I've bought a house!

[Primrose]

The last 4-6 weeks has been a crazy blurr. In October I packed up my whole life, left the job that I'd been in for ten years and loved, and moved 3hrs away from all my friends and surrogate family (my actual family is on the other side of the country - four days drive away). I moved from my states capital city to a small regional/rural town. It was a large pay rise and property prices are cheaper out here, I couldn't afford to buy what I wanted in Perth. Buying was always part of my equation but I didn't expect to do it so soon. I figured I'd need to be here at least a year, and save a bit more. But a friend gave me a little nudge and said some banks wouldn't need me to have such a high deposit or be as long in my new job.

So I went to look at some suitable houses one town over, and the second one I viewed, I absolutely fell IN LOVE.

Since then it has been a whirlwind. I've never done this before. Put an offer in, and counteroffer etc until we agreed on a price.
Found a mortgage broker, submitted all my stuff.
Received a letter of unconditional approval from the bank, and yesterday magically a bunch of new accounts appeared in my internet banking, two home loan and an offset lol

The house is about a hundred years old and could do with some renovations but is solid and liveable. It is on a 9 acre block so plenty of room for my goats, horse, chickens and all that sort of self sufficient stuff I love. It has a huge shed with three big stables for my goats which is just perfect.

And it has a little room adjoining the "barn" that is like a little roadside shop! And long term the idea will be to renovate that as a little soap shop!

I am so excited, nervous and terrified. All that's left to do is settle in 3 weeks time. I keep waiting for the penny to drop, it doesn't feel like it should be this easy, I keep waiting for the bank to say "oh sorry we made a mistake, you can't have a house" LOL home ownership always seemed so far out of my reach, something for other people to do but never me. It doesn't seem real. But the security of having my own house is going to be absolutely amazing, acreage rentals are so hard to find and when I do, they are always in such run down condition and there's a limit to how much time, money and effort you want to put into someone else's place when they can turn around and ask you to leave. Indeed I've ended up moving on average every two years for the last ten. Finally one more move and hopefully that's it for a very long time

25978 Great Southern Highway, Woodanilling, WA 6316 https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-wa-woodanilling-121291022

 

[Babyshoes]

How exciting! Congratulations on your first house, it's a magical feeling.

How exciting that there is space for a little shop too, I look forward to seeing photos of that as you go along!

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

Im so happy for you' the house looks adorable' & love the style. when you mentioned the future soap shop I can picture it in my minds eye' oh its gonna be fantastic. Interest rates are at an all time low' so perfect time to take the plunge. Congrats to you.

 

[Tara_H]

Congratulations! We did the same a few years ago, moved from the capital to a rural town 3 hours away so we could have a little old house and a bit of land of our own.

Such a great adventure, I hope you enjoy every minute!

 

[lsg]

Congratulations and best of luck with your new property.

 

[earlene]

Fabulous! I am so happy for you!

 

[GemstonePony]

Congratulations! Your new home sounds wonderful, and your dream sounds very similar to mine. Enjoy!

 

[SoapLover1]

Congratulations! Look what God did!

 

[Primrose]

Thanks so much everyone! It's so exciting! I can't wait to move in, though I'm also not terribly excited about actually moving again

 

[dibbles]

Congratulations Primrose! I can feel how excited you are! This looks like a sweet house with everything you want. Hoping for a smooth move.

 

[KimW]

Congratulations to you! It sounds and looks like a fantastic place. Do hope you'll indulge us with some pics as you get settled in. What a blessing!

 

[Catscankim]

Congrats!!!

 

[Marsi]

exciting times

congratulations

 

[Jersey Girl]

Congratulations! How exciting ! Best of luck to you in your new home.

 

[kasilofchrisn]

Congratulations!
Home ownership definitely has its advantages.
I put in some gardens on my property a chicken coop etc.
So nice to be able to do what I want and know that it adds value to the property and I didn't have to ask anyone for permission.
Just remember you need to have a small emergency fund set up.
Because your landlord isn't there anymore to fix what's broken. It's now on you.
I had issues with my well the last couple years but fortunately I think it's finally going to be okay.
But if I had to do it all over again I certainly would have bought a house and probably even sooner than I did. Though the house I bought of course was not on the market when I had looked in the past and I'm much happier with this house than any of the other ones I've looked at.

