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 |  is paved with good intentions... |
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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Hi, I'm Elle. I'm based in Auckland, New Zealand. I'm the mother of two young adults, the wife of an entrepreneurial gamer and the Queen of Unfinished Projects. This blog will contain poems, short stories, possibly photos and book reviews if you're lucky, and my thoughts on a variety of topics. Hope you enjoy it. |
So we went and saw two properties in Bayly's Beach on Saturday. The first was a disaster. It had a leak that was affecting the ceiling and wall, and the agent admitted that the leak hadn't been located yet, and that the damage was worse every time she went to the house.  The second agent later told us that she'd heard (just hearsay) that there was rot in the walls. Ugh. That's a hard pass from us.The second property was more promising. We had time to kill before the walk-through of the second property, so we scouted the area. It's a three minute walk from the house to the beach, and the beach is stunning. It's a white sand surf beach. Quite rugged, but we like that. We drove on the beach a little bit, but didn't go too far. The beach itself is 100km (62 miles long) so there's plenty of beach to explore at a later date. Here were the highlights of the area:  No winding roads to get there. Every other place we've looked at, I've got carsick on the way. This is the first town we've looked at which doesn't make me carsick to get there. The town has a fish and chip shop that also sells ice creams and milk. The previous town we looked at didn't have a convenience store of any description. It's only fifteen minutes drive to Dargaville which has a supermarket, chemist and department store. And a whole bunch of cafes/bakeries/takeaways. We had lunch at a cafe and the food was really good. Did I mention the beach? We loved the beach.The house itself is very basic. It's a small two bedroom bach. It has a consented deck which they've enclosed to create a sunroom, but it's not consented as a sunroom. That room was very warm, even though it was a cold day. There is a small bedroom and a slightly larger master bedroom. No evidence of damp or mould. I literally sniffed inside all the closets (which were unpainted) and Steve noted that none of the doors were warped or sticking. There were a bathroom/laundry room which was very basic. The agent told us that there was some water damage under the shower that the vendor was going to repair prior to the sale, so that was good. And then the remainder was a kitchen/dining/living area, which was fairly small. The house comes fully furnished. Even the stuff on the walls is staying. Not sure we want EVERYTHING, but it's definitely a bonus for us that it comes furnished, because that means we can use it until we replace the stuff with our own purchases over time. It means there's no initial outlay to furnish it. Steve noted a bunch of potential problems, but we're not sure if they're structural or aesthetic. As I said to him, I could live with them if they're aesthetic, with the view being to renovate or rebuild in the long-term (like, maybe twenty years from now). If they're structural, that's a different story. It needs a whole new roof, and we'll have to factor that expense into how much we're willing to pay for the property. It's not currently leaking though, so there's no damage that's getting worse while we wait, as with the first property we saw. We asked about the ownership structure and how that might affect our ability to renovate or rebuild. You do need permission from the other owners in the collective, but three of the other owners had recently renovated and/or extended, which is a good sign. We probably wouldn't be looking to extend, but to renovate. Again, not just yet, but long-term. So we need to get a builder's report to see if there are any other issues we can't see. There have been three other offers on the property that all fell through. Two fell through due to finance, and one was an overseas buyer who couldn't proceed (maybe because of Covid). Steve said, a couple of times, that the builder's report would tell him how much he was prepared to offer. Not whether he was prepared to offer, just how much. I said "What if the builder says the whole place needs to be torn down?" And he replied "Then we'll offer less and build our own place there." So he REALLY likes the location. So yes, next step if the builder's report. We go from there. |
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