It seems like we’ve taken 3 steps forward this week and 2 steps back.
The sale of Bruce’s house has fallen through.
The guy that wanted to buy it is now having trouble raising the extra funds. Something about black marks at the Credit Reference Association and a dispute with Optus over a duplicate account. So he’s buying a place at the other end of the street instead. Good luck to him.
In the meantime... we are still packing.
The house is going to be easier to sell if it’s empty... so Bruce will move to my house as planned and it’s back to the drawing board with regard to our “house selling blitz/campaign”!
We plan to do some mini renovations to the house... new screens on some of the windows (hail damaged)... maybe some new carpet... not sure about new curtains as that’s a personal preference thing. After the major dust storms we’ve had there’s a fair bit of external cleaning to do too. And I might put in a few more plants too. Perhaps some impatiens to block the view under the house and give a nice soft edge... (Bruce says “we’ll see” – which is his way of saying “I don't think so”). I think it will improve the whole visual appeal... so it might happen one day while he’s at work... ;-)
We have a deadline for the sale - 31 December 2009. There’s a 50% discount on stamp duty that will save us thousands – and it expires at the end of this year. So we need to get our new house moving before then! No pressure at all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Over at my place it’s filling up rapidly. I’m sure we’ll fit it all in. The girls will be sharing a bed on their weekends... and at this stage we are hoping we’ll be able to leave that bed set up in the 3rd bedroom so they can sleep behind a closed door (instead of on a mattress in the lounge room). It all depends on how much stuff we can sqeeze into the 2nd bedroom.
This weekend is the final move and we have 2 lounge chairs, a fridge, a queen size bed, a double bunk with 2 mattresses, a desk, a bookcase, a washing machine and a TV unit to fit into a room that’s already half full. Let’s just say there will be some box shuffling happening this week in readiness for the weekend’s influx of furniture.
Oh wow... you know I do my best thinking in the shower... and when I’m typing!!! I just came up with a space saving idea!!! So I’m off to email it to Bruce to see what he thinks.
We can do it. We can do it. We can do it.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Good News!!!
Well it looks like we may have a buyer for Bruce's place already. We had plans to do a letter box drop... and a web page... and now none of that is necessary!
A couple came to look at the outside of the house yesterday while Bruce was at work and told our neighbour they would be back this morning. Just before 9am they were here and within 10 minutes they had made an offer!
After a bit of talking... negotiating... we are prepared to accept an offer that is just $5K under what Bruce had hoped to get for the place.
The scary part is the time line. Today is the 19th and the guy would ideally like to move in on 30th... that's when he will have the money and when he has to move. That's also just 11 days away!!! Even though we've already been packing/cleaning there still so much to do!
What a head spin this is. We haven't even officially accepted the offer yet and we are making lists of address changes... things to do... people to ring...
We both also need to get some time off next week so we can pack/move/clean... (Bruce is on the phone now doing that)
There's a whole shed full of camping gear and a lifetime of "stuff" to go through. We also have 3 fish tanks to be relocated. One of our guppies just had babies a few weeks ago and they are so small it's going to be fun finding them all to make the move!
Anyway... I'm off to make the list bigger... and then go and pack some boxes!!!!!
The news is good but it's daunting at the same time.
Carol & Bruce
A couple came to look at the outside of the house yesterday while Bruce was at work and told our neighbour they would be back this morning. Just before 9am they were here and within 10 minutes they had made an offer!
After a bit of talking... negotiating... we are prepared to accept an offer that is just $5K under what Bruce had hoped to get for the place.
The scary part is the time line. Today is the 19th and the guy would ideally like to move in on 30th... that's when he will have the money and when he has to move. That's also just 11 days away!!! Even though we've already been packing/cleaning there still so much to do!
What a head spin this is. We haven't even officially accepted the offer yet and we are making lists of address changes... things to do... people to ring...
We both also need to get some time off next week so we can pack/move/clean... (Bruce is on the phone now doing that)
There's a whole shed full of camping gear and a lifetime of "stuff" to go through. We also have 3 fish tanks to be relocated. One of our guppies just had babies a few weeks ago and they are so small it's going to be fun finding them all to make the move!
