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It's not a dream house, but it's pretty close: 1 bedroom Art Deco style heritage building from the 1930, high ceilings, huge bedroom, separate kitchen (I hate "open plan", with cooking smells that invade the living room), beautiful architecture, high ceilings, and it's in a great suburb with lots of cafes, 5 mins walk from a local botanical garden and light rail. Quiet street. Lots of greenery.
The place is just around the corner from the apartment where my father grew up, and my great-grandfather lived a couple of blocks away too. I didn't know him well when I was a kid, he didn't live with us. But I like the idea that four generations of my family were there. It makes me feel like I belong there (even if I'm probably the last one, being that I'm childfree).
The apartment is not perfect (no aircon installed, unclear if it can be installed in a heritage building yet), and it certainly wasn't cheap. Took me a long time to save for the 20% deposit. But I made it. I didn't even have to sell any of the shares I get as part from my compensation from work. I did this by managing my finances, working my way up to a high pay job etc. Nobody gave me anything, other than the bank loan - I earned this.
Buying real estate as a single woman isn't easy. Most of my friends here in Australia are renting, because it's so damn expensive, and real estate prices are only going up. The process itself involves a lot of paperwork, manoeuvring real estate agents, lawyers, conveyancers, building inspection services etc.
Being a renter is exhausting. One time I got vacated when the owner sold the place and the buyer wanted to move in. Every time repairs are needed, you have to beg and call and call. You can't put a nail in the wall and have to suffice with cheap Ikea furniture, rather than invest in the things you like (and might not fit in your future dwelling later on). And rent money is money down the drain, unlike mortgage payments. Really glad to be getting out of this loop.
Settlement date is 11/3. Wish me luck!
Congratulations! I’m a renter and always will be, so well done!!!
You're not alone, and it's not your fault. This economy is insane. Our parents and grandparents bought their dwellings with a fraction of what my generation is expected to pay. They often raised families on a single income too.
I'm only fortunate enough because I'm in a high pay job at a FAANG company. It's a role that involves lots of useless paperwork. I'm the first to admit my job shouldn't pay this much. Nurses, teachers, cleaners and bus drivers should be making more than me, if it wasn't for this unjust system.
Don’t I know it! My parents (born in the 30s) were never able to buy a house either, even before my useless father pissed off. My mother and I have always had to live together because we couldn’t rent separately on our wages - we weren’t on minimum wage, either.
Congratulations! And fingers crosses all goes well for your settlement date (as a UK poster I am assuming that's the same as our completion date).
Yup! Same thing. I got the loan approved, paid the deposit, and now there’s a conveyancer that’s working on ensuring all the requirements are met. Are there conveyancers ones the UK too?
Yes, I suspect it's a fairly similar system albeit with slightly differing terminology. It's not my area of law but I have had involvement in claims against conveyancing solicitors for professional negligence in my previous life.
Congrats, hoping I can make this happen for me in Sydney some day! Love all the Art Deco buildings we have in Australia, if only property wasn't so unaffordable. Massive achievement for you though, well done on all your hard work getting here
No, it is absolutely not easy as a single woman, but such an accomplishment!
Congratulations!🎉
Woohoo !! This place sounds amazing ! Frankly I'm pretty jealous of the vintage thing you're describing ! High ceilings, wow !
So jealous in fact that I'm getting a small satisfied smile at the hassle of painting these... Muahahha. Nah, seriously once it's done those are absolutely gorgeous. Good for you !
Question though : you gotta call and call and beg and beg ? I'm curious, I expected Australia to be easier to manage ? Here if you have a problem and you can lay out the funds you can absolutely pay for it yourself and deduct it from the next rent. :O
Australia is weird about renting. The ideal was always to own you own home. We neglected provision of decent long term rentals and renters rights here are very far behind other cultures where renting is normal, common and expected. It is bizarre and has led to the current mess. Renting is something you try very hard to avoid here as a long-term housing solution.
Yes. This. I think politicians try to sell voters the promise of their own free standing house instead of better renter rights. The various home owner government grants only hiked up housing costs. And now the dream is only moving further away for most of us. The median house prices here are well over a million bucks in cities where there are jobs.
I have a friend in Netherlands whose a life long renter, and so is his family. It’s cheaper there and nobody can ever kick them out. The building is owned by a public organisation. If we had something like that here things might have been different.
That's really weird and sad. I hope some Australians are trying to address this !
I know rite? In my country, modern apartment buildings have a bad rep for defects. It’s usually better to buy old.
