Closed The Door On The Real Estate Issue

Everything has been resolved with the Real Estate finally.

We agreed to disagree and I’m paying the $297. It seems the cleaners I hired did a pretty ordinary job in terms of end of lease ‘standards’, and because the real estate waited so long to tell me about it (I had to submit the bond request you may recall or I still wouldn't have heard from them!) there was no way the company was coming back to fix anything.

So I was stuck between the two groups and copped the brunt of it financially from both of them. There’s no ruling against me so I’m not on a bad tenant list anywhere (nor should I be!), it’s all quite normal and not a bad revenue raiser I suspect.

I still got over $700 back from my bond money, so I’m writing the $297 off as experience and moving on from here. I like my new place so much better, so it’s a silver lining situation really.

I've also made sure to take photos of every single mark, ding and scrape in my new apartment to cover myself when I move out some time in the future.

I will also be a far more demanding tenant than I have been in the past, for my own sake. I've always let things slide, to not make waves with agents and owners, but not any more. I loathe real estate agents with a passion now. They’re sweetness and light getting you in, ignore you while you’re there, and then treat you like rubbish when you’re moving out.

So that money will be paying for the car service that I couldn't afford in January due to the repairs, and towards my registration and pink slip (which may involve two new front tyres) in May. It will be nice to be able to pay cash for all that lot this year!

One step forward two steps back, at least it’s two steps forward and one step back at the moment in my case, so forward movement overall!

Subscribe in a reader or Subscribe via email

The Move - 4 Days And Counting

I’m moving on Friday the 4th of January, so this years New Years festivities will be cancelled for me this year. I had two offers, one in the Blue Mountains, which would have been lovely, but would have meant virtually a whole day away from home when I need as much time as possible to sort and de-junk this place. I've been procrastinating badly the past few days due to the heat so really need to get stuck into it or I won’t be ready in time.

The other offer was for a party in Double Bay, with great Harbour views for the fireworks, but getting there and back tonight would have been a very costly nightmare, and would have also taken hours, and I’d rather put the money towards paying the movers and cleaners.

Moving is such a costly exercise. Sure you can save costs doing a lot of it yourself, but due to my circumstances I have to pay professionals to do pretty much all of it this time around, and to be honest, at this point I really see it as something I can throw money at to make the hassle go away.

I was expecting some cash at Christmas that didn't eventuate this year, which I shouldn't have counted on but I foolishly did. So the poor card is taking a beating until payday this month (and until I get my bond back from this place), but it has to be done, as I have to be out by the 7th.

Once I’m in the new place on Friday night though, let the frugality and debt reduction recommence in earnest. First thing will be to get my $1000 emergency fund fully restocked plus 10% (a total of $1100) so any future issues can be managed with cash.

I’ll celebrate my own personal New Years on Saturday the 5th, have my first guests over at the new place.

Subscribe in a reader or Subscribe via email

I Found A New Home

picture courtesy icanhascheezburger.com

The real estate that I paid the deposit to on Saturday, called me this morning and the place is mine!

They've offered me a 13 month lease starting from the 28 December, which is just fantastic. The extra month is so it doesn't come up for renewal during the Christmas break, when all real estate agents shut up shop for 10 days here.

Knowing exactly what my rental expense will be for the rest of the year will really help with planning and budgeting, as it’s my largest expense after my combined debt payments. Not to mention it’s a load off my mind knowing I've got somewhere for all of 2008 sorted.

I’m really please that the owner was willing to start from the 28th, as it means I’m only paying double rent for one week, not two.

Let the decluttering and packing begin in earnest.

(In addition every single place I applied for over the weekend called me saying I was successful, 4 for 4 strike rate in this market is pretty impressive - go me!)

Subscribe in a reader or Subscribe via email

Rental Applications Ahoy!

Things are progressing on the 'find a new apartment' search. I've found four nice (as in I'd be happy to live there) places this week and have submitted applications for all of them.

I just had a call from one of the agents of the places asking me to come in and pay a deposit today as they would like to pass on my application to the owner. Hurrah!

This one is the closest to work (easy walk), only 5 minutes walk from a major shopping centre with cinemas and supermarkets.

It's close (but not too close) to major arterial roads to get me where I need to go, not to mention the shopping centre is a major bus hub and there's a rail link currently underway into the area. That may be a bit of a giveaway as to its location for the Sydney readers, but what the hey.

Did I mention there's a hay-uge storage room in the back of the garage for my very own wine cellar. *lol*

It's also the cheapest rent of the four I've applied for so far, which could end up saving me a lot of money compared to the others over the next few years.

Fingers crossed.

