Cracker by Damian Christie

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Cracker: Home (Is Where I Want to Be)

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  • Craig Ranapia,

    Say what you want about Taekwondo champ Logan Campbell opening a brothel to fund his Olympic bid, but at least he knows someone's rooting for him.

    Meanwhile, the kind of people happy to live in glasshouses like this shouldn't be getting too high and mighty with brothel keepers or strippers. At least prostitutes are upfront about what they do, and the price they charge for doing it.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • 3410,

    Auckland • Since Jan 2007 • 2618 posts Report Reply

  • Jackie Clark,

    So glad you finally have a house, Damian. And it's all so soon after having your system cleansed!

    Mt Eden, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 3136 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell,

    Congrats! of course that's the easy part - wait 'till you buy the next and have to do the sell one and buy another before we're kicked out dance - twice the stress. As far as inviting your friends around to show it off - that's what house warming parties are for - do it in the empty house when you take possession, get them really drunk then hit them up to help with the move.

    Most of us don't buy or sell houses very often - we don't really know or understand the ins and outs of it all - we honestly need someone we can trust to hold our hands - after all the seller does. And that's one of the great things about the US system - both sides have realtors rooting for them, who know the rules and the pitfalls, who know how to read a builder's inspection and can walk through a house and show you the things that might go wrong.

    Coming back to NZ and trying to buy a house was a nightmare - tenders and auctions were quite scary and something we actively avoided - but we rented and gave ourselves 6 months to find somewhere

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • Sofie Bribiesca,

    So it’s not Ponsonby. It’s not Grey Lynn, it’s not even Point Chev or Sandringham.

    Hey, congratulations from us Damian. as long as your house has good bones you will be fine wherever you settle. Heh, we were at our local (Kingsland) t'other night and a guy sitting across from us said his latest new pick up line is "I've got a mortgage" Of course, we are using it as a phrase for all occasions now. Gotta have a house warming, hint hint.
    Yay you gotta home! :)

    here and there. • Since Nov 2007 • 6796 posts Report Reply

  • Sofie Bribiesca,

    Oh yeah, if you need a good builder.....

    here and there. • Since Nov 2007 • 6796 posts Report Reply

  • James Green,

    Based on my recent opportunistic open-home sampling (hah -- wait til you find yourself visiting open homes when you own a house...); certainly here the bottom of the market seems relatively steady, down perhaps a little bit on its peak, but there's some good discounting in the bigger places.*

    *Relative to GV. Real estate agents will always tell you that GV is no indication of the value of a house, probably because they want you to value the house on emotion. The reality is that the correlation is strong, but obviously not perfect. Alternately, this could be construed as QV getting their estimations systematically out on the top end at the last valuation in Dunedin.

    Limerick, Ireland • Since Nov 2006 • 703 posts Report Reply

  • James Green,

    Also, I've often wondered whether the GV:Sale Price* relationship is self-fulfilling. Buyers, sellers, real estate agents and valuers are usually not blind to the GV, which likely impacts on your thinking.

    *Obviously, I'm not suggesting GV=sale price, but that at a given point in a market, there's a rule of thumb about the relationship between where houses are selling relative to their GVs.

    Limerick, Ireland • Since Nov 2006 • 703 posts Report Reply

  • Robyn Gallagher,

    Why did you want to buy a house?

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report Reply

  • jb,

    Settling down. And just so young......

    a.small.town.in.germany • Since Jan 2007 • 86 posts Report Reply

  • Rich Lock,

    Why did you want to buy a house?

    A question I have asked myself repeatedly in the last few weeks as the builders suck my wallet empty.

    Welcome to DiY hell, Damian.

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report Reply

  • Glenn Pearce,

    ." I'm told across town that night, a buyer in Ponsonby upped his $900,000 bid first to $905, then $910, then $915 to reach the reserve while the auction was still going. I would've thought someone with access to a million bucks might've had slightly more sense.

    Yes and no, once the reserve is hit the sale is unconditional, negotiating after the auction runs the risk of all sorts of variables coming into play, emotions of the seller, other buyers who aren't in a position to particpate in auction, that buyer obviously though the extra 15k was worth it to secure the property, in the scheme of things it was 1.6% more (although 15k in your pocket is nice)

    The local agent round here refuses to use Auctions, he reckons it's the best way to get the second best price for your house.

    ie: you get slighty more than what the second bidder was prepared to go to, you don't find out what the highest bidder was prepared to go to

    Auckland • Since Feb 2007 • 504 posts Report Reply

  • Mark Easterbrook,

    Don't knock that view of the Mt Albert - Waterview motorway Damian. I plan to mount an anti-tank gun in my lounge window so I can blast those criminals from South Auckland as they approach the off-ramp.

    I'm going to call it "Melissa".

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 265 posts Report Reply

  • Hadyn Green,

    Congrats on the purchase.

