Opinions Please

Hey MGs, the time has come for me to downsize and I have sold my 36 square, 6 bedroom house on a ¼ acre block in the Dandenong Ranges near Lysterfield and I have to move out by the 8th of August.
Now I need to be buy something but I can't make up my mind whether to have a seachange or a treechange.
I am looking for at least 4 bedrooms and at least two living areas, a modern kitchen and at least a two car garage. If it has a pool that is a bonus but not absolutely necessary. Two absolute non negotiable things are it must have an enclosed backyard for my Rhodesian Ridgeback to play and most important, it must have 100Mb/s fibre to the premises or 100Mb/s fibre to the curb for internet or either must be available if not already connected.

This one near the beach is a hot contender as it has a great alfresco entertaining area on a good sized block
https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-frankston-127811954

This one is a bit further from the beach but it has a bigger backyard for my dog to run around and a plus is the house is much newer.
https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-langwarrin-128023714

My wife likes this one but it doesn't have a garage because it has been converted into an office but the house is OK
https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-frankston+south-128119282

This is really nice but might be too much to maintain the garden and it is two storey and although my wife doesn't mind I think single storey might be better.
https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-langwarrin-127662654

Those were the seachange hot contenders and these are the hot contenders for the treechange

This place is only 2 years old and is very well fitted out, with a great alfresco entertaining area
https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-pakenham-128164518

My wife really likes this one because of the huge garden but I think too much work
https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-selby-127924490

This is my wife's favourite but it has the wrong internet so I am against it
https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-tecoma-128086530

This one is close to the highly regarded Botanic Gardens in Cranbourne and it has a big yard that has mostly lawn so it would be a blank canvas.
https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-botanic+ridge-127709578

These are the houses on the short list for one reason or another and I probably only really like 3 of them enough to buy so I am hoping for some input on what other people think and the reason for their choice.

 

Yep that would be good if you could buy that over here for that sort of money but houses over here are crazy expensive and especially if the block is a reasonable size......hmmm the 20 acres is a bit too much work for me coz I am going to retire.
Here AU$400,000 barely buys you a two bedroom apartment in a not too flash area and where you need bars on your windows to slow down the crooks.

 

Just have a few thoughts and considerations about downsizing and moving. Do you plan to never move again? If so I'm not sure about your age or health but health issues can come up quickly when least expected. So if it was me thinking of moving I would give this some thought. What if down the road a few years you or your wife could no longer climb stairs easily? You might want to eliminate a house with a lot of stairs from your list unless it is just extra bedrooms upstairs with master bedroom on first floor. A house that could be transformed to handicap accessible might become a necessity some day. Dreary thought I know but life changes happen!
Maintenance and yard work are things to think about, unless money is no object and you hire that done.
Is a view or a big yard more important to you?
Do you want move in ready that suits all you needs and wants or are you willing to have work done to make a house more to your liking? Adding a fence does not seem like a huge project if you like everything else about the property in my opinion.
I like the floor plan with bedrooms on opposite ends of the house for privacy.
Neighbors good or bad can be a issue since they may change at any time. If more land is a good option I'd go for that. I like a little seclusion and quiet myself.
Good luck!

 

I'd keep about two acres maintained as yard and let the rest grow up with trees and wildflowers and enjoy the seclusion!!

 

You make some great points katkat, thank you. I am already not too keen on stairs hence avoiding two storey places but my wife doesn't mind stairs and she likes the view. The houses in my selection are ones we each like. I am going for a smaller manageable yard that is room enough for the dog to run but small enough that I could pay a gardener for 3 or 4 hours of mowing and weeding each month (my current house has had a gardener for the last 4 years).
My ideal size would be between one third and half an acre and the thinking for 4 bedrooms is the master bedroom, the guest room with queen size bed, my computer room and my wife's sewing room which also has a spare single bed. We need a big dining or alfresco area because when we have family parties, there are up to 16 adults at the dining table although it is more usually 12 adults.
Thanks again, I value your input

I need to be fairly close to a hospital (within 20 minutes) because of some health issues and anything close to any facilities over 1 acre starts at about AU$1,500,000. Property only gets cheap here if you are in the middle of nowhere but then you don't have internet and other essentials. Over here in some areas they build 16 three bedroom townhouses on half an acre

Yep......and Tim, sharks are the least of the problems......there are several of the most venomous snakes in the world, plenty of deadly spiders, paralysis ticks that attack your animals and paralyse them (in my case my dog if you forget her vaccination), nasty stinging wasps and if you go swimming there is the deadly box jellyfish, the blue ring octopus, venomous sea snakes, the stone fish, stingrays, the flower urchin, the bluebottle jellyfish, up North there are both freshwater and saltwater crocodiles, cone shells, bristle worms and plenty more that can give a nasty nip or sting..... I think when they were handing out toxic pests some Aussie put their hand up several times because we seem to have more than our share

 

400,000 for a house too rich for me.

