Our new (old) home

In late 2011 my partner and I decided we were finally ready for that next step of commitment that many couples eventually embark upon, which would bring a potentially life-long connection, and highs and lows we could only begin to imagine... that's right, a mortgage!

We had planned to buy a two bedroom unit, but stumbled upon an unloved terrace in a suburb we loved which just squeezed into the upper end of our price range. It was one of only two terraces we looked at, and we knew very little about old properties or renovating, but the promise of a shining gem in the rough of crumbling bricks and mortar was too hard to resist and so we jumped in.

The property we got was a classic two storey terrace, with two bedrooms upstairs immediately above two rooms downstairs (living and dining), and then a kitchen and bathroom extending off the back of this. There was a walkway leading down the side of the house from the dining room along past the kitchen and bathroom to a laundry, and then eventually out to a small courtyard.

The kitchen and bathroom had been (cheaply) renovated within the past 15 years, so the house was comfortable enough for us to live in. Somewhere along the line the balcony on the front of the house had also been replaced, and so the front of the house gave a rather deceiving impression of relative civility!

Note - lesson one of renovating - be diligent in your 'before and after' photo taking! All below photos are from our first inspection of the property, and regretfully we didn't take any more until we began renovations over a year later.

The rather dismal dining room (used by previous occupants as a living room).

The leafy outlook from the master bedroom.

Looking back over the laundry, bathroom and kitchen (eew!).

The backyard was pretty sad!