annoyed and kind of a bit sulky.
Actually, I knew she was already most of the above – her new electric chairs did not come 
Apparently, despite the call to the warehouse, they were out of stock and will not be available until the end of June. Ugh.
I wandered off and did the interior designer thing. As soon as they left, she burst out with it: “They want to get rid of ALL MY NICE THINGS!”
Um, dude, they want to present the unit for sale, in the best way possible. Which would be, in that area and at this time, making it a bit more modern. So yes, all your old-fashioned crystal cabinets etc need to be out of the way – and we can manage that.
Today, with the report finished, I am taking a day off to recover. Which means that by 11.30, I need to be at mum and dad’s to do packing and tidying. The builders start tomorrow and the place is a total mess. And I *do* mean “total” mess.Yeesh.
And then at 4pm? Dentist. Crown. On the Tooth That Disturbed My Big Trip. Lots of drilling. Because I am me, and more than a little pathetic, my dentist has already warned me that she’ll be numbing both my top and bottom gum, to reduce the pain.
So here’s my agenda for today:
Fun fun fun.
Edit: Update: Rang mum to confirm that things are under control. Told her what the interior designers quoted for dressing the property (very little really). Cue rant. “They are absolutely soulless, horrible people … They want everything to look the same …” – in the end, I suggested that we co-ordinate so that I can be there when they come to dress the place and she doesn’t have to.
Wow. My mother really IS exactly like my children.
“Oh no, I can be there. I’ll just get in the way and scatter rubbish on the floor in front of them so they fall over it.”
I swear, I could hear the pouting down the telephone.
Settlement on the old house is in 44 minutes.
Regular readers of this blog may occasionally feel some empathy with my husband. Especially when I am – well – excited about something.
melissa: how do you feel?
fraser: Fine, why? Do you mean waiting for the mythical money?
melissa: yes
should I call Stuart about the keys?
fraser: I don’t expect to see any of it today, or probably even tomorrow.
melissa: yeah
fraser: I left the keys in the old house
melissa: even the one that was on my keyring?
fraser: Ah possibly not that one since I didn’t know about it. It is still mine for another 90 minutes, you could drop it off (not that I expect that you have the time)
melissa: hee
I have to show you this doc I have been working on, tonight
it was soooooooooooooooooooooo bad
I think I made two different friends cry at various times during the night
fraser: There’s two door keys, a bunch of window keys, the oven and burglar alarm manual and some spare kitchen cupboard handles in one of the kitchen cupboards
melissa: omg less than an hour
am I booking your ticket as well?
fraser: No, more than an hour. Is booked for 11:30
melissa: 11am
fraser: 11:30 I believe
melissa: 500 bucks says 11am
fraser: 1000 bucks says we don’t see any bucks today
At any time
melissa: we should see it as uncleared funds though
fraser: If you got 11 from Stewart I am in the money
He had the date wrong the first time
melissa: I have 11 from Partricia and Stuart
fraser: Oh yes, Patricia said 11
melissa: then again that could mean 4
fraser: Indeed it could
melissa: omg
hey you know what we WILL see today
is the closure of the old house mortgage
fraser: Should yes
melissa: so that is money
so maybe I should take the thousand bucks
I got paid by [work]. I am tempted to go book my flights RIGHT NOW THIS MORNING
while I get the key cut
then I have 5 days to pay anyway
fraser: Or you could pay your back pay…
melissa: omg I totally could
fraser: and then book your ticket.
melissa: I could BOOK. MY. FLIGHTS.
Do you wnat me to book yours too?
fraser: I presume you know my dates? I don’t
melissa: lol
fraser: Dream on!
melissa: I can work out your dates
the con starts wednesdya 19th
Fraser gmail: Tick, tick, tick…
melissa: you want to go to anywhere before? You were talking disneyland with Anna but now she may not be interested
lol nice message
fraser: Too busy instead…
melissa: well quite
I am trying to work out when you should fly over. You want to get into DFW on Wednesday 19th for setup
So do you want to fly over on Sat 15th and have a few days in LA first? Or somewhere else?
and do you want to fly straight home again on the Monday 24th after the con?
and what name is on your passport
and why are you ignoring me?
<< jumps up and down
You cannot call because Fraser gmail is using chat in Gmail or another chat program other than Google Talk.
fraser: Cos I am working!
melissa: so I should not book your ticket today then
when I book mine
omg
booking my ticket
fraser: Correct
fraser: Just so long as no credit card is involved
Still 33,623.93 owing on the old house
melissa: the 93 cents are a killer
The neighbours ran a sweep on what the house would go for. Our ex-tenant got 530,000 but lost out to Sue over the road who got 535 exactly.
The guy who bought actually went around introducing himself to the neighbours that morning – “I’m probably going to buy this house” – wish someone had told us that!
Lots of people asked what we are going to do now.
Also, I would like to:
Wow, extravagant, huh. 
Fraser has wanted for years to have a Mac again. And a decent stereo. I think he should get ‘em.