Heck i spent just a little over 50,000 just remodeling it.And paid part of it off.

Unless you need that much space.

I agree with tim that little house is nice.Hope the house you sell gets a good price.

 

Houses over here are really expensive and a lot of people never own a house and just pay rent......... yeah we are used to having a big house although the new one will have two less bedrooms so it is a bit smaller. Big houses are really great if you want some peace and quiet by yourself and it is also good for the dog to be able to have some space to run and play

Yeah.........I got lots of money for my old house and for a short time I was a millionaire. When I buy the new house, I will be able to pay cash so no loans and no other debt for me...........heck I don't even have a credit card

 

I spent some of my retirement to remodel the house i currently have.

 

Here is a little tip i learned about credit cards.I max out my credit and then spend time paying it off around 30 dollars a month or so.I never have had good credit till i was in my 30's.I have not used it in 6 months.All most done paying it off and will start the process over.Heck i keep getting offers for over 10,000 credit limits.Funny

As long as you pay on time or earlier.You will be fine on credit cards.Me personally i like to pay it a week earlier.This means to the creditors i or you can manage money.

 

The one your wife's favorite but the wrong internet - can the internet be upgraded now or in the future? You know if she's happier first - you win- even if you get yours fixed later!

 

Hmmmm....over here, if you don't pay the entire amount you spend on your credit card during the month, by the end of that month then you get hit with really high interest rates which is crazy. Over here average home mortage interest rates are currently about 4.5% and credit cards are about 12.6% and if you have a bad credit rating could be as high as 28% which is too expensive.

 

Unfortunately we have the Australian NBN (National Broadband Network) rollout and it was supposed to be fibre optic to the premises (FTTP) for the whole country but after it was approved by the then Labour Federal Government, after the next election Labour lost and the Liberals formed government and they dumbed down the NBN to save money. Instead of a fibre optic cable to each house they rolled out fibre optic to the node (FTTN) which runs at half the speed or less because one fibre optic cable is shared by up to 200 people in each neighbourhood. The reason we are moving is because when the NBN comes to where I am currently living we go from a cable connection to my house at 100Mb/s down to the new NBN FTTN speed of <30Mb/s. Once your area is connected to the NBN you are stuck with that service as all other existing services are shut down by the government so we would have to change to the NBN because I got the notice my cable connection will cease operation late this year.

Yeah it would be good to go with her favourite to maintain domestic harmony but it has really crappy internet speed, there are far too many steps and the house is made of wood and it is in a very high risk bushfire area.

My favourite is this one for a treechange and my wife also likes it because it is so new but it is not her favourite as she likes places with more garden
https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-pakenham-128164518

My favourite for the seachange is this one but my wife isn't such a big fan because she doesn't like the kitchen so much.
https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-langwarrin-128023714

 

It is the same here in the USA, pay in full every month or pay high interest rates.

 

Smart thinking Tim +1
This is what I did for many years until about three or four years ago when I realised that I didn't really need a credit card any more so now I have a debit card with zero fees instead and this debit card is now linked to Paypal for any online stuff.........this works for me and my wife and there is less impulse spending

 

This is your most important consideration.
Minor alterations to the house at a later stage is not that big a deal. After all, the house was originally designed (and built) to suit the needs of someone else.

 

Cranbourne, Frankston & Dandenong are in the top 5 Melbourne suburbs for highest crime rates.
Drive-by's, Home invasions, burglary etc.......all gang & drug related no doubt!

I hope the Ridgeback bites hard!

Gippsland way seems to be the cheapest water-views, whilst the Greater Bendigo region represents great value for a tree-view.

Good luck Joffa

 

Yes!
You need to find him an African friend.
https://www.boerboelaustralia.com.au/our-studs

 

Yep all the houses selected are close enough to a major hospital and have good eye specialists available
Hehehe we will have money left over to make any changes we think we might need
Thanks for your input Eldon

Thanks Replicator and interesting points. It must be a perception thing for crime because here is a list of the top 5 crime areas and I would have thought the crime rate was much higher west of Melbourne but the Canstar ratings taken from Police data rate the 10 worst and the five best suburbs for each capital city
https://www.canstar.com.au/home-insurance/state-hotspots-for-home-theft/#Victoria
By careful selection we avoided any towns on this list
These towns are the 5 biggest crime growth areas
https://www.canstar.com.au/news-articles/top-5-suburbs-crime-growing/

Where I live now before we got Ridgebacks (this is our second one) my house got cleaned out once and then my workshop got cleaned out 3 months later. Since having the Ridgebacks I haven't been burgled (although my neighbours have been burgled several times since) so they have earned their keep. My dog is trained to be gentle to people to whom she is introduced and told they are friends but if a stranger comes towards the gate she is barking before they enter and at a very fit 45kg she makes them think twice and not enter the yard.

