When we moved in seven years ago, our current home ticked all the boxes on my dream house wishlist.
Back then, pretty much anything was a step up from the tiny house which we’d called home for five l-o-n-g years 😉 . Our criteria was pretty simple – four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a double garage – all within walking distance of the kids’ school.
Thing is, our circumstances have changed quite a lot since then, and so we are preparing to move on, sometime in the next 12 months.
My NEW Dream House Wishlist!
So what’s on my dream house wishlist now, if I were going to hire a buyers agent to find it for me?
- Now the kids have finished school, we are no longer restricted to a particular geographical area. Add to this the fact that both the hubster and I have left jobs just five minutes’ drive away – I’m the lucky one, now working from home; hubster has a fifty minute commute each way. So it would definitely be nice to move somewhere closer to his new workplace, and possibly closer to the university for Mr 22. Mind you, still not too far from here – after all we’ll be leaving Miss 19 behind 🙁 !
- More car accommodation/shed space. We’re always playing musical chairs with our cars, trailer, boat, bikes … and although hubster denies it, he really would love a bit of a shed or a man cave to call his own!
- Give me land, lots of land. Okay well maybe not lots of land, but more than we have here. Living with bad neighbours, we long to be able to open our windows and not be knocked over by cigarette fumes – or have to listen to their dogs bark, or their very ordinary taste in music! Plus I’d like to have a bigger outdoor entertaining area, room for a vegie patch …
- And we’d love a pool or spa – something we’ve never had before. (Although most pool owners tell me I won’t love it so much when we have to maintain it!)
- We’ve also never lived in a two story home – I really like the idea of having the bedrooms on a separate level to the living areas, and the privacy that creates.
- Speaking of privacy, maybe something with a granny flat for the kids or where I could have my office?
- Of course it would need somewhere that we could convert to a cat patio, for our two fur babies, Seth and Miss Fleur.
Whether we can achieve all of these in one property, on our budget, is uncertain. But hey, a girl can dream!
What is certain however, is that when we do find the right property, we will organise building and pest inspections. Otherwise, we risk our dream house becoming a nightmare – and a money pit besides! Imagine moving in only to discover that the house you have fallen in love with, is literally crumbling to dust, thanks to termites. Or discovering a major leak in the ceiling in the next big rain, causing costly damage!
Now if you’re like me, you probably don’t even know what a building inspection involves. As purchasing a home is very much “caveat emptor” – let the buyer beware – it pays to do your homework. I found the Action Property Inspection website was a great resource, and have bookmarked it for the time we are ready to do a pre-purchase inspection!
For example, I learned that some companies don’t even go into the roof cavity! A quick glance through the manhole will not reveal things like damage to the flashing, or cracked roof tiles, which could lead to major cosmetic or even structural damage. No sir, the only way to be sure is to find a company that will actually get down and dirty (okay, UP and dirty) in the roof!
And did you know, that some of these companies even work in partnership with the real estate agent – which doesn’t exactly inspire confidence that you will be guaranteed impartial, trustworthy information.
Buying a home is probably the biggest purchase any of us will ever make, so you want to get it right. A building and pest inspection by a reputable, fully qualified, compliant provider will protect your biggest asset – and give you peace of mind.
Is your current home your dream house – or are you ready for something new, like we are?!
We lived in our last home on 2 acres for 23 years – while our children were little and through their school years. Once they headed off to the city to uni it was a great chance to rethink what we wanted. Our house ticks a lot of your boxes – but for us, we wanted less land, no pool and room for the “kids” to come home. Both houses were/are two storey and we love the separation it provides. Good luck with the house hunting!
Wow 2 acres! That’s a lot to look after, yep, I don’t think we quite want that much. I wonder what we will end up with?!
Oh this is a post I am very interested in too. When we sold our family home in Sydney there were property inspections done by the prospective buyers and whilst I believe all was well, there was a mistake in the report which put settlement back some days. This inspector eroneously mentioned asbestos and our house was built way after asbestos use in houses. Our conveyancery suspected a mis-ticked box. In terms of what would you look for next…well, I hate to say it, but you are getting ‘older’ and I don’t think two storey is a great idea unless it is a split level rather than a full two storey. Ducted air con beats a swimming pool any day for us BUT if our next place had a pool we would like that. So, Janet, I will be interested in your coming journey. There are so many considerations. One thing we learned too late is do not buy a house that is too big. You will be the ones maintaining it and your kids are getting to the independence stage. Denyse
Denyse, hubster is keen to get something really spacious but I’m with you, I know who will be the one cleaning it!!!! I agree, air con is more important than a pool. We swore we would get a pool last time but alas it just didn’t work out that way and now our kids are too old to be interested in it. I s’pose there will be grandkids one day but I think that’s still a way off for us!
We’re ready for something new bit unfortunately we can’t afford it yet so we’ll be here for a few more years.
I’m not sure we can afford what we want Toni but hey we can always dream 😉
We have done lots of renovating and an inspection is essential before purchase. Just look at it like it’s not your expertise so why not get someone in who knows their stuff
Exactly Natalie!!
That is an awesome Wishlist! I’d love something with a pool too. Yep, you can never be too careful with building inspections. I didn’t get one for the first house I bought and pity the fool me. Good luck with your search.
Oh dear – what was wrong with your first house Renee? Do tell!