New house, new start

Trippy, trippy day. I went to the home open with Gamerboy and the Chicklet. They’re in love with another property – great house, very average suburb. But Im in love with this suburb…albeit an average house.

This pond is a 2 minute walk (or powerchair). An oasis in the middle of the suburb. Its 2 minutes to the town centre by car or cab or a 10 minute walk for a healthy person. The house is much smaller than my home, but thats what I need. The yard is small, Bella probs not so pleased, but theres a dog park five minutes away. Elke loves to lie around all day. She’ll be fine.

Main problem is the stairs, but Gamerboy can have the master bedroom, and I can have a downstairs bedroom. Or I can install a stair lift. The stairs are internal, carpetted, extra wide and far easier to deal with than the steep concrete stairs to my garage. Having said that I wouldnt be able to go up and down them every day, the floor plan is not ideal. But I dont have to. I can live downstairs exclusively.

The property is run down, ex-rental. Few people are interested because its dirty and has ugly coloured walls. Im not in great shape to fix it, but I can take it slow and improve the value over time. The day after Actemra I have two good days. I can use those to paint, one wall…one coat…whatever it takes…at a time. Not keen, but I can. Or I can pay someone. Gamerboy perhaps! New blinds, new vents, a pergola, new floors can all be done for 10k and change and I’ll have made 20k in capital gains. If this house were hitting the market in immaculate condition it would literally fetch 40k more. The property that I missed out on a few weeks ago (that was almost perfect and in immaculate condition, slightly smaller house, slightly smaller block, literally 200 meters away) went for 40k more. I can do a lot with that 40k. This is what I have always done…bought run down properties in good locations that only need *cosmetic* improvements. Every cent I have is tied up in my home. I have sacrificed much life experience for that equity, cos I thpught there would be ‘later’. There wasnt. There isnt. I have to protect that equity for Gamerboy and the Chicklet, its the most important thing.

In 10 years I’ll be debt free, and I can drop dead knowing that the kids will have a solid deposit for their own homes. They dont appreciate that now, or that the house with the most potential to appreciate in value is the best option. But they will when Im gone, and they have a big head start. They wont have to buy their first property at 19 like I did, and miss out on all the things that I missed out on. They will be able to work, and travel and follow their dreams, knowing theres a hefty deposit on a house waiting for them. They wont be rich by any means. Im not giving them riches in monetary terms, Im giving them time…time to experience the world and chase their dreams. And a safety net. So whether their dreams come true…or not…they will be ok. But they can take a chance…thats priceless. The best gift i could give them. That idea makes me truly happy. And one day theyll get that.

This house is much smaller and less livable than the house they love, but it offers the best potential for capital gain. And its a great house! We’re just kinda spoilt. Our home is lovely and spacious and they have huge bedrooms…so many reasons I bought this house. But the house I hope to buy offers security, if not the space they crave.

So wish me luck. Wish me an offer on my house and an offer accepted on the new house. I hope to move from complication to as much simplicity as possible. My life has been like a bad soap opera for the last decade, and I certainly contributed to that, and I absolutely paid for it. Wish me luck and wish me peace <3.