OMG!!!!!

The romance of the honeymoon period has collided with reality with a very loud thump this week.

I finally got the keys to the house on Monday and was on a huge high walking up to the front of the house to open the door to my newlife as a home owner. Opening the door, however, was a HUGE mistake!

The incredible STINK when I opened the door literally knocked me backwards. I knew the previous owner/tenant had cats, and could smell a bit of an odour over the scent of the incense when I went to inspect, but I though it was mainly caused by the litter tray and would dissipate fairly quickly. WRONG!!!!! After 4 days of leaving every door/ window open day & night, 12 bags of bicarb soda sprinkled over the entire floor and spray deodoriser over every wall and hard surface the incredible stink of cat pee can still bring tears to your eyes!

And unfortunately that was only the beginning. Over the next few days every time we went to the house we discovered another problem we hadn't seen before. The first few things were obvious - holes in the wall and whole sheets of plaster missing that had been hidden by appliances before; disgustingly dirty walls, oven, shower, etc. Then we started checking light switches - and spent hours running back and forth to the switchboard to re-set circuit breakers and safety switches. The final straw was when it startedto rain yesterday - and found we have a water feature in the loungeroom!!

So if you have read this blog before you may notice that the "To-Do" list has suddenly doubled in length. On top of that I am pretty much flat broke at the moment - having had to pay a mortgage and rent for the past 2 months (the rent paid by the tenant didn't cover the rent at my own place) as well as saving for a removalist, etc. (My other half has broken his wrist and we can't save by doing it ourselves)

Fortunately the troops are all rallying for a bit of a working bee this weekend, and my daughter who is with us on holidays at the moment is slogging away every day. I also have 10 days annual leave starting from today and we don't actually move until next weekend, so hopefully we can make it habitable in time for the move.

As for the rest, well my boss said to me this week that it will be mine for a very long time - so I have plenty of time to do all the repairs! So I guess I just have to focus on the things that made me love the house in the first place - and grab the scrubbing brush and get down to work!!

In the beginning... well, almost!

I have owned my house for just on a month now, but it still doesn't feel real. Probably because I still haven't even spent an hour in the house yet.

You see, the person who used to own the house until about 2 years ago is still there as a tenant - and will be for another month yet. It is a weird situation, but almost everything about the way I bought the house was a bit weird.

I have been trying to find a way to buy a home of my own for years now, decades in fact, but I never seemed to be able to put it all together. I had been trying to convince my boyfriend to buy a house with me for years - but he has a house of his own that he didn't want to sell. My sister came up with a couple of schemes for us to buy a house together (she is the one with all the money smarts), but her husband was very reluctant - and I didn't want to be seen as the family burden. So finally I summoned up the courage to walk into a RAMS office to ask for some advice.

It was a total surprise to me, especially as the economic crunch was just beginning, but I already qualified for a loan. And after taking a huge deep breath, I decided to take the plunge all on my own.

I geared up the house search, and started making bids, only to find myself outbid every time - and the prices started to skyrocket. Then I got a call from RAMS that the pre-approval I had was about to expire - and the loan I was eligible for was about to be withdrawn.

I had just about given up when I happened to stray onto Domain (not my usual search place) and found a house that was being advertised directly by the owner, only advertised on the Domain site. Although open times were listed, the address wasn't advertised and the tenant was mentioned and the pictures looked a bit rough, so I'm not sure that they got many calls. And when I went to the open it was horrible weather - pouring rain and freezing, even for people who are used to the hills. It seems like the only one desperate enough to turn up was me!

The place obviously needs a lot of work, but my bf is very handy and the location is fantastic - and the house just felt right. So I put in a low bid - and after a few days I suddenly had a "YES".

I agreed to let the tenant stay for a couple of months - the owner wanted a short settlement and I still had a few months on my lease. But I have to admit I am getting pretty restless now. I keep trying to picture each room and start lists of work to be done - but I know I can't remember all the details. I even went to a sale at the Tradelink store and got some bathroom fittings (the main bathroom is half renovated and needs finishing pretty quickly) - but I have no idea whether the stuff I bought is right. I even have nightmares when it has been raining all night that the roof has caved in - or if I hear the CFA sirens that I will turn up when I am ready to move and find a pile of charred rubble.

So at the moment I sit here staring at the photos of the house I own but can't visit, hoping that I can turn my nightmares into my dreams. Wish me luck!!