This morning we headed into Sargeants Conveyancing to go over the contract of sale, vendor’s statement and all the assorted paperwork that comes with plonking down a massive amount of cash for some dirt and well-placed twigs. Such a good idea, getting advice — how often do we buy a house in our lifetime, and who are we to know what is right and what is “real estate agent” speak? But Genevieve is being very helpful, and its reassuring to have someone on our side (since real estate agents only pretend to be your friend so they can get the most out of you – caveat emptor in extremis) so we had no problem at the end of the meeting with signing away and sending off to the vendors (ha! more latin!).
We put three special conditions on our offer: finance (which is typical); a building report (also normal); and a “land slippage report” from the Cardassia Cardinia Council. The building and pest reports came in today — nothing too shocking, although the area is prone to termites so we better take some precautions there — and the signed contract of sale will shortly be winging its way towards our mortgage broker, so there is little for us to do but wait. And plan. And dream.
So now our paperwork is signed, the ink barely dry, and already we’re thinking about things we can do to the house.
We’re talking (and talking) about all the things we can do with such a lovely little property once we take possession, from “maintenance” (oiling the cedar weatherboards, cleaning the gutters, improving drainage) to “improvements” (painting, gardens, carport), “naturalist” (chicken coop, vege garden, herbs) and all the way from luxurious (barbecue, chiminea, fire-pit, jacuzzi, “infinity” pool) to ridiculous (microbrewery, shed filled with classic motorcycles, giant golden statue of my head).
Of course, by the time we finally move in (in March 2011) we probably won’t have any money left, so these pipe-dreams may just have to wait a little longer…