Here are some photos of the first home I ever owned. I bought this little gem back in around 1996 for the bargain sum of $80,000 Aussie dollars. At the time it was rented to a lovely family who stayed on for a few years, and helped me to own my first home. I can't remember their names, but they paid the rent on time every time. When they eventually moved out, I remember walking into the bare home for the very first time as the management real estate agent walked out, leaving me with the keys. I was all alone, my mum (support person!) was on holidays in Perth, Western Australia. For some reason, I walked straight to one of the drawers in the dilapidated kitchen and pulled on the it. The handle and front pulled right off in my hand. Incredulous, I placed it on the counter, and went for the second draw... same thing. I could not believe the tenants would not have brought that to my attention. So easy to fix, but just neglected. I was totally overwhelmed at the task ahead of me. I stood there and cried. I was devastated. The house looked nothing like I had remembered it to, after my five minute viewing on the day I bought it!!
Walking around, in the empty home, I was gobsmacked by its poor condition. The carpet in the living room was so filthy, that the dirt embedded in it had formed a dry hard crust with a sheen. It was disgusting. I was beginning to realise why it had been so cheap. Other houses at the time were selling for not much less that $120,000. I guess they don't call it a 'bargain' for nothing.
I'm pretty sure I rang my mum and promptly began crying. "But Darling....", she said assuringly, "it's got 'good bones'". That was mums answer to me every time I would lament over my purchase, for the next several years. It turns out she was right.
Well, after a few phone calls and pleas for help, I was very lucky to enlist the help of my siblings Lisa and Martin, and a good friend named Fiona. Because I was flat broke, impoverished and living on a shoestring budget, the most I could do was make it look slightly less ugly than it was. We set about pulling up the carpet with the yucky encrusted goop sheen, in preparation for its replacement with second hand carpet sourced from the Trading Post for about $80. It looked better and it was a dirt cheap improvement. Say no more. There was lots and lots of cleaning done. I remember my sister tackling the fly screens in the kitchen. She gasped and recoiled when she started cleaning the tracks on the window above the sink. It was thick with fish scales. I'm serious. My tenants had obviously been enthusiastic fishermen, but not so great with the house work. What can I say... it made the day unforgettable.
I'm sorry I didn't have the foresight to take a photo of that priceless discovery... but I think you can imagine the look on my sister Lisa's face as she held the filthy Wettex in the air, with the stinky old fish scales stuck to it. It was truly disgusting, and while I stood there wondering to myself "Why me God? Why me?", my sister in law Liz asked a very good question... something along the lines of "How much is this placed insured for Dany?" Then went on to encourage me by mentioning how 'lighting a match' might be the best solution. I'm pretty sure I cried again.
So, several days in to the cleaning and tidying up of the house, the walls were painted in cream, the carpet looked mildly better, and the house was almost ready to be re-let. Even though the house wasn't quite finished, the local Ray White Real Estate Agent called and said they had a young man who had requested to inspect it. I protested because in my opinion there was still a lot to be done, but she said he was at their office, and he had liked it from the outside, and was really keen. I reluctantly said OK, but assured them that 'no-one in their right mind would be keen on the property in it's still imperfect state'. She sent him over anyway. He pretty much bowled me over, and asked if he could rent it immediately. The next thing I knew ... I had a new tenant. It was one of my first lessons in real estate... you don't have to like or want to live in the home you're renting out. It's likely someone else will... especially if the price is right.
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