The sun came out! Beautiful sunny day, vivid blue sky, despite predictions of rain.
There was a german family in the living room, talking price, confident that no-one was eavesdropping. Mwahahahahaha.
I settled as soon as I heard them saying 480 was fine – that was our ‘ok, put it on the market’ point.
The friends who showed up to watch the auction.
Blocking the back door so Fraser and the agent could talk in peace in the back yard.
Hiding in the 2nd bedroom as the agents ushered everyone else out.
Our wonderful, wonderful auctioneer.
Twittering to keep my mind off what was going on. Beeping phone annoyed Fraser.
Opening bid of $400,000 – yeah right.
The auctioneer countered with a vendor bid of $450,000 – $10k more than we had previously discussed.
Loooooooooooong wait for a bid of $460
470 – 480 – it’s going – 490 – 495 – we’re definitely on the market at this point. We’ll take $2500 bids at this point.
497,500 and it went long – sounded like it was passing in – before 500,000 and Fraser and I crack a smile.
507500
weird bid that was
make it up to 510? sure
jump jump jump – somehow we were at 525000 and Fraser and I could hardly believe it.
530000 *wow* <– this was my best case scenario (and I tend to be an optimist)
531000
Quote of the auction: “You can’t buy a house with just one bid, sir.”
“I’ll take ones, but why don’t you make it 535 for me?”
And someone did.
Going, going, gone.
Did I mention there were FOUR new bidders over $500,000? I think 6 bidders in all.
We were almost afraid to breathe, hiding in the second bedroom, waiting for the purchasers to sign.
They’re investors and are planning to renovate before renting it out. 60 day settlement, so we still have to wait.
Good luck to them! I hope we get to see the house post-renovation.
Agents were overjoyed as well.
Essen? Is now a reality.
twittering at http://www.twitter.com/melissainau
Clearly mobile posting to wordpress was not a good idea!
About to go to bed, I remembered the auction again, so now I am awake and all tied up in knots again.
So why is this auction so important to me?
We don’t really HAVE to sell – it just seemed like a good time to do it. Selling will let us be debt-free which seems almost like a fantasy at this point – although it will mean that we ‘only’ have the one house. We’ve worked really hard for the last 11 years to keep both houses, so selling was by no means a no-brainer for us. I confess, I’d often thought that we’d one day sell THIS house but keep the other for when the girls are at University or working.
But selling – and getting rid of debt – opens up so many possibilities for us.
When I was at University, I caught the travel bug and promised myself that I would travel regularly. After living in Austria for a year, I promised myself that I’d go back to Europe at least every 5 years to keep my Mad Deutsch Skillz and – let’s be honest – just to travel.
I came back from Austria in 1993, and settled down.
In 1995, we went to New Zealand for a week, to stay with family.
In 1998, I won a trip to the UK and we spend 5 weeks there (Biggie was 7 weeks old when we left).
I haven’t left Australia since. Hell, I’ve barely left Melbourne since then.
Regular readers will know that I kind of have an Essen Obsession. And that I plan to go there, this year. (As compensation, Fraser is going to BGG.con).
Except that if we don’t sell the house, then I can’t go. And nor can Fraser. Because our disposable income will be doing responsible things like NOT being disposed of because it is servicing debt. I think we pay something over $20,000 in non-deductible interest a year – that’s a lot of travel. And we bought at a time when housing stock was CHEAP – I know plenty of people who are paying around twice that!
If we DO sell the house, we will ALL go to Essen next year. Actually, we’ll have a Big European Holiday next year. And there will be the possibility of one or all of us going again, in other years. Or to the US. AND/or to the US, even. Probably without even eating into the capital from the sale of the house, because we can save money instead of using it to service housing debt.
I have been responsible and mature for 11 years.
And I am so absolutely, totally, unbelievably sick of it.
If the house sells, I can live to do the things I love, instead of living to pay the mortgage.
Gaaaahhhhh.
The auction is this Saturday.
I am not doing very well at distracting myself into not thinking about it.
Over the past 4-6 weeks, clearance rates around Melbourne have dropped to below 65%. Prices for comparable properties have fallen by $30,000 or more. We will be lucky to reach the amount that the second offer was for (the one that the agent knocked back without even talking to us because it was too low).
Do I sound stressed? I am stressed. The effect of all this stress is that I am a bit miserable without any real reason to be unhappy. I am not good at being powerless – and there’s nothing I can do to improve the selling price at this point. I’m not even cheering myself up with thinking about OMG ESSEN! because even that may fall through if the house does not sell at all. And while I recognise that this is unlikely, Stress and Misery have kicked in with their nasty little messages. And I don’t like it, because I like to think that I am an upbeat and positive person.
Realistically, it is unlikely that the property will not sell at all.
It is possible that it will not sell at auction – even that it will not attract even a single bid.
The agents *think* they have 2 or possibly 3 bidders. First home buyers and investors, mostly. All they can talk about is what is wrong with the property (I am told that this is normal real estate bastardry).
We have to set a reserve price by Saturday.
Me?
I just feel a little bit sick.
