House hunting

It's not easy. The end.

Oh wait no, there's more. We're looking around at the moment (when I say "we" I actually mean "me" and then I come home and tell EvilMe what I've found).

I have absolutely no idea about houses. I mean, I know what I like, and I know what I want, but I just dunno how to go about BUYING that. Gah!

I went to look at 4 different houses yesterday. 2 I liked, 1 was okay, and the last, meh. So really, I'm writing this just so I know what the hell I've been looking at, and as a reference point for later when I'm so bloody confused about what I've seen and when I saw it.. so here are the first 4

The first one. 3 bedrooms, asking price $255k+. Our budget allows $250k max. Fucking hell. It's close to B's school, and public transport for EvilMe (coz he doesn't drive). It's absolutely gorgeous inside, it's been looked after really well too. Man I want this house! It's only small, no carport, no garage, damn.. Ducted heating and cooling.. yay!

This onelooked nice from the outside, and was pretty ok on the inside, but man.. what the pics don't show you is the mattress in the bloody dining room where someone sleeps. The walls need painting badly, it's tenanted, and it stinks inside. Bleh. 3 bedrooms, 2 living areas, small backyard and a little seperate courtyard area (al fresco dining anyone?). It'd be awesome if it was done up, but the mattress in the dining room freaked the shit out of me.

This one is gorgeous. It's only tiny inside, but it's a perfect size for the 3 of us (13sq, same size as the unit we live in now). 3 bedrooms, nice little kitchen, carport & double garage. Strange cupboards tho - no doors! They're like hidden wardrobes in the wall. I really like this one but it's out of our price rang - $279k. Damnit.

Finally this one.. 3 bedrooms & study. It absolutely sucked inside. I hated the kitchen, the bedrooms were crappy sizes, it was dark and smelly and generally gave me the creeps.

So they're the first 4 contenders. I really liked the first and 3rd ones (can you tell?) but the other 2.. i guess with a bit of work.. meh.. not that it worries me, I know i can use these as bargaining tools later on - carport/garage to be built, or painting the walls or whatever.. okay now I'm just rambling, but yeah..

and a mortgage.

Damn this worries me. How do people cope? How do they budget? How do they not end up in a shoe box? What questions do I ask? I know what to ask when I'm looking for a property to rent, but to buy? It's not just the "oh how many bedrooms does it have? Is there heating and cooling? How much is the rent?" anymore, now it's "how big is the property? the land? what are the rates like? What about a building inspection? Is the structure sound? What price is it going for? Is the price negotiable? Can I have a copy of the section 32?" gah! I didnt even know what a section 32 was (it tells you everything about the property) until 2 days ago.

I shall keep you updated! Oh. On a totally different note. The $800+ dollars of tupperware that I ordered 2 months ago has arrived and my cupboards/fridge are getting neater. It's like a plastic container heaven. Will take pics and upload them too just so you can see what an absolute retard I am.