​The Hunt : Week 3

We were up nice and early on Saturday morning despite a very late night narrowing down which houses we wanted to see.

Maybe it was the excitement of finally getting to inspect a house I've been wanting to see. It's been on the market for a while. The pictures of the house itself were ehh, I could tell it needed work and today was the day we finally get to see it.

I always wonder about those listings that never show certain parts of the house.. especially the bathroom..

Off we went down the mountain to Winmalee. 3 bedrooms, great home office, undercover deck and a large backyard. Straight away there were a few things like the front porch needing a rail, the kitchen feeling very closed in.. And we weren't where we wanted to be...

So back up we went to the next inspection...

Next house, we knew was a reno job, but with the price and the size of the land the reno was definitely do able and was in one of our favourite suburbs.

Among one of the few suburbs up here that have shops, between the tourists and the residents, it was always busy here. Not really my speed. But my god , they have some of the most beautiful trees lining the streets here and some of the most stunning views in the Blue Mountains.

After doing a trip around the block, coming close to that gorgeous house with the neighbors with the dogs, we finally made it to our destination.

I have to take my hat off to the photographers who take these house photos.

I swear. If I knew this house was going to be surrounded by monstrous trees - TREES - Plural, and monstrous is not an exaggeration - I would have lined up the other house instead.

Don't get me wrong. I love trees but I love the Sun just as much and this house was definitely not getting it. As expected it needed a full renovation but the inside was not bad, it was workable. What actually killed it was the location.

I don't want to hear the highway. I'm in the Blue Mountains!

Going into every inspection I like to look up Google map and see what's surrounding each property and how far to transport & amenities. I knew it was close to the train station but I was surprised to hear the highway. Unfortunately no trains came while we were there. I wonder if these real estate guys time the inspection for when the train's not roaring through.

That was a big fat no. Bigger no when we realised how low set the house was and how anyone can walk into the back yard from the top street.

We drove off with me thinking.. No I don't think I like this suburb after all..

After 2 horrible inspections we were really hoping this next one would be better in person..

3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, a study and a sunroom and this.....

.. Terraced garden leading down to communal crown land. Chicken coop! We had a peek at the little chicken and it looked so cute and friendly.. I want a chook now :)

It also has a couple of fruit trees, Solar Power and 2 water tanks - This place is ready to go off grid and we want to go off grid.

Unfortunately the house and the land itself is small. Hubby says it's "cosy" if you know me you know I'm straight to the point. This thing was small, squishy, needed a new stove and oven, the shower fixed, a wall knocked down and unfortunately the top of our price range without a garage.

There was also the thing about the communal land at the back which was great, seeing that the land size was small but still...

We gave up 900sqm and I don't want to go any lower than that.

It was still communal land and I dunno.. I just like a lot of space away from my neighbors and next door's roof was almost touching this roof.

Please don't call the police!

I want to have a home birth... What's that going to be like for the neighbors being that close to us?

Nevertheless, it was still the best house we had seen so far.

Finally we were off to see THE HOUSE.

This house has been hard to get into and understandably after it was explained to that it was a currently being rented out.

We walked in and I swear to god, if I hadn't been waiting months to get into this house I would have walked out.

It smelled of pee. Everywhere.

We were told it was a nappy. Yeh nah honey... I don't think that's a fresh nappy. It smelled more like toilet training gone wrong all over that house and all over everything in that house.

MY GOD 😷😷😷

If I was thinking gut job before.. I'm thinking burn the house down and start again.

There were way too many things wrong with this house to ever justify the asking price regardless of the generous size of the land.

Kitchen is horrendous for the exception of the copper exhaust right in the middle of the kitchen which looked more like an old bar. The pantry was a miracle in itself - I was completely impressed by how everything managed to stay on the shelves with the shelves bowing down.

The bathroom.... I bloody knew it was going to be a mess.

Usually agents will include a photo of the bathroom. Everyone wants to see the bathroom. When you don't see a bathroom you never really know what to expect but you don't go to an inspection thinking it's going to be fine.

Yeh well I didn't even have a smidgen of a hope and I was still horrified. What the?! I should have lifted the toilet lid but I wasn't game. As it was I looked at it from afar.

Every wall pretty much needs replacing, the flooring needs to be pulled up.. Crossing fingers it's floorboards under that carpet. The fence needs replacing on both sides and this isn't a small block..

Every bloody thing really and I seriously can't justify paying their asking price, even if they offer to have the place professionally cleaned inside and outside, and gut that bathroom and toilet out. 😷

But it has potential. Poor house needs a lot of love. We would need 100k to go with that potential because apparently according to this

For an estimate figure, you can expect to spend anywhere between $10,000 to $35,000+. The cost can vary depending on the size of your bathroom, the materials used, as well as any labour costs. However, it is possible for a renovation to cost lower around $5000 if you are willing to swap out a few items or keep the refresh a largely cosmetic update.

Expect to pay more if you are thinking of a complete renovation or:

• Undertaking any structural work
• Want new features that require additional plumbing works
• Are moving plumbing from one area to another
• Replacing all wall and floor tiles

I want all of those... Structural work, additional plumbing.. Seriously? 4 bedroom house with 1 bathroom? Are ya'all crazy? Definitely the wall and tiles need to be replaced because there was significant water damage in the shower.

We are already looking at a 40k bathroom reno that will take roughly 6-8 weeks to complete from getting approval fro the council and the job finished 😭 and we need move in ready.

This is the potential part. This is why all the research and number crunching.

Over 2,000 sqm of this... The slope is not too bad for the area for the first few hundred sqm then it drops into the National Park. (See the state of the fence? 😭)

This valley loves me. I can't even describe what it's like for me with this valley.

2 significant life changes for me happened on this valley and I feel so supported by this land. It is weird, I know, ya'll are probably going - Ohhh she's off in lala land again - but seriously.. This land has picked us twice - I wonder if it will pick us again.

So now we wait for this weekend's round of inspections, hoping something will come up that ticks a lot of our boxes. We are also hesitant to buy now as we are seeing house prices drop and not surprisingly as they are over priced. This is still the Blue Mountains. It's been a shock to see Katoomba houses up to 600k and Lithgow not far behind. That said, if it was perfect we'd pay top price.

Wish us luck my lovelies

💗Arly