Living the Dream?

Josh and I (and Alex too) have decided. We are going to bid on our dream home in Kensington at the Di Jones auction which is being held in the restaurant at Centennial Park this week.

Josh's bonus at work was announced last week. After the upset of the Global Financial Crisis, Josh and I were very happy that he had a job at all. A few of his colleagues had been let go, but Josh had stayed at the bank. We weren't expecting big things from the bonus, but to our relief it was pretty generous. We were so happy. We opened a bottle of real French champagne to celebrate with our pizza from Christos' at Five Ways, Paddington. Alex had two scoops of ice cream to celebrate – strawberry and vanilla.

Josh is a whizz at maths (which is handy, considering he works in the bank's finance department). Over dinner he borrowed my MAC lip liner and did some quick additions on a paper napkin. Josh said we might be able to buy the Kensington house, if we are very careful.

Well – what a week that followed. We talked to Jamie Markou from Foundation Broking regarding arranging a mortgage in double quick time. He was a magician and worked with Josh to arrange financing at rates that seemed very competitive. We hadn't bought before and didn't know how to arrange a mortgage. Luckily we chatted with Gary Sands from Di Jones Real Estate during Saturday's open for inspection and he gave us Jamie's number. So that's all in place now for tomorrow night. It is really nerve racking. I am a bit of a wreck to be honest, and so excited at the same time.

Our family is out in force to offer support of course. Mum and dad have come up from Bowral and are staying in a divine fully furnished flat in Elizabeth Bay that they leased for a week through Di Jones short term executive leasing. It's a home away from home for them and Alex is going to have a sleep over on Friday night. Josh's mum and dad are flying in from Melbourne this afternoon and are staying in Alex's room (I must remember to put out the Di Jones short term leasing brochure beside the Aero Bed that I'll inflate for them tonight).

I think we are ready for the auction. Luckily we followed Gary Sand's and Jane Schumann's great advice and went to the previous auction that Di Jones held two weeks ago at Centennial Park to get an idea about just how an auction works. I could tell it was nerve wracking for the people bidding, but the clear advice from their auctioneer definitely made it easier to understand what was going on. This has been so quick. It's amazing how finding the right home can change your direction overnight. We could be shifting from tenants to home owners tomorrow night.

During my lunch break at Sorted! Event Management I had a manicure in Nars Fire Engine Red so that the auctioneer would definitely notice me (or my nails) if/when I put in a bid on the house. Josh and I decided that I would be doing the actual bidding as it will keep me busy and distract me from my nerves. But how I should dress for the auction? Corporate woman or Eastern suburbs mum? Mum says you should always dress to impress, so I think I'll wear my Scanlan and Theodore navy skirt and blush coloured Willow silk shirt. I'll definitely look the winner, and hopefully Josh and I will have the winning bid.

Still, it is in the lap of the Gods at this point. We've done our homework and have everything ready. If the Pavilion Paradise does fall to us, it will be absolutely magical. If not, back to the drawing board.

So, inspected the home a couple of times; check. Had solicitor check through the contract for sale; check. Arranged pre-approved finance; check. Had building and pest inspection done on the home; check. Nails painted brightly to ensure noticed by auctioneer in crowd; check; Ensured that we have cheque book ready with enough money in account for deposit if successful bidders; check. Outfit for auction selected; nearly. . . .

Life Rocks!

Yippee!

My team at Sorted! Event Management won the pitch this week to be the event manager for Fashion Expo 2012. This is great news. So good in fact I had to buy a new lipstick to celebrate. Nars Fire Down Below is my favourite red lippie, so it was an absolute necessity, really. The pitch meant that I worked all hours through the week, so I was scared my alias as Open for Inspection Girl would have to be forgotten for the week. No way, Jose! I got a tweet from my techno-savvy friends at Di Jones Real Estate reminding me about new listings to go and see and so I was back on track again!

The fashion expo client has their office in a beautiful sandstone building at The Rocks. In between meetings with my fashionista sistas, I escaped for a reinvigorating 30 minutes looking at a house I could live in in an eye-blink.

80 Windmill Street, Millers Point is more than a house. It is a lifestyle. If Josh, Alex and I lived there we could have weekend picnics under the Sydney Harbour Bridge, walk through heritage streets to cute cafes all with the convenience of living slap bang in the centre of Sydney. Whisper quiet, the house is amazing; modern and bright with dazzling harbour and bridge views from the upper level. Living there would be like being on holiday all year around. It would be great for any of our visiting relatives; All the great things to do so close by would mean that I would hardly ever see them! I could work from home too, seeing as the home has four very nice bedrooms.