Anyway... I'm off to make the list bigger... and then go and pack some boxes!!!!!
The news is good but it's daunting at the same time.
Carol & Bruce
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Hopeful
As mentioned in my last post, we have to sell Bruce's house before we can move forward with OUR new house.
He has a very cosy 2 bedroom house at Bayway Village at Fern Bay (relocatable home park).
For those that don't know - Fern Bay is a Newcastle suburb - next to Stockton. Stockton has the most amazing beach (I'll add some photos to this message later). The Newcastle Airport is only 5-10 minutes along the road in one direction and Newcastle is 10 minutes in the other direction.
"Bayway" has a small country town friendly feeling about it. Everyone says "Hi" as they pass you and you never really feel alone (it's a gated community so it's very secure for someone living alone).
There's a kids playground and a pool just a few minutes walk from his house. There's also a bowling green, tennis courts and a "community hall" that I believe you can book for parties etc.
Anyway, it's served him very well for the time that he's been there... but it's time to move on to something that will fit the both of us.
We have a "for sale" sign in the kitchen window that has generated a few lookers.
In fact we had some ladies come through today looking at the place. Bruce seems hopeful that something might come of it.
These houses sell without all the legal requirements and charges that a normal house has so we plan to sell it ourselves (no real estate agent commission!!!).
Our strategy is to take lots of photos and create a flyer. Then we'll do a letterbox drop around the park and the nearby area. We might even do a webpage and email the link to everyone we know.
So - if you know anyone in the Newcastle area that is looking for a bit of a sea change or is wanting to downsize as they get older (but not move into a retirement home yet) then leave us a message!!!
It's exciting to think that we might be moving one step closer to OUR PLACE.
Bruce's daughters, Kimberly (15) and Maddie (almost 11), are beyond excited at the prospect of having a room of their own in the new house. We plan to have a girlie day out shopping for things to decorate their rooms the way they want them.
I'll put a link here to the "for sale" webpage when we do it.
In the meantime... we'll keep our fingers crossed that we sell it quickly.
We want to be in the new house by Christmas 2010.
HO HO HO (hopeful)
He has a very cosy 2 bedroom house at Bayway Village at Fern Bay (relocatable home park).
For those that don't know - Fern Bay is a Newcastle suburb - next to Stockton. Stockton has the most amazing beach (I'll add some photos to this message later). The Newcastle Airport is only 5-10 minutes along the road in one direction and Newcastle is 10 minutes in the other direction.
"Bayway" has a small country town friendly feeling about it. Everyone says "Hi" as they pass you and you never really feel alone (it's a gated community so it's very secure for someone living alone).
There's a kids playground and a pool just a few minutes walk from his house. There's also a bowling green, tennis courts and a "community hall" that I believe you can book for parties etc.
Anyway, it's served him very well for the time that he's been there... but it's time to move on to something that will fit the both of us.
We have a "for sale" sign in the kitchen window that has generated a few lookers.
In fact we had some ladies come through today looking at the place. Bruce seems hopeful that something might come of it.
These houses sell without all the legal requirements and charges that a normal house has so we plan to sell it ourselves (no real estate agent commission!!!).
Our strategy is to take lots of photos and create a flyer. Then we'll do a letterbox drop around the park and the nearby area. We might even do a webpage and email the link to everyone we know.
So - if you know anyone in the Newcastle area that is looking for a bit of a sea change or is wanting to downsize as they get older (but not move into a retirement home yet) then leave us a message!!!
It's exciting to think that we might be moving one step closer to OUR PLACE.
Bruce's daughters, Kimberly (15) and Maddie (almost 11), are beyond excited at the prospect of having a room of their own in the new house. We plan to have a girlie day out shopping for things to decorate their rooms the way they want them.
I'll put a link here to the "for sale" webpage when we do it.
In the meantime... we'll keep our fingers crossed that we sell it quickly.
We want to be in the new house by Christmas 2010.
HO HO HO (hopeful)
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