We are tending towards the Cardinia Waters area near Pakenham as it is a lovely rural farm area that is growing rapidly (so good capital growth) and is one of the highest growth areas in Victoria with fairly low crime rate (for now)
Thanks for your thoughts Replicator and it is a big decision so we will need some luck

I think if we got Shiloh a playmate it would be another Ridgeback but it is a big step going through puppy stage again. You need to start training them very young and start socialising them very young because they are very strong and independent dogs (some say difficult to train) so it is best to start with a purebred puppy rather than a young dog as we want a good watchdog that is still very friendly to our friends.
Hmmmm........maybe get Shiloh a lion cub to play with

 

FWIW...
Ridgebacks and Boerboels are perfect for rural areas. After all, they were bred for protecting families on farms.

Why not?
The Ridgeback was also known as African Lion Dog or African Lion Hound...
Only problem is a lion is a cat...

 

Hey Dave thanks for your input.... I have been meaning to send you a PM for ages now but I have been flat out and can't seem to find the time

Me too and if I was a bit younger and the stairs up to the first floor weren't going to annoy me then that would be my favourite too Dave and yes I love the garage and alfresco area too

The one in Ince Court was a fave for a while but the dining room is a bit small for our Parker extension table that can seat up to 16 although my wife quite likes this one.

The one in Selby is nice but for me too many stairs and the garden would end up too much to pay to maintain but my wife really likes the big garden.

I really like the one in Hedgely Court as it has a good yard and decent sized rooms but my wife really dislikes the kitchen. She doesn't like that it looks across to the fireplace and the kitchen looks bigger in the photo than when you are standing in it. Pity
https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-langwarrin-128023714

My wife and I are at the moment closest to choosing the one at Cardinia Waters near Pakenham. This is a brand new suburb in a rural town that is surrounded by farmland and is a high growth area with good facilities so the property will rapidly increase in price over the next few years making it a very good investment.
The house is only 2 years old and the people selling it had it custom built with the best fittings because they intended to stay there and to raise their young family here but last month the husband was unexpectedly offered a senior executive level promotion at his work and he has accepted so now he has only 3 months to permanently relocate interstate to Sydney and so his new house is priced for a quick sale.
https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-pakenham-128164518

We are still looking but need to make a decision in the next couple of weeks.
Again thanks for your thoughts Dave

 

Sorry I didn't reply sooner because I fell asleep instead of sitting up to all hours on my computer...........in the last four months we have walked through seventy or eighty houses and these ones have been the best......... and most of these have only been on the market for a couple of weeks so we have been really busy looking. In the middle of all this I have had a couple or three trips to hospital to get some lumps chopped out of my face near my left eye and my lower abdomen towards my left side and the incision on my abdomen had a few issues and a bit of ongoing bleeding but now I'm on the mend and nearly back to normal.

Yeah Hedgely Court I really like the simple and elegant front and nice yard but I am swayed by your thoughts (even though they support my wife) and yes the small kitchen and lack of walk in pantry will be the thing that knocks it out so what you and my wife say makes sense to me.......... so we will take this off the list.....the missus will be happy

If we bought the Cardinia Waters one, we thought we would plant an English box hedge in front of the retaining wall in the front yard to shield the sleepers from view and soften the hard looking retaining wall and in the back area (up the 3 steps) we would turn this area into a vegie patch with a passionfruit creeper growing on the high fence also to shield the fence from view and to get plenty of passionfruit in the New Year when they are fruiting.

Yeah I am with you on the Lauriston Avenue but my wife is into making patchwork quilts and making stuffed toys for children and charities so she really likes the errrr rustic charm of this place. The view from the deck is spectacular but there are too many things about the house that are impractical ........although it is in Sherbrooke Forest area which is a lyrebird habitat area with lots of tall eucalypt trees and with giant tree ferns at ground level with plenty of other lush vegetation and it is a beautiful area to live.

