House.

For the last 3 or so Saturday mornings, the fella and I have been out and about looking at houses.

We each had a list of things we wanted which mainly overlapped - renovated or in need of only cosmetic renos in first instance, the desired suburb, proximity to nice things like cafes, pubs, parks. We also had a hard upper price limit, based on conservative estimates of our income, allowing for me having to take some leave from work (all going well).

Ideally there would be scope for value-adding. 

We saw a few places and engaged in heated debate about some of them. There was one that the fella liked but I was not yet taken with. I gave it a bit of thought, and thought the scope for value adding was excellent. I came around, especially after an inspiring first trip to Ikea.

There were a couple of places up for auction today. The first one was that place that was under such debate.

I had never bid at an auction before. I was nervous. We were nervous.

There was one other bidder. We ended up having the highest bid, which was within the estimated sale range, but it was passed in.

We went in for a discussion with the agents. They said that the vendors just wanted to sell today, and were happy with the reserve price. The agents slipped out. While they slipped out, a potential buyer turned up. They had missed the auction. They said "I think it will go for about $xxxx".

The wait was very tense. They came back with a price, which we were very happy with. We had expected to pay more. We shook hands on it.

We signed the paperwork. My hands were shaking. I felt dazed, but in a good way.

We met the vendor. It was her departed mum's house, and she lived across the road. I quickly noted that she had tears in her eyes. I said "It's an emotional day". She told me a bit about her mum, who lived in the house alone until just before she passed. We had a bit of a chinwag, and found out that she works in the same health service as I, and we know some common people!

The vendor, her hubby and her niece told us about the street. Told us the neighbours were nice and friendly.

We showed the vendor and the agent photos of our dog, pleased that she would have a good sized backyard to run about in. The vendor had 2 dogs. We arranged future cuppa and doggy play dates.

I have always felt that if something occurs easily, and feels right, it is meant to be. I am glad that we will be living in the house, not knocking it down, and in some way honouring the memory of the woman who lived in it, who raised a family there. There was a happy story in that place, and we are excited to carry it on.