Winter is here and having just received my new Beach & Bay umbrella I am tempted to say “Bring on the rain”. These umbrellas are huge! No more wet shoes and socks and cold feet, no chance of my handbag or backpack sticking out the back or side of the umbrella and getting wet. Under the Beach & Bay umbrella I am in a completely dry zone!

I am actually checking out the weather forecast to see when I am going to be able to use my new umbrella.

7 Day Weather Forecast for Sydney

Saturday – Low 12 – High 18 – Possible shower
Sunday – Low 9 – High 16 – Possible shower
Monday – Low 7 – High 16 – Mostly sunny
Tuesday – Low 5 – High 15 – Mostly sunny
Wednesday – Low 7 – High 15 – Possible shower
Thursday – Low 7 – High 15  – Possible shower
Friday -  Low 7 – High 17 – Mostly sunny

So if anyone happens to be caught out in the rain and you to see me strolling along with my enormous Beach & Bay umbrella… feel free to come on over and seek some shelter… plenty of room to share.

The Tools of the Trade
The internet was my link to all properties on the market.

• I set up daily alerts with domain.com.au and realestate.com.au for all of the suburbs I was looking in and the price range I could afford.
• I kept a detailed record of all properties for sale in the our desired suburbs, in particular a record of what the agent was initially quoting and then what the property eventually sold for. It wasn’t long before trends started to appear… especially for some agents! Buyers beware!
• I asked every agent I spoke to be put me on their database or newsletter so I could be informed of any new properties that came onto the market.
• I can honestly say I have never been into a real estate office in the inner west or looked at any dodgy and dated window displays. I may have missed out on some properties by not doing this – but honestly who has the time for that.
• With work commitments extending to Saturday I was very rarely able to go to open houses on the weekend so I made hundreds of calls to agents in an attempt to get through every property I could during the week after work.

While the constant inspections may have driven my husband almost mad – it made one thing possible…when we saw something worth while – we knew straight away! By viewing so many properties – we knew exactly where the market was at – what the property was worth and approximately what it would go for at auction and if it was within our budget!

The Contenders

6 Angel Street, Newtown (Agent said approx $550)
2 bed (tiny dog box) outside laundry and another room which could loosely be described as a bathroom but a bloody fantastic location and rear lane access – not big enough for a car. 112m2 approx.
SOLD at Auction on site Saturday 27 February $652,500
Final bidding was between me and one other bidder – another young couple

48 Renwick Avenue, Marrickville (Agent said approx low to mid $600’s)
3 bed, separate lounge and dining, brick – loads of potential nice backyard. No car space. Woolworths in the street. 294m2 approx
SOLD at Auction on site Saturday 13 March $655,000
Final bidding was between me and one other bidder – actually a group of builders

39 Cary Street, Marrickville (Agent said approx low to mid $600’s)
3 bed, separate lounge and dining, loads of potential, north facing  backyard. No car space. Nice street. 311m2 approx
SOLD at Auction in rooms Wednesday 21 April $765,500
Bidding went over our budget – a older couple bought it. This property was only sold in November 2009 (so less than 6 months ago) for $565,000. The owners made $200,000 in less than 6 months – shocking! This was the auction that tipped us over the edge!

Inner Westies at Last!
I would have to say the eventual purchase of our property was a group effort. A friend had also been surfing the internet for us and directed me to 11 Malakoff Street, Marrickville. I had initially discounted this property because it was in a great street, had rear lane access and space for a car. In the inner west this automatically adds $50,000 – $70,000 to any property, and because we didn’t really care if we had a car space or not – I thought it would automatically be out of our price range. Turns out that it wasn’t! The vendor was eager to sell before auction and with all our finance in order, I got my builder brother to give it a good once over before my fantastic sister stepped in with her knowledge of the real estate industry and negotiated the final deal for us.

Sure the property has to be given a lot of tender loving care once we move in – but that’s the fun part! My dad doesn’t have quite the vision I do, having said… “No daughter of mine is going to live in a place like that!” But he has come around and admits it’s all about location, location, location… and we certainly have that. I have always been told to buy the worst house in the best street and that is what we have done. The contracts were exchanged on Tuesday – 4 days before the property was to go to auction and there is no doubt in my mind that I would have had to pay at least $25,000 more on auction day.

With each property we missed out on at auction I was always told by friends that there was a reason for it. I was told “You don’t pick the property, the property picks you.” And that is exactly what this experience felt like. It was like this little house in Marrickville just reached out and tapped on my computer screen and said come and have a look at me.