Hmmmmm....while I was sleeping, I got an email tonight for a newly listed place in Cardinia Waters and it is supposed to be a very spacious house on a third of an acre. I have requested an inspection for either Monday or Tuesday........ oh and there is also a new listing at Officer which is also near Pakenham and this is on a quarter of an acre block on the side of a hill that has views to Port Philip Bay so we will check this when they list some inspection times.

Hmmm....you have been busy........... and good to hear you have been kicking goals even though I know there can be a lot of stress meeting deadlines but it is great to bask in the glow of success especially if people don't think you will succeed. Enjoy your break and maybe take the car for a drive somewhere and stay overnight and just chill out for a couple of days to recharge and regroup..........

Yeah for sure......we like visitors.........and if you come to Australia, drop down to Victoria (one of the errr cooler states) and there will be a queen sized guest bed waiting in its own part of the house of course we would need to have a few nips of the medicinal well aged single malt scotch to celebrate and I am pretty good on all things BBQ and my wife makes really nice roast lamb with all the roast vegies and trimmings as well as lots of good pasta dishes like lasagna, fettuccine, gnocchi and spaghetti and I also have well over 200 bottles of vintage red wine stored away dating back to 2001 (we already drank all the earlier ones) so there is always something really good to pair with a meal. Being Australia we always have fresh seafood available too so there is a lot to choose from so you would have to be pretty fussy not to find great food.
Be prepared though, because my state, Victoria, is the same size as England (it fits inside) so it is a big wide open land so you will need some time to explore
If you're not an axe murderer and we are not English convicts then that will be fine ............although.......... in the 1800s a direct descendant of mine, from London, was transported to the Colony in chains for.......and this is so ironic......stealing one bar of soap from a merchant

Take care Dave and thanks for your thoughts.......and I will write.....sometime soon

 

Update
We put in strong top range offers on both of these properties and missed out because someone else offered much more than they were worth and we didn't want to increase our offer higher than the property value and then be over capitalised
https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-vic-frankston+south-128119282
and https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-vic-frankston-127811954

Then we made a big offer on this place but the vendors wanted settlement much earlier than August (wanted June) and although they didn't refuse the offer they also didn't accept it and I didn't want to be left hanging in no man's land so I withdrew my offer after 5 days. https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-pakenham-128164518

We looked at another 5 houses and although the online pictures looked pretty good, going to the property and seeing how small some of the rooms were and how crappy the finish was up close meant they were off the list. Two of the houses had their pictures obviously photo shopped because when we went inside it didn't even look close to the house in the pictures and another one of the houses had some large cracks in several walls that in person were very obvious but in the pictures had magically disappeared.

We have just been told of a house coming onto the market today and it hasn't even got any inspections scheduled or advertising setup yet. We got the insiders tip from the people in the same company who sold our house but in a different office location. Hopefully I will get some picture files but the hard copy photographs I saw look very promising. It is a big brick house on a big block and is 2 years old, 30 squares, 4 bedroom, 3 living areas, big kitchen with huge walk in pantry, two bathrooms, a nice alfresco area outside and with a 2 car garage with remote control roller doors on the front and the back of the garage (the back one so you can drive through to the backyard or have it open to the backyard when you have a party). The house is sitting on a one third acre block of land with two road access (to the front and the rear of the block) and the back of the block is clear area. I have arranged a personal inspection later this morning and hope it works out.

 

I bought the house in the attachment rar file and I signed all the contracts yesterday and also paid the $65,000 deposit. This house had one inspection and 8 people were interested and put in offers but all except two offers were discarded. My offer and the first offer were the final contenders and my offer was slightly more but the other offer had a much quicker settlement and eventually the vendors went with the extra money but we were left hanging for a couple of days as they were trying to get me to increase my offer.
The house is just over 2 years old and looks really lovely. Mrs. joffa is very pleased and can't wait to move in. I have done a deal with the vendors and we can move in 3 months before settlement so we get the keys on the 28th of May. Now I need to organise a building and pest inspection, then organise home insurance, then organise a cleaner to go right through the house, as well as change over the power, gas, water and internet and I will also lodge an application to council to build a new 12 square workshop in the back yard so I have somewhere to tinker with things and keep out of Mrs. joffa's way. We are also going to put in several raised garden beds for growing vegies and we will probably raise the beds and edge them with redgum railway sleepers and we will also install an automatic watering system. We are also going to plant some fruit trees and they will be a lemon tree, a lime tree, an apricot tree, a white nectarine tree, a plum tree and a fig tree. Pity we are a bit too far south for an avocado tree and although there are varieties that will grow, they don't fruit very well and they especially don't like frosts and often die.
I am also going to install a motorised awning over the outside alfresco area so if we are sitting outside with friends and there is a tropical shower, we will extend the motorised awning and still stay dry. Not sure how these awnings go in wind so if anyone has experience please let me know.
We are also going to plant a row of bottlebrushes or grevilleas along the fence to hide it so when you are sitting in the alfresco area you can have a rural bush ambience. These plants attract tiny honeyeaters (you may know them as humming birds) and other pretty native birds like finches, cockatiels and rosellas.