 

[CatahoulaBubble]

Congrats. I'm totally jealous. I've been house hunting for 4 years and still have yet to find a house that fits my requirements and that I can afford. Housing prices here in my state are ridiculous but I can't really move to another because of my job. I'm excited for you but I also understand that dread of packing and moving. lol

 

[Quanta]

I do have to say, I have always loved how Australian houses have that wide covered porch all the way around for shade. I wish our houses here were built that way because it gets so hot where I live. If I ever have a custom house built, I'm going to have a porch like that.

Just remember you need to have a small emergency fund set up.
Because your landlord isn't there anymore to fix what's broken. It's now on you.

I don't know how it works in Australia, but here you can get insurance plans for things like that. They cover things like the furnace and AC unit, water heater, even kitchen appliances and washer/dryer. It would be totally worth it in an older house. I don't know if there is a version of that kind of plan to cover well equipment, but it wouldn't hurt to ask.

 

[kasilofchrisn]

I don't know how it works in Australia, but here you can get insurance plans for things like that. They cover things like the furnace and AC unit, water heater, even kitchen appliances and washer/dryer. It would be totally worth it in an older house. I don't know if there is a version of that kind of plan to cover well equipment, but it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Oh, I know all about those insurances!
When I bought my house here in Alaska the previous owners had died.
Their oldest daughter was selling the house.
So nobody knew much about the house or it's potential issues.
And nobody had lived in it for a year and a half or two years.
Our realtor insisted the seller buy us one year of insurance to cover whatever may break.
Long story short we had issues with the septic line right away and the crappy insurance refused to cover it.
Then the oven had issues and it was easier to have the local appliance repair fix it and pay the bill ourselves.
I'm sure there's better more reputable insurance companies out there but we didn't get to pick this one and it certainly wasn't any good.
Also it's often times much quicker and easier to pay to get it fixed and then your insurance reimburses you for what it cost.
So say you're hot water heater goes out. Well rather than wait on a couple of plumbers to give you estimates on its replacement and then submitting to insurance and waiting a week for them to send you a check.
You pay to get your water heater replaced right away and the insurance company reimburses you for those costs.
A $1,000 emergency fund really is a safe bet to have on hand.
At least that's been my experience.

 

[cmzaha]

I love the old stove in the kitchen Primrose. Congratulations on your new 100+ year old house. Those old houses can be a lot of work but also are very unique in a lot of ways.

Oh, I know all about those insurances!
When I bought my house here in Alaska the previous owners had died.
Their oldest daughter was selling the house.
So nobody knew much about the house or it's potential issues.
And nobody had lived in it for a year and a half or two years.
Our realtor insisted the seller buy us one year of insurance to cover whatever may break.

There are some good home protection insurances. My sister in Arizona had homeowners insurance on her house and it really saved her when she had a leak inside a wall. It would have cost her over 10k to fix and her insurance fixed it. You just have to watch what you get. When buying a house you usually can ask the realtor to require a certain level of Homeowners Insurance, at least in CA you can other states may vary.

 

[kasilofchrisn]

There are some good home protection insurances. My sister in Arizona had homeowners insurance on her house and it really saved her when she had a leak inside a wall. It would have cost her over 10k to fix and her insurance fixed it. You just have to watch what you get. When buying a house you usually can ask the realtor to require a certain level of Homeowners Insurance, at least in CA you can other states may vary.

I have good homeowners insurance through State farm and it would cover me in the event of a disaster or major repairs.
It's also requirement of my mortgage from the bank to protect their investment.
But it doesn't cover everything.
Like when my stepson broke the front door frame and I had to replace the whole thing or when he put holes in the walls of his bedroom.
Those are the kind of things you often have to cover/fix yourself that in a rental is usually fixed by the landlord.
If it's your fault you may get charged for it but if it's normal wear and tear it's usually fixed at no charge to you as part of your rental agreement or lease.
Then there's always the deductible for your insurance policy which maybe over $1,000.