We have not been able to wipe the smiles off our faces. We are so happy with our property purchase. Finally the search is over and in 12 weeks we will be handed the keys to our new life full of debt and happiness. The inner west dream begins and we couldn’t be happier.

11 Malakoff Street, Marrickville (Agent said above $550)
2 bed plus study, beautiful high ceiling and cornices, rear lane access and what was very generously called a LUG. A lot of work needed but loads of potential. Great street, 12 minutes from work, close to transport, great location, beautiful park in the street. 194m2 approx
SOLD Prior to Auction Tuesday 25 May $625,500 (Agent said there were other offers – but who knows – but we bought it – it’s all ours – yeehaaa!)

The Search: My husband and I have been actively trying to buy a property for 3 months now. We spent ages last year researching where we wanted to buy, doing the weekly rounds of open houses and attending auctions. Our record for a Saturday viewing is 16 properties and 4 auctions.

The Property: The property search started out fun and interesting although very time consuming. In December we got married so we decided to wait til we got back from our honeymoon before we took the mortgage plunge. So at the start of this year we got serious. We quickly fell in love with a property in Newtown. Auction date was February 26. We dragged all of our family through it, did all the necessary inspections and the standard solicitor check of the contract. We were totally in love with this semi, despite it having a total land size of only 113m2, toilet, bathroom and laundry (all original and OUTSIDE) and no room to swing a cat (or even a little baby kitten). To top it off it was heritage listed and needed a total renovation! But as everyone tells you it is all about Location, Location, Location… and this semi was in the perfect location. 5 minutes walk to Erskineville and King Street cafes and bars, close to the station and close to work. What more could we ask for?

Despite the agent suggesting the property would go for around $570,000, having looked at over a hundred properties in the area we knew it was going to be more in the range of mid 600’s. The agent also had a reputation of under quoting the property price by at least $80,000.

Auction Day: We have all our family and friends there to support us and to hopefully celebrate afterwards. Months of looking at properties culminated in a 15 minute auction with 15 registered bidders. My sister who is a real estate agent was going to bid on our behalf until on the day she comes down ill and is missing in action.

Bidding: I decide to do the bidding. Well really, who else was going to do it…my husband , no chance, he was more nervous than me, my dad, no way, because he liked the property so much he wanted me to bid over my limit – so there was no way I was giving him the bidders card! Everyone had given me their bidding tactics but I ended up waiting till the last possible moment before putting in a bid. The hammer had almost been slammed down 5 times before I put in my first bid. My husband told me afterwards that he was terrified that we were going to miss out on the property even when it was within our budget.  My heart was absolutely pounding. Dad, also a real estate agent was thankfully standing next to me, whispering “wait Nadine, not yet Nadine.”

Bidding slowed right down…it was still under my limit, but only just. The auctioneer was about to knock it down, it was the third strike and I put my hand up, I was so nervous I lost my bidders card and the auctioneer waited till I found it. My legs and hands were physically shaking. Silence…. No more bids… could it be… was I about to buy this property at my very first auction and with my very first bid? I don’t know if I was more nervous that I was about to buy a property and with it a hideous burden of debt for the next 30 years or that I might miss out if someone else was going to bid.

Then came the waiting game. It seemed like an eternity! Going once… to the lady who has only made one bid for this property… going twice……….…..seriously just drop the hammer already!!!! I want this property!  But no, another hand popped up with a bid increase of $500, I return with another $1000 but that is already over my limit so I feel physically sick and feel like a cartoon character whose heart is literally popping out of its chest. I know the other bidder is also at his limit but on the third strike they go another $500 and I just can’t go any higher.

Post Auction Depression: Sadly I had to admit defeat and we lost the property. So at the drop of the hammer the property and our Newtown lifestyle dream was smashed and was only $2500 out of our reach… heartbreaking! We were devastated and not looking forward to going through this process all over again when we find something else. We were gutted.

What is really scary about the current real estate market is that in December a bigger, renovated semi in the same street sold for $640,000. “Our house” sold for $652,500 only 3 months later and it was smaller and completely unrenovated. Real estate is out of control.

We can’t save fast enough to keep up with the escalating prices. Today 3 weeks later, we are going to another auction. We have changed postcodes but are still looking at buying “A Renovator’s Dream” house because that is all we can afford. Fingers crossed.

Check out part one of the interview…
Please press play button.

Stay tuned for the rest of the interview…