Andrew Stewart from Di Jones Real Estate said a very friendly "hello" when I teetered in on my uber-cool bondage stilettos (I was trying to look the part for my fashionista clients – and it hurt). He is such a history buff. Windmill Street used to have a windmill on it and the site at 80 Windmill Street was home to The Whaler's Arms pub in the early 1800's. After the pub moved, the site was a boarding house and a grocery store, before falling into disrepair and being knocked down in the early 1900's by The National Trust.

The beautiful modern house at 80 Windmill Street that now exists is surrounded by heritage listed buildings from the 1850's, and blends gently with them.  A sign saying that The Whaler's Arms once occupied the site is all that remains of the colourful history of the early days of Australia's European settlement. How amazing to be a part of such a historical area of Sydney. I got real goose bumps being in the home and felt a real sense of history. Anyway, after my whimsical trip back into history, I felt refreshed. In fact, I felt so renewed I teetered back into my meeting and...won...the...pitch. My Open for Inspection Girl lifestyle gives me a real treat each week – and these inspections and my dreams of living in these homes are more therapeutic than any new lipstick!

Next week: To Kensington or not to Kensington – that is the question (or so Josh and I are asking ourselves)....

Far Pavilions

It was 12:30 p.m. and my tummy was rumbling. Where was mum? We had planned to meet in the cafe at Peter's of Kensington for a sandwich and an update on her life in sunny Bowral before a session of power-shopping. We had a 1:30 p.m. viewing of a Kensington house that looks perfect for my darling family and we couldn't be late.

I spotted her strawberry blonde bob moving past the glassware section with her distinctive speedy elegance and in an eye blink was enveloped in her arms and the perfume smell of Miss Dior. It was her signature scent and had been since I gave her a bottle when I was seven; I had paid for it with my pocket money and the coins I retrieved from under my pillow, left by the tooth fairy.

We had a lovely lunch and mum bought me a French casserole dish for all the dinner parties that I plan to do, once I have a dining room big enough. As always, Mum looked great. She and dad had moved to Bowral three years ago after selling the family home in Vaucluse two months after my brother Jonathan moved out. I think she was enjoying the country. Her garden looked fantastic and dad played golf daily. But today she seemed restless. She says she's missing me and Alex. But if mum is more than five miles away from her two best male friends: David Jones and Peter's of Kensington for too long, she gets upset. Mum had a PHD in retail therapy and shopping emporiums are thin on the ground in the Southern Highlands.

After our reinvigorating shop (I got the most divine Alessi platter for the wedding that Josh and I are going to next month), we discovered a Pavilion Paradise on Imperial Avenue, one of Kensington's prettiest streets. Could this beautiful house be Josh and my new family home?

It's really hard to find a house that mum likes. She loved this one. That it had great gardens (a la Bowral) might have something to do with it, but as soon as we walked into the front door, we both immediately relaxed. Sigh. Jane Schumann from Di Jones knows mum really well; my parents had bought an investment property through Jane Schumann and Gary Sands at Di Jones before moving to Bowral. They chatted, catching up on life while I explored the house in more detail. It had everything I wanted, three bedrooms (two for the family and one for visitors), a great kitchen, lovely gardens and a wonderful pavilion style layout which would let us spend lazy weekend afternoons outdoors, relaxing by the pond. There was even a lovely garden shed that would be great as a cubbyhouse for Alex or for Josh to use as a workshop or a place to store his kayak gear. And doesn't every man want a shed? But what I loved most was the sense of peace I got as I walked through the house (and it was a very busy open for inspection too!) I felt like I was on holiday. Afterwards mum said the same thing; that it was like the serenity of Bowral within walking distance of Peter's of Kensington. No wonder I love it so much; I really am my mother's daughter.

I was so excited I called Josh. It's a tense time for him. He works at an investment bank and bonuses are announced next week. There's so much water cooler chatter that Josh is having trouble sleeping. After our chat last week, he agreed that he wanted to buy a place too; especially before prices go up, which all the economists seem to be predicting.

The Kensington house is beautiful, but prices are pretty strong at the moment and the bonus amount is a big question mark. Gary Sands invited us along to the next auction Di Jones is holding at Centennial Park to get a more personal idea of market sentiment; he is very considerate and understands my nervousness at doing a very grown up thing like buying a house.

