Sold!

Dark sunglasses are on. Palms are sweaty. Heart is racing. Face is unusually blank. You are fanning yourself with a piece of real estate advertising trying to stay calm. 'Going once', says the auctioneer, 'Going twice', a long pause. 'For a third and final time'. 'To the couple at the front, SOLD!'

The next ten minutes are a blur. Sweaty men in suits are shaking your hand. A stranger with red hair welcomes you to the neighbourhood. She lives next door. The sweaty men invite you inside, where you meet the seller. An older lady, whom for English is a second language. She's pretty happy. With the price you are about to pay for her rundown unit, she ought to be. You both sit down with a glass of water. There's paperwork to sign and the small matter of the ten percent deposit. You hand over the cheque. Upwards of $50,000 - almost all of your life savings. Three copies of the contract are executed, and you pick a settlement date in November. A bottle of bubbles is presented to you. The sweaty men shake your hand again, and another Congratulations. You go to the front of the property and place the sold sticker carefully over the billboard. This is it, your first home!

Welcome to my personal blog. The adventures and challenges of trying to stay in one location.

Alex and I are a Kiwi couple (both 29), who moved to Melbourne two years ago from Perth. Debbie has always wanted to own a home (preferably on a vineyard with a pool- but this is reality), with Alex not so fussed, he thinks apartment living and minimalism are the bees knees. We compromised,  and bought a small 1970's, single story, two bedroom unit in Thornbury, late in 2016 for a little more than we wanted to spend, but within our budget. We are close to High street, and are in a small complex with seemingly nice neighbours. I want to share some of the challenges that we came across when saving our deposit, finding a property to put an offer on, attending an auction, moving in and discovering a few little quirks, and exploring our new neighbourhood. 

Deb x