Under the Hammer

It was auction day last weekend and in the interest of more home research I headed into the city to see whether the home we've been admiring in Bardon would sell within our price range. As I've said in previous posts we're certainly not ready to buy but believe the more information we have, especially on the types of areas we are interested, the better.

I've never been to an auction before and this was certainly something to behold. It was an auction day on steroids. It was Realtor Ray White's "Urban Living" bulk auction, 30 properties - 30 auctions back to back! Now my knowledge of auctions pretty much consists of watching The Block and repeat episodes of Selling Houses Australia. 

There were more than a couple of things different between tv shows vs reality (go figure!)

• only registered bidders can bid (my fear of accidentally scratching my nose only to discover I'd just purchased a mansion was unnecessary)
• there are a LOT of sticky beakers like me - majority of people present were not there to buy
• auctions can be put on pause - unlike the fast paced world of tv, auctions can be put on hold if there is a need to discuss with the interested buyer. Almost 10 of the 30 auctions were put on hold with many bidders on the phone needing to be consulted before the bidding could get any higher.
• houses in Brisbane are expensive - If I was selling a house I think auction would be the way to go with the bidders dictating the starting price and the home owners able to control the bidding with their desired reserve price
• real estate agents are aggressive - when going to an auction know your limit because the real estate agents (yes, plural) can be very forceful in trying to up your bid to secure you are the highest bidder
•  sometimes it's just not ment to be - one house that was in shocking state and the definition of renovate / demolish was in the sort after location of Bulimba. I had hopes it would fall within our price range. The opening bid was $1,000,000. That's right count the zeros - $1million big ones! 

In the end the Bardon property never reached the reserve price. It's now back on the market and the new asking price is just out of reach by about $40,000 but due to result of the auction there might be a deal to be had. Well, a deal to be had for those who can actually buy it...... sigh! 

Who said homework isn't fun...

Over the last few weekends Steve and I have been doing a little research at open houses. We are trying to hone in on the suburbs we want to buy in and hopefully the types of properties and the size of renovation job we are willing to undertake. It's been really exciting to see what's out there and one property that really took our fancy was this sweet little cottage home in Bardon, a suburb within 10km of the city (one of our major priorities).

Bardon property

Now, this one was up for auction so we're very keen to see what it actually ends up going for on the big day. When we went through the open house there were a range of couples along with us. A couple who looked like first time buyers, a young couple with kids and then an older couple who looked like they were keen for a renovation project. We loved the polished timber floors and the curb appeal. It had two bedrooms, one in the front and one in the back. It was very light and airy and had definite renovation appeal in the kitchen and out the back.

The back of the house backed onto a creek so there was no neighbours overlooking the property.

There was, however, no garage and very little room to build a double garage, let alone a single one.

When we got home we got out the sketch pad to jot down some ideas.

Bardon as a suburb is normally a fairly expensive suburb with large properties with grand homes and it's proximity to the city and the coverted Paddington suburb. It makes me think this property may go for a little higher than we had hoped. I did a little investigating for 'like' properties and discovered this lovely home which has been beautifully renovated. It actually has constructed a lot of the renovation ideas we had for the Bardon place. We think it's lovely, as is the price tag upwards of $675,000 asking price?! Ouchy! It has two bedrooms as well, similar proportions and finish but has the lovely extension at the back which we envisioned.