Missed out!

Got outbid at the auction, but that's okay. There were only three of us bidding and it quickly came down to a young couple and a pair of builders. The couple got it for $395K in the end.

Glad the owners got a good price. And we're both really hopeful that the couple realise that they'll be spending a fair bit on curtains, and that without doing a major amount of work on insulation, their winter bills will be ecksy. Would hate for them to get it and then struggle with the extra expenses.

Apparently, builders are doing really well at the moment. Many are buying houses like this one that need a little work, and of course they can fix them up cheap. So they are getting better houses in better areas. It'll be interesting to see how some neighbourhoods change over the next few years.

We're not really disappointed. It was a potential opportunity but we figured we'd miss out on it. That said, we learned a lot of handy things, so we're better prepared for future sales and auctions. Probably the handiest idea is that any house we're even curious about, email the agents and ask for a property report before we even think of going to look at it. In Canberra, the owners get the property report done, and whoever buys the property then reimburses them.

So the roperty reports will cost us nothing and let us know what needs to be done up front, so we can take it into account when viewing the property. Plus they all come with plans, which are really handy. So that should save some running around.

At least now we don't have to worry about settlement/moving happening around Swancon!