paisleylass Posted April 15, 2016 Author Share Posted April 15, 2016 Offer is in on the house we saw last weekend, but we aren't confident as it is low-ish compared to the asking price, but it is consistent with sold prices for similar properties. And we can move a bit if given the chance. But moreover, the couple who had the original offer have 5 days to get their finance sorted if we are accepted, and this feels pretty uncomfortable. It kind of puts us in limbo for a week. It might be best if our offer is rejected and we just walk away. Off to see two other houses today, one will be a third viewing! Not in as good shape but more spacious and lower asking price. The other is a wild card, not sure from the photos whether it will be for us! But all Aspley, we love the area! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisleylass Posted April 16, 2016 Author Share Posted April 16, 2016 Offer rejected. Fair enough, it's for the best. Today's wildcard turned out to be a great house, really great potential. But we arrived late and didn't get a lot of time to look around, So will attend next inspection. So much fun!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul2412 Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 Just to pitch in, we live in The Gap (just off Settlement Road near Waterworks Road). We're renting and have really liked living here, it's pretty expensive for what you get for buying though. Few bullet points: Good - Bus commute is very easy. At the time I go to work (7am) there is the 385 express, the 380, the P384 and the 382 all within about 15 minutes of each other. The 385 is every 10 minutes and takes about 25 minutes to King George Square - Uber prices are good after a night out (around $30 from the Valley) - It's very green and leafy - Enoggera reservoir is a great walk, and it's not that far to Mt Nebo and Glorious - Local schools are very good - Local shops have everything you need - Every neighbour we've met seems nice, the bloke up the road lent me his petrol mower when he took pity on me using a push one! Bad - Waterworks Road can get very congested if you're driving (queues even at 7am sometimes) - Because it's squashed in by 2 hills, there are basically 2 roads out which can be congested at any time - Living near Waterworks Road can get noisy. We live a block from it and Sunday morning especially you'll hear lots of noisy motorbikes - Not unique to The Gap, but the style of house we live in is pretty old and you can hear your neighbour fart (or literally what they are watching on TV sometimes) - Expensive to buy for what you get - If you're used to the Inner North, it might feel a bit isolated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisleylass Posted April 18, 2016 Author Share Posted April 18, 2016 (edited) Thanks for the input Paul! Wow, what a nice neighbour! A colleague of mine lives in The Gap, and said his retired neighbours who are also good friends do his lawn for him when they are at a loose end - wow!! We could do with a bit of that help, hubby got so sick of mowing, when the mower broke down we hired a gardener rather than get it fixed heehee! Traffic noise would be a big issue for us, and is what ultimately put us off Nudgee, at least the elevated parts which are not flood prone - noise from the Gateway is awful. Bloody motorbikes!! We are happy with Aspley, the house and plot sizes are decent for the money, and the walkway around the creek is bush enough for us. Not looking east of Gympie Road though, seems prices are influenced by city views which is not something we are after. One house we saw last week had gorgeous mountain views to the west. Under offer now. Aspley is also familiar, we have lived in Kedron and Chermside and shopped there often. As a side note, out of curiosity we went to an open home at a swanky house in Chermside, just round the corner from our old rental. While beautiful inside, view to the front was State School in all its glory, and the fabulous back deck had sweeping views of high rise apartments and cranes. We were handed a sheet of paper listing recent sale prices, all hovering around $1m, clearly indicating the price expectation. We just laughed. Edited April 18, 2016 by paisleylass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisleylass Posted April 21, 2016 Author Share Posted April 21, 2016 At the weekend, we thought we had found our ideal house! Ticked all the boxes, beautiful house, lovely street, but we were late and only had 10 mins to dash around. So went to the next open home on Tuesday all excited, 8m measuring tape in hand. All looked great, though we noticed a few updates needed. Then measured the garage. Nope. Barely over 5m long. The garage at our rental is 5.5m and it's a struggle to get the ute in without hitting the wall! Gutted. Yes we could alter it, but with the renos needed anyway plus we found the back garden pretty overlooked, we've backed out. Poop. But at the top of our budget, we need work required to be minimal. A few lined up for Saturday, onward ho! And we've done a full mortgage application for pre-approval. Should strengthen any offer we might make! Exciiiiting!