Josh was very excited too. He said he'll come and have a look on Saturday afternoon when he usually does kayak training and Alex and I have some "mummy time". He has bought into my desire to own a house and loves my Open for Inspection Girl tales. In fact, he says he is my number one fan. What a dear, wonderful man he is.

Wonderful Woollahra

I have a dilemma.

Every Thursday I run through Sydney, visiting "open for inspection" houses, flats, pied –a-terres and other lovely lifestyles which verge from truly inspiring to "needs a bit of work". My trusty trainers know the hilly streets of Paddington, the glamour of Tamarama, the views from Bellevue Hills.

At each property for sale, I leave my Asics by the door and enter excitedly, usually met by a welcoming real estate agent, fresh bakery smells and the sounds of Vivaldi's Four Seasons. In my Longchamp carryall are my essentials: my run map, a bottle of water, my mobile and $50 for emergencies.

It has been a tough week. I've been working on my company, 'Sorted!' Event Management's bid to host the 2012 Fashion Expo, and Alex was sick for a few days. So between giving him vitamins, Vegemite toast and a mother's love I'm been barely holding it together, working from home and teleconferencing globally with a thermometer in one hand and a phone in the other. Josh is in hyper-drive training most mornings. He's a kayaker. The first time he told me of his paddling prowess, on our second date, I was impressed with visions of him magnificently handling rapids which cut a swathe through desolate, ice-capped mountains. The reality is 5:00 a.m. alarms and Josh finding me somewhere under the duvet to give me a kiss good morning before shrugging into his wetsuit and leaving to meet other power-paddlers on the harbour.

I took a personal stock take yesterday. I need:

·    To lose the three kilos I found under the Christmas tree and which have settled comfortably on my hips. Walking around the open inspections has got to be helping!

·    A new haircut. I used a voucher I got in the letter box for my last one. Bad mistake. A feather cut fringe just doesn't do the trick.

·    A bolt of inspiration for Joshua's birthday present. I got him the Top Gear DVD boxed set for Christmas (which he loved), and I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to give him this time around!

Thank goodness it's Thursday and time for my Open for Inspections!

I'm going to dress for success today.... some heels, a frock and a bit of lippy.  Open for Inspection Girl is sashaying through Woollahra and it's all rather lovely. I know it's called a village, but I think Woollahra is more like a wonderful carnival with so many exquisite sights to behold. I sat under a magnificent tree enjoying a latte at Cafe Crème Anglais and watched the crowds stroll on by. I kept getting wonderful wafts from the flowers at Summers Floral mixed with a miasma of jasmine and mint (someone must have sprayed liberally at Jo Malone while considering their purchase options). There were some models up the road being photographed in fabulous outfits outside some of the gorgeous homes along Queen Street.....no Christmas kilos on their hips! I'll look out for those pics in the upcoming fashion magazine editions.  

I finish my coffee and check my watch. 10:00 a.m. Time for today's real estate inspections.

First off, straight to a home I fell in love with the minute I saw it in advertised by Di Jones Real Estate in The Wentworth Courier. Ocean Street Dream is a three bedroom dreamy family home with the most divine front entrance; it's a sanctuary from reality. Very modern, extremely comfortable and with a courtyard I would love to entertain in. Alex could have friends over, Josh could read the paper in peace on a Saturday morning before an afternoon BBQ with divine meats from Victor Churchill's – and isn't that an amazing place! Josh and I could take Alex for scooter, bike or horse rides around Centennial Park, just minutes away. Actually, that is where Di Jones holds their auctions. If we were to buy this home, we could walk back through the park and past the home after the auction, treading the path for the first time that would become our regular trek. It is too early for us though. We haven't worked out our budget, haven't arranged pre-approval with the bank....mental note: we must get onto that.

So my dilemma is what is an Open for Inspection Girl to do? Josh and I love living in Paddington. We love our two bed room flat we lease through Di Jones Real Estate but we have been renting for a while now. Should we bite the bullet and buy? If we do, our reality will be definitely different from today's real estate dreamings. Interest rates went up this week, and clearance rates at auction have been high. This all makes it a little tougher for us, but we have been talking about buying for a while now. Mum called me about a lovely home in Kensington that she thinks I should look at. She is even going to come with me next week to see it, and has suggested we nip into Peters of Kensington for a girls' afternoon of shopping. Can't wait......

Next week: Josh is keen to buy, and it looks like he is going to get a bonus...not sure how much, but it will help no doubt, so I'm back pounding the pavements with vigour, and this time, I know I am actually looking for our new home.....