Mr and Mrs Monopoly

Last Sunday was a big day for us and an important step in our life here in New Zealand. We bought a (another) house!

Pete initially viewed the house on Saturday and realised that I could be interested so requested a second viewing.

After the second visit, Pete was still interested and I was happy with it, not least because it has two toilets and gas cooking (we miss that as most stoves in NZ are electric). This property is a 1940 weather board house with plenty of original features, such as wood panelling, polished wood floors, a box window and leadlight windows. It is situated on a 804 sq m section that has as a mature garden with fruit trees (walnut, nectarine, lemon and feijoa), asparagus patch and double garage.

So there we were, on Sunday afternoon having to make a quick decision, as another couple had shown quite some interest, too. We drove home quickly, logged on to the internet and did a quick check on interest rates, borrowing amounts and projected repayments. This gave us an idea of how much we were willing to offer. We rang the agent and asked if the sellers would be willing to accept less than the asking price, as we did not want to waste time. The reply was, yes, so the agent came round to our house and we drafted an official offer. The agent then went round to the vendor, who declined our initial offer, of course! Luckily after only our second offer they accepted. This was all done on a Sunday evening, in the space of a few hours. Things do move fast this side of the world. Possession date is scheduled on Friday 22nd June, so that is not too far away. We are both excited!

If you want to have a look at the house, it has been listed on Trade Me. The link is: Otherwise, do the guided tour on: http://www.thejoneses.co.nz/buyingahome/propertydetail__SF1398.mel

Yes, there will be plenty of room for guests, so please come and have a look at our new place. Assistance with painting the exterior (a big job as it is a weather board house) would be fantastic. Just let us know when you are planning to come, so we can have the brushes and paint ready!

The above links do not show any photos of the kitchen, but I can say that it is very nice. Lots of cupboard space, so I can stock up with my home made jam etc. Also, as the sellers built this kitchen themselves, they are leaving the appliances behind (a stove has to be left behind by law). Therefore we are now the proud owners of a large, two door, stainless steel fridge/freezer, a microwave (never owned one ourselves) and even a dishwasher! It's a pity that only last October, we bought a new fridge/freezer. O well, that will become the beer fridge in the laundry. Our current beer fridge will have to live in the double garage until we buy a bach (kiwi name for a holiday home)!

The sellers are also leaving behind a shed load of logs, which should see us through winter (the house has a logburner).

Even though the house is lovely, we will miss living in town. After the move it means I am no longer within 5 walking minutes from work. I will have to get back on my bike….