the jones-bayley's big adventure: New House!

Home sweet home

I get home from skitrip at 4pm, rush to view property at 5pm, its going to auction the following morning at 12, decide instantly that we should buy it, call Nick to tell him, he's says ok (he's happily on a mountain skiing so very agreeable and trusting), we have 3 hours the following morning to organise money around the world, take Mathilda to her first day of nursery, work out what our highest bid should be and look over contracts etc... and by lunchtime we own the house! It was quite a shock. It happens to be a property I've always wanted, having driven past it every day most of my life, the site is gorgeous and it overlooks my favourite hills. I'd told Nick the week before when we drove past it together (before it came on the market) that I'd always wanted to live there. So I knew we had to have it. But there was people crawling all over it and I never thought we'd have a chance. There were 45 people at the auction, and not one of them bid. Just little ole me. So we got the house for much less than we were prepared to pay for it. Then we had an agonising week waiting for the vendor (the bank) to agree all the terms - it was a mortgagee sale and there were two mortgagees so it was complicated. Anyway today it went unconditional and we have been up there measuring up for the renovations. Its amazing!!! 3 acres of gorgeous sunny hillside, sea views, 3 dwellings (2 dodgy 1 bed cottages and 1 dodgy 3 bed house), and 5 free range chickens. We still plan to live in Melbourne, just maybe a bit later... If anyone wants a holiday in NZ we now have a spare cottage.