The Good The Bad and The Ugly

Dealing with Real Estate Agents is a necessary evil when buying and selling houses. My recent experiences have given me insights in how these people do business.

The first agents we invited into our home to discuss options for selling were of the baby boomer generation, obviously been too long in the business, and appeared jaded, prescriptive, cynical, and tried to steer us into sales options that were not what we wanted. I did not want to give this agent or his company our business especially when they are so well (and so easily) paid for their “efforts”. My keen BS detectors were jangling and I trusted my intuition.

The next agents were recommended by friends. Flynn & Co of Rosebud are staffed by two Gen Y aged guys who were everything the first agents were not. They clearly explained their pricing structure, sales plan, and sale price estimation.  They were professional, enthusiastic, friendly, down-to-earth, and dare I proclaim “honest”. They were conscientious and diligent and the house sold in two weeks at a price higher than we had advertised. The whole experience was positive for us as sellers and hopefully also for the buyers. We would recommend them as real estate agents. They obviously are trying to establish themselves in a tight industry. Good luck to them.

Now we are temporarily homeless. We have our block of land and plans submitted to Council for approval. We are in limbo. I am living with my sister in the town we are relocating to, and Michael is cleaning up our sold house prior to the settlement date.

I have been looking for a place to rent while we build our house. It is a tight market, especially in this region due to some new large industries; wind farm construction and gas power stations. Rental properties are scarce, overpriced, and highly sought after. I find myself once again having to face the demons – real estate agents.

In a tight market they become powerful and many wield this power at their will. My keen BS detectors are on high alert and the alarms are deafening. Why are some of these people so short-sighted? Don’t they realise that today’s rental customer could well be tomorrows house buyer or seller? And when did it become necessary to dress in formal attire to try to impress a rural real estate agent?

I could plainly see the man looking me up and down, judging me based on my casual Saturday morning attire, pigeonholing me into some warped hierarchy of customer ranking. Did I look like I had the means to play his corrupt game of paper-queue-jumping and feathering his own personal nest with a little extra cash under the table? Obviously no!!

But having sensed this implied but unspoken state of affairs, I would never trust this person and I would not give him or his company any future business. His short-sighted attitude in an inconsistent industry is something I find quite stupid. Not only would I not give him any business, but I would not recommend them and I would actually advise others against doing business there.

Sure I am a little naïve and I am persistently optimistic in my world view. But I do actually believe that there are good honest people out there who do want to do a good job and the right thing. And these people will prosper not only in business, but in life generally. These are the people who will benefit from my business and recommendations.

The search for a suitable place to live continues and I steel myself for further dealing with real estate agents today. It is a tricky task in a shifting landscape with unseen booby traps and chameleon-like sales people, with the potential for bad decisions made under pressure and in haste. I feel like I should be dressing for Desert Storm.

Port Fairy gardens

Pushing hard against the steady breeze, I cycled around the town following the map and looking out for the red balloon markers. Six local gardens had opened their gates to the public and I joined the group of people, who perhaps were looking for garden inspiration, as I was.

Stone walls seem to be a popular and necessary wind break in this environment. The roses still in bloom looked superb, while other plantings showed a creativity and dedication to gardening that I have not developed.

I appreciate beautiful well-maintained gardens but I seem to lack some essential ingredient that is necessary to nurture one.

My sister did get the green thumb and the keen gardener’s eye and has created a beautiful garden of her own in Port Fairy. She did not open it to the public but it rivalled the others I looked at.

My own block of land is recently mown by Michael and consists of nothing but weedy grass. The soil test and land survey have been completed and the house plans have finally been submitted to the local council for approval. A garden is a long way off yet. Today’s garden visits offer food for thought and ideas that I can try to implement when the time comes.

Specifications

Well I think I have finished the drawings this week. I have four drawings with details and notes, as well as a four page specifications document. I have sent them to the builder so he can cast his eye over them to see if I have covered it all and specified the correct timbers, etc.

The specifications have been prepared in accordance with the Victorian Building Regulations 2006, the Victorian Timber Framing Manual, the Moyne Shire Council Design & Development Overlay Schedule 21, Port Fairy Design Guidelines 2001, and the Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority Land Subject to Inundation Overlay recommendations.

Our own desires for this house were these: brick veneer construction; heritage look to blend in with the heritage buildings of the town; high ceilings; light interior; good kitchen; hardwood timber floors; efficient heating, cooling and water systems; orientation to the northerly light for passive solar heating; double garage with sealed driveway; nice spaces for garden and vegetable garden; sheltered southerly aspect; sheltered al fresco area with decking; four bedrooms; two bathrooms; pantry; good storage space; house divided into three sections and use of doors and hallways for cross ventilation and efficient heating and cooling. The design took quite a bit of adjusting until I came up with a plan that achieved this.

I contacted a local surveyor to conduct the soil test and survey the block of land. We need the flood heights so we can set out the house to comply with the inundation levels. This has become a factor now with the awareness of global warming and rising sea levels. We are aware of these factors.

The last flood in Port Fairy on record was in 1946 and we have been told by locals that this was the result of an unusual combination of events: there was a lot of rain; the Moyne River filled and was blocked by debris; and there was a king tide.

The surveyor told me that it only requires one hole to be dug for a soil test, but he likes to dig three. He says the soil there is usually deemed “stable” with a base of sand and limestone, but there are sometimes cavities. So he likes to visit the site once the footings have been dug, just to satisfy his own curiosity. He obviously loves his work.

I hope to submit the drawings and specifications to the local council in the next week or two. Hopefully we can get approval before Christmas. Fingers crossed.

On the drawing board

This blog documents the project for building a new house at Port Fairy in Victoria Australia. We plan to be owner builders. We bought the block of land in April 2009 and I have been working through various designs since then.

Block of land July 2009

 Here is a picture of the block of land as it was in July 2009. See the Gallery page of this blog for more photos.

After numerous variations through the sketch design process, the final design is on the drawing board. I am detailing the drawings so that we can submit the plans to council for approval.

The limitations to which I am designing are:  northerly orientation towards the street; cold southerly winds; block width of 18.6 metres; visual aspect towards the court and easterly sunrise; flood zoning; heritage town ambience; eco-friendly systems; caravan park along the southern and rear fence line; sheltered al fresco inclusion; spaces for boat and two cars; garden; and our own wants and wishes.

I dragged out the old drawing board and wiped off the mildew then hunted for old drafting pens and tracing paper. After much scratching about I bought new tracing paper and new pens. I know I could use CAD but I don’t have the software and for one set of drawings it is faster for me to work on this in the old fashioned way – by hand.

I thought I had the design finished until I visited the land to discover that the caravan part owners had placed three large cabins along our back fence line, and although the design did not have views to the back yard, it did change my thinking and a redesign resulted.

I start a new job in two weeks time and these drawings will need to be completed by then because I won’t have time after that.

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