Have a look at the pictures and let me know what you think?

 

Hmmm....the rar file attachment won't open so here are the pictures

 

Here are some more pictures

 

...and some more pictures

 

....and the last ones

 

Congratulations! Very nice, I really like the outdoor patio. Here's to many happy years in your new home!!

 

The rar file opens for me using IZArc.

WOW!!! The house is beautiful. I'm sure once you and the missus are settled in, and the trees and flowers are planted, you'll be happy with a great purchase.
Congrats!

 

Thank you katkat and yes the kitchen opens to the under roof alfresco dining area which then steps out to the area outside where there are sandstone pavers. We really like that back garden is a blank canvas and we only have to plant what we want without having to dig plants out

Thanks Eldon and yep it is a great house to start with because it is only 2 years old and it has very nice spacious floorplan which has been fitted out with best quality upmarket fittings. It also has a huge back yard we can do whatever we would like so we will spend a bit on a nice garden to make it a really nice and cheerful place to live

 

I would love to buy my own house. It's my dream

 

Thanks Laura and yes that is all my back yard which goes right back to the fence you can barely see and half way up the yard is a putting green and cup with flag and a spot lower down you can chip up the bank onto the green......the block is one third of an acre and the house is just on 30 squares.

Congratulations on your purchase and I really know the stress of having what you think is a great offer only to be beaten in the home stretch. Lucky the other people pulled out and they took your offer..........obviously it was meant to happen
I'd like to see your new house so please post a couple of pics or pm me if you get some time
Is it a brick house or timber house? Did you get a large block of land? Did you downsize from your previous house? Sorry I am such a stickybeak but I like to know what other people like in homes and how they went getting what they wanted.
We are just gearing up to start moving so I know what you will be going through soon. So I hope everything goes really well for you and best wishes for the future

 

Now I feel stupid...
30 square what?

 

Wishing you happiness in your new home Laura. Packing is not fun!

@Eldon I was wondering the same thing.

 

All the best Joffa- looks great. Laura, same goes-
It is nice to see someone getting the home they are looking for!

 

@LauraR, I love the garden with all the trees!
It's a beautiful home.

 

Okay Eldon and katkat here you go:-
Squares is an old imperial measurement in 100 square feet and I thought our US members would know it because 1 square equals 10 X 10 square feet
so that means 30 squares = 3000 square feet = 280 square metres
If you multiply the square figure by 100 then you have the size in square feet

Wow those pics are great and thank you for posting them Laura. Jeez american houses are so tall with such a high gable roof, It really looks wonderful Laura and the garden is really wonderful. It is nice and spacious inside and looks like you will be able to cook up a storm in the kitchen. Really nice rooms and on 1 acre too.
Hmmm..... that stone and stucco look amazing.....we don't have anything like that in Australia and we don't have wood shingle roofs because of our relentless sun which causes them to crack and leak. The house looks really pretty and the garden really suits the house in the first picture.
I like someone who sets priorities "closer to our golf course" hehehe.....good one
Sending my best wishes for a happy future in your new house CONGRATULATIONS

Yep we downsized to a bigger size house too but it has two bedrooms less which means all the rooms are much bigger than our current house. Although our current house is very spacious in the living areas, four of the six bedrooms are a bit on the small size and don't have built in robes so the new house is a step up.
Yes our yard will be wonderful with about AU$1000 of Australian native trees and shrubs planted......we intend to make it look a bit like our current place where you go out in the yard and there are several grass areas where you can sit or play with the dog and these areas are surrounded by either trees or shrubs giving the feeling of sitting in the middle of the jungle. Lucky we have a large bare yard so landscaping should be quite easy and it will be a blank canvas so we can turn it into something special.
Thank you again for posting the pics Laura

Thanks baklogic and we are really pleased as we have put in a lot of hard work over the years to get to this position and now we will just slow down and smell the roses

 

Thanks joffa.
I've never heard of that area measurement.

 

All roofs in the US are sized by the square. Normal shingles cover with 3 bundles per square. The heavier architectual no-tab shingles are 4 bundles per square.

 

My father and grandfather were a builders in the 1950s and the 1960s and they used squares all the time but now, over here, modern folk use square metres but I thought would post in an imperial measurement as our US members don't like the metric system