Subscribe in a reader or Subscribe via email

Where Am I Going To Live? - Flat Hunting Begins

The first weekend of new flat hunting wasn't fruitful, but it also wasn't a complete bust. It dawned on me that I've only been on this hunt twice in the last 13 years, and the last time I was 'out there' was in 2001! t least I know what I don't want.

My current agent isn't being particularly helpful, but all the other agents I've spoken to this weekend have been, which was nice. I now feel more confident about how the process works these days and can be sure to attack it properly.

There were so many other people looking at the same flats as me on Saturday, at least 10 at the first place (which was tiny, dank and not nearly close to the 'immaculate' as advertised). The next few places were just OK, and if I was desperate I'd have considered them but I believe I can do better. It's a bizarre sight seeing 15-20 odd people all swarming into a place and checking everything out.

The other thing I've realised is I've been completely unrealistic in the rent I can expect to pay for something decent in the suburbs I'm willing to live in. I spend a lot of time at home, so I want something that I want to come home to. I'm going to have to bump up the top end of my range $20 to get that. Choosing to live by myself attracts a premium. I just can't do the flatmate thing at 38, and I have to accept that there's a price to pay for that.

So it looks like I'll be spending up to 30-33% of my take home pay on rent. Ouch, but that's the Sydney rental market these days.

I've crunched my numbers and that still leaves a $500 per month snowball available over and above set minimums from September, so I can still achieve my goal of being completely debt free by May 2010, so I'm going for it.

Subscribe in a reader or Subscribe via email

Ouch! Moving Is Expensive

I've been crunching my numbers for moving and I’m looking at approximately $3000 to relocate.

This breaks down to:

• 2 weeks rent in advance - $660 (assuming $330 per week rent)
• 4 weeks rent as bond - $1320
• Removalist costs - $500
• End of lease clean of old place - $300
• Bonds for electricity/gas - $100
• Post Redirection for 6 months - $35
• Boxes & tape - $100

Not to mention the hoops you have to jump through to rent a place these days. It’s been six years since I last went through this, and the world seems to have gone mad in the meantime.

I have to supply:

• Photo Identification - current drivers licence or passport
• Other Identification – Medicare card, debit card
• Proof Of Current Address - phone account, electricity/gas account, bank statement, mobile phone account etc.
• Proof Of Employment/Income - current payslip or a letter on company letterhead from your employer confirming employment and salary.
• Proof Of Regular Housing Payments - copy of rental ledger from your current agent
• References from your previous agents, and 2 personal references

The application form I printed out for one real estate to get a feel for things is no less than 8 pages long and asks all manner of questions. All of which you have to answer if you want to have your application considered, supplying all of this is no guarantee of securing the property.

I just need those references sorted out then I’ll be good to start applying this weekend if I find something. If they just need names and contact details though I’ll be fine.

I think buying a place would be easier than this, even more reason to get my finances sorted out so I never have to do this again!

Subscribe in a reader or Subscribe via email

60 Days Notice To Vacate

Got home last night from a business trip to find the landlord has given me 60 days to vacate my unit. I need to be out by January 24, 2008. Great.

He advised he’s not willing to issue a new lease (I’d been on a month to month lease for 6 years), so the flat hunt begins. I was upset for a short while, but now I see it as an opportunity to move on to something new.

The downside is I’ll have to pay a lot more rent per week than I’m currently paying due to the Sydney rental market being what it is, and that’s going to put a bit of a dint in my debt repayment for the short term, not to mention the costs associated with moving. They are not abandoned of course; it’s just that till I’m set up in my new place the snowball amount will be diminished considerably.

Having done a quick search this morning, I’m looking at a rent increase of anywhere between $15 and $45 a week, depending on where I’m willing to relocate to.

I’m also so grateful that I have had a focus on eliminating debts over the last few months as I’m in a much better place to cover all the costs with cash over credit where possible. Had I done nothing, I wouldn't have even had any available credit, and it would have been a disaster!

Moving somewhere cheaper isn't really an option for me as any savings in rent would be eaten up in extra travel costs to work.

It’s also a little bit of a relief to know that I won’t need to spend another sweltering February in a west facing top floor unit with no air-conditioning!

Subscribe in a reader or Subscribe via email

Real Estate Woes

Got home tonight to find a letter from my Real Estate agent.

They're putting the rent up $10 a week from the 24th of November. That's the second rise this year (the last one was in May 2007, which was $20 a week), for a total increase of $30 a week over the last six months. My rent will have increased $130 a month in just under a year, but I'm still in the same apartment, go figure.

So I guess I will make a list of the all the things wrong with the apartment and hope they fix as much as possible for that extra $30 a week they're getting from me.

I'm genuinely shocked I have to say. This place isn't even close to posh, in fact it's quite dodgy. That's the Sydney rental market for you though.