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andromeda9 Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 Feel that the best place is morningside,close to the city,plenty of activities with shops ect, think I had better not send this info,as were going to look ourselves for a property there in the near future, might be no properties left by the time we move,now live in the country of Portland,Melbourne best wishes on your move Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisleylass Posted April 29, 2016 Author Share Posted April 29, 2016 Thanks andromeda! Well, we are now buying close to our chosen suburbs, in Bridgeman Downs, near the border with Carseldine. Offer accepted Tuesday, initial deposit paid today and all wheels in motion. Valuation and inspections next week, should settle late May. Very happy with our choice, a house that ticks every box and then some. Looking forward to a relaxing Saturday not traipsing round open homes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisleylass Posted May 6, 2016 Author Share Posted May 6, 2016 A lil update. This time yesterday we were all excited, going through the processes of buying a lovely house, having had an offer accepted. Well that all changed last night, when the building inspector rang, closely followed by the pest inspector. Horrors! Foundation movement, cracking masonry, termite mud a go-go. Nope. Back to Saturday morning inspections for us.. When we can face it again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 A lil update. This time yesterday we were all excited, going through the processes of buying a lovely house, having had an offer accepted. Well that all changed last night, when the building inspector rang, closely followed by the pest inspector. Horrors! Foundation movement, cracking masonry, termite mud a go-go. Nope. Back to Saturday morning inspections for us.. When we can face it again! Half the fun is the inspections! Might see a few tomorrow myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Sorry to hear that but you will find something thats just right for you soon... Cal x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisleylass Posted May 6, 2016 Author Share Posted May 6, 2016 Thanks Cal! Yeah we will, deffo worth shelling out for top spec inspections, so many issues we could never have spotted, though the reports give us a few clues what to look out for in future! Onwards... Lastonealive, we do enjoy inspections but we're feeling a bit burned out now. There's only one open tomorrow that is of interest, we *might* go. I want my own pool dammit, got the cash ready to buy year-round heating but no pool to install it in! Lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca Posted June 7, 2016 Share Posted June 7, 2016 First of all, congratulations on buying you own home! You should pay attention to the current state of the property market in Australia (do you know about property market cycles? if no, check this article https://tranio.com/traniopedia/tips/the_five_best_countries_to_buy_property_in_europe_this_year/) It significantly influences prices. The recovery stage of the property market cycle is the most favourable time to buy a new home as prices have reached their lowest point and are just starting to grow again. So maybe you'd better put off your purchase for a few months Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisleylass Posted June 8, 2016 Author Share Posted June 8, 2016 Thanks Rebecca, to be honest our attitude is if we find a place we love and don't feel it's overpriced, we'll buy. We aren't investors and plan to live wherever we buy for many years, so it doesn't feel risky. Figures on house prices are really generalised, and don't take into account condition and features that are of interest to us. We're looking well above the median anyway. There are current warnings of a price crash in SEQ, but that applies to apartments which will soon be in massive oversupply. We actually want a stand alone house on min 600m2 which will be pretty rare in the future, in some areas already are rare, so should be appealing whenever we do sell! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisleylass Posted July 3, 2016 Author Share Posted July 3, 2016 Back in action again after our holiday! Seen 5 houses this week, now on a reduced budget courtesy of Brexit! In spite of this, we have found a house we love albeit not in as convenient a location as would be ideal, but very private and peaceful with parks and reserve close by. It has a gorgeous pool with modern equipment (most we've seen have a crappy pump setup), huge main bedroom with amazing en suite with glass brick shower enclosure (my dream!), low maintenance gardens, and big kitchen with immaculate appliances. Offer is in, there were loads at the open home, fingers crossed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 Great news, fingers crossed here for you Cal x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta2 Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 Get yourself a solicitor here asap. House prices in Brisbane are pretty stable right now. You need to be very careful about pest inspections - termites are everywhere. Plus building inspection. And don't forget about stamp duty. And that at some point, interest rates will go up. Aspect is important - the western sun is very hot in summer. Given the state of Gympie Rd and Sandgate Rd at rush hours - cark parks- you might want to think about public transport. These are the only two highways going north, and there is a huge amount of development further north with lousy public transport. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta2 Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 In an idle moment while attending an auction, I once asked an auctioneer how many people bid without having done a building and pest inspection. He said 90%. I was gobsmacked. If the place is full of asbestos or riddled with termites, bad luck. It's yours. When I sold a house a couple of years ago, I did a building and pest inspection myself, which was made available to prospective buyers. (This is now compulsory in the ACT, as it should be.) Even so, about seven prospective buyers did their own. The house sold well above reserve. Of course, that was also a reflection of the market at the time. So there is nothing to stop you bidding at auctions,although they are less popular in Brisbane than in the southern states. You just have to be aware that you need to spend about $1,000 in advance for building and pest, allow enough for stamp duty, have finances approved etc. And of course start attending them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisleylass Posted July 3, 2016 Author Share Posted July 3, 2016 Offer accepted :-) fingers crossed the building and pest inspections go considerably better than the last lot! We feel a lot more confident as we know more what to look out for on a superficial level, and hopefully no major issues here. We already have a solicitor Roberta, got a great team helping us out there! And stamp duty and other costs already accounted for, I have an app on my phone that calculates all the upfront costs, I even included a grand for removals. We should have enough left to install solar and add the all important pool heater, I might be swimming again by mid August! Gympie and Sandgate roads fortunately won't be part of the commute, it's mainly Beckett Rd and other twists and turns to airport link for hubby, and I'll get a lift most mornings! It's just over 1km to closest bus stop when I need to be 'independent' but we had that living in Chermside, no big deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hoffer Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 Congratulations on the purchase. been trying to buy for the last few months ourselves but no joy yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisleylass Posted July 5, 2016 Author Share Posted July 5, 2016 Thanks! We have found new listings of interest really petered out the past few months, and so many people at inspections, seems to be an undersupply just now, depending what & where you're after? Lots being snapped up after the first open home, crazy. Good luck, it's hard finding the perfect home. We've compromised a bit on location, but schools and cafes aren't important - having a spacious and comfortable home matters more to us, so we're happy with our choice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srg73 Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 Best of luck with the purchase. Don't be scared of a few defects. Termites can be an issue but not impossible, Asbestos is fine if left alone and subsidence is very common in Brisbane especially new builds and project homes developments as mature trees are stripped and engineers under design foundations plus developers do not wait for the site to stabilise. As a Chartered Surveyor, keeps me busy and our house is in Bowen Hills which can be a little noisy but has great city views and facilities. Perfect for us. S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisleylass Posted July 5, 2016 Author Share Posted July 5, 2016 Yes, we can handle a few defects, just not to the scale of the last place we had inspected - a few major defects and many, many moderate and minor! Inspection is tomorrow, fingers crossed it's relatively good! One of the things that drives us mad is traffic noise, so this area should be good for us. We're willing to forego some conveience for peace! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisleylass Posted July 8, 2016 Author Share Posted July 8, 2016 So far so good, building and pest reports were good, just need mortgage approval now! I've been in touch with a pool heating company, so will get that in motion as well as solar power right after settlement. Can't wait to spend some big cash on new toys! May even look at updating the kitchen in the next year or so, though it is perfectly functional in the meantime. One of our favourite things is the low maintenance garden. Only a small lawn and a few bedding areas for plants, we'll probably remove some and switch for things we want like alstroemeria, my fave flowers of all time. Best of all, no mature trees or bamboo, even over neighbours walls, so very few leaves getting dumped in the pool. Yay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisleylass Posted July 15, 2016 Author Share Posted July 15, 2016 Unconditional now. Yay! And a bit scary! Never dealt in such high monetary figures in my life! But the mortgage repayments are only slightly higher than current rent, which makes it seem much less intimidating. Will be so nice to update things, put stuff on walls, plant things. Really excited, and phone calls from the real estate lady only get me more hyped! She seems more excited than me! Heh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith and Linda Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 Unconditional now. Yay! And a bit scary! Never dealt in such high monetary figures in my life! But the mortgage repayments are only slightly higher than current rent, which makes it seem much less intimidating. Will be so nice to update things, put stuff on walls, plant things. Really excited, and phone calls from the real estate lady only get me more hyped! She seems more excited than me! Heh! Congratulations and hope all goes well with the move, just remember you will need to budget for the rates now too! don't want you to get caught out with an unexpected bill. It is nice to be able to make a house into a home though...........enjoy. PS I can understand why the estate agent lady is excited..............pay day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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