Re: calling and begging. Landlords are trash everywhere I suspect. Especially the investor types, who buy real estate just to rent it out. They try to minimise the cost of maintaining the place, to make a profit. And you have to keep a good relationship with them or else they won’t give you a reference for your next rental.
I can’t make any repairs or changes in the unit myself, and if I were to hire my own electrician when the fuse box died - they’d refuse to pay for it. Which country are you at? Sounds like Germany or NL maybe? I read they have better laws there.
No, I'm Canadian ! I'm not sure how it works in other provinces, but here in Quebec we have La Régie du Logement, which has its flaws (numerous) but part of the law surrounding it is that you can sue a landlord who refuses to make necessary repairs for damages. We call it "perte de jouissance" which roughly translates as "loss of enjoyment" and is calculated depending on the amount of time you spend with the broken thing. I had a friend who couldn't open a window for a number of months and the landlord had to pay her compensation for his neglect to get it fixed.
If there is an emergency like the fuse box dying, pipes breaking or whatever you are absolutely entitled to call an electrician or plumber to fix the thing and the landlord will have to refund you, provided that you kept proof and paid a reasonable amount. Sometimes you need to go to court for this, but it's a relatively relaxed tribunal where you don't necessarily need a lawyer and if you know your rights and are in the right a case is pretty easy to win. We also don't need references. They obviously help, but I never had to provide one. They do a credit check and if you have the means to pay the rent they are legally unable to refuse you.
We do have a lot of problems with the rise of cost, but that's mainly because of what we call renovictions, where landlords buy buildings and demand the tenants leave so they can renovate and rent for much more. This has had a terrible effect on working class neighborhoods which attract a lot of hipster types...
I'm disappointed in Australia on this ! I would've assumed you had a similar system to ours !!
This sounds amazing. Especially the part about a tribunal without lawyers. We have that here too, but if I use this power - I won’t get a reference from them the next time I rent. Canada seems amazing.
I am so happy for you! I get excited by news of people buying their first home in the same way others get excited when the news is of a first pregnancy. The happiness and joy you are currently experiencing will become supercharged on the day of settlement and you open the front door with your own key for the first time. Every day I walk through my home and say aloud, "I love my little house!" That joy of having a place of my own hasn't waned since that first day. Even though I sold that home after 23 years and bought another in a different state, I made sure that as I closed the door on that house for the last time I said aloud, "I still love you, little house, but it's time now for someone else to love you just as much." My new home is now told it is loved daily. If you cultivate joy it never leaves you.
Go you! Real estate, that is your own, that no landlord can remove you from, is a huge step. Congratulations!
That’s so exciting! I’m so happy for you! It sounds like a dream apartment. I hope you have many enjoyable times there!
I’m currently saving a deposit for a small house (ideally) or an apartment. I’m really worried about renting & buying in the Australian market right now, especially straight out of university. I would love a Melbourne terrace or a classic Queenslander, which is very unlikely at the moment.
If you’re aiming for Melbourne - there’s still hope. Prices aren’t as bad as Sydney. There are some nice and quiet suburbs in Melbourne where a 2 bedroom house costs like a 1 bedder unit in Sydney (I remember seeing nice ones in Reservoir, a few tram stops from the trendier Northcote). Thumbs up for saving! Make sure to find a bank that gives a better interest on your savings. I think UBank was the best I could find, there might be better options these days.
Well done!!! I will continue to dream of the same..... Like how you mentioned landlords and repairs. Mine took 7 months to fix a leak in my ceiling.
Good luck! I remember when I bought my apartment back in April 1996. It was a feeling of accomplishment and relief.
Congratulations! That’s amazing. I bet you’re going to have so much fun decorating.
Omg congratulations!!! it sounds amazing! You should be proud of yourself :). I also hate the cooking smells thing and prefer a very nice vent hood over the cook top that actually vents outside, is that a thing there (in Australia)?
Do you have furniture or decorating plans yet? Again, huge congrats!
Edit: wow player?
Yep, WoW player! Well, it's complicated. I just resubbed yesterday after a very very long break and realised, there was a reason why I quit. But I still like some aspects of WoW lore, hence my nickname. Do you still play?
Plenty of decorating plans! I want boho/eclectic with some midcentury-modern overpriced West Elm pieces :) And I want one accent wall in teal!
That is so exciting, the building sounds so cool, and I love that it is by where your family lived/grew up. You’re right, you do belong there. <3 Congrats!!