    But in future, ALWAYS check the shower pressure! It's gonna be the thing that pisses you off the most. Especially if you're one of those high-falutin types that showers every day.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2090 posts Report Reply

  • Danielle,

    My personal reasons to buy a house:

    1. No one will give you shit/refuse to rent to you for having a nice well-behaved dog.
    2. No one will sell the place out from under you if your suburb becomes trendy.
    3. You don't have to maintain any kind of 'relationship' with your landlord. The fewer extraneous people I have around to make polite chit-chat with the better. (See also: hairdressers.) Plus, I hate negotiating for things. 'Can I have a door on the bathroom?' (I actually had to ask for this once.)

    Charo World. Cuchi-cuchi!… • Since Nov 2006 • 3828 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    But in future, ALWAYS check the shower pressure! It's gonna be the thing that pisses you off the most. Especially if you're one of those high-falutin types that showers every day.

    I think our first item of maintenance expenditure -- or the first time we had to get a man in, anyway -- was replacing the water main from the street. Turned out who ever had laid it had used the wrong sort of pipe -- hence, hopeless water pressure throughout the house (which I'm sure actually helped bring the price down to our range).

    I recall being amazed how cheap it was to do a thing that made the house much, much nicer to live in.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Sofie Bribiesca,

    I recall being amazed how cheap it was to do a thing that made the house much, much nicer to live in.

    Ha I have that problem often :)

    here and there. • Since Nov 2007 • 6796 posts Report Reply

  • giovanni tiso,

    Why did you want to buy a house?

    Yes, one should always examine that question very carefully, the reasons for buying vs. renting are often skewed by all kinds of subconscious desires to conform. In my case for instance the main reason was to seek the approval of telemarketers.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report Reply

  • uroskin,

    I got my first mortgage well into middle age - as a continental European I had never any qualms about renting because you have a far greater choice of places and neighbourhoods to live than when you want to buy - to build a house, which comes with a whole host of other stresses and problems.
    When it came to selling the house and buying a new one, the real estate agent handling both sales was the same guy. How schizophrenic do you have to be to get a job like that?

    Waiheke Island • Since Feb 2007 • 178 posts Report Reply

  • Max Call,

    Our first home (Tauranga) sold a few weeks back after only 4 days on the market.
    But now we are having trouble finding what we want here in the Bay - there is not much on the market! (in our modest price range anyway).

    Danielle is spot on for reasons for owning a house - its not all about the $!

    Fruit Bowl of New Zealand… • Since Jun 2007 • 153 posts Report Reply

  • Sofie Bribiesca,

    We always did stuff to our rentals for our comfort and landlords would then sell because they were looking shit hot. Last landlord admittedly was a friend but they liked what we did and then gave us option to buy but it was now out of our price range so we headed across Dominion Rd then half way down and found a beauty in 3 kings/ Mt Roskill which has served us well (including our well behaved wee dog).Point was I found it on the internet within 6 hours .Sorted.

    here and there. • Since Nov 2007 • 6796 posts Report Reply

  • Kyle Matthews,

    I would've thought someone with access to a million bucks might've had slightly more sense.

    My parents purchased their current home from an elderly lady who'd live in it for a gazillion years and had had it on the market for a year at an unrealistic price. Her family were keen to move her out (the house has lots of steps both inside and outside).

    Eventually she was persuaded to auction, which is where my parents were the highest bidder, but well under the reserve. Afterwards they added on another $10,000. The real estate agent came back asking them to put another $20K on. They stuck to their guns and said no. Eventually the real estate agent dropped their commission just to get the deal made, they wanted rid of the house.

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report Reply

  • Jackie Clark,

    we headed across Dominion Rd then half way down and found a beauty in 3 kings/ Mt Roskill which has served us well

    I just have to reiterate how much I love your house. You took good bones and made it completely and utterly yours. Renting just wouldn't be the same. Danielle is right.

    Mt Eden, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 3136 posts Report Reply

  • mobsta,

    <guote>The local agent round here refuses to use Auctions, he reckons it's the best way to get the second best price for your house.

    ie: you get slighty more than what the second bidder was prepared to go to, you don't find out what the highest bidder was prepared to go to</quote>

    That is completely true... but only in a rational market.
    Which, unfortunately, Auckland's has been anything but.

    I am happy to go to 500K, someone else is happy to go to 420K. In a rational market they stop at 420K, I bid 430K and win the house, saving myself 70K in the process (and conversely stopping the vendors getting the extra 70K).

    But in an irrational market people are willing to go beyond their limits to secure a house, and a feeding frenzy occurs. This is what auctioneers are banking on.
    Auctions tend to work best in markets with speculative bubbles, hence Auckland and Nelson.
    This is why auctions are not popular in places with steady, incremental growth, like Wellington.

    I would never sell my house by auction, but that's just me....

    wellington • Since Jul 2009 • 8 posts Report Reply

  • Roger Lacey,

    Was your opening bit about Logan Campbell to soften us up for the news that to help pay the mortgage you are going to start renting out one of your spare rooms by the hour?

    Whatakataka Bay Surf Club… • Since Apr 2008 • 148 posts Report Reply

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