Elise Hawthorne
Selling a home and buying a new one after living in the same spot for nearly twenty years – how hard can it be?
The ocean had been calling me for a while. You see, I take after my dad, I’m a swimmer. More specifically, I’m a lap girl. I love the feeling of freedom that diving into a body of water and going for it gives me. I become weightless, which at times means a hell of a lot. You know during pregnancy, not to mention post-baby weight gain that takes fifteen years to shift due to the unwelcome Hashimoto’s guest that invaded my body.
Anyway, I digress. My husband and our once toddler son moved into a cute 1920s house in the inner western suburb of Tempe from our slick downtown Redfern converted warehouse apartment. My hubby wanted our son to have a backyard. We both wanted a home with extra room, close to schools and we got it as our new house was directly across the road from Tempe Public School and a two-minute walk from the local high school. Very convenient as I work from home, juggling mum duties while managing national PR and marketing campaigns and at times, major events. My career was challenging and fun, but looking after our adorable son myself was important to me – having an extra bedroom to use as an office was the perfect scenario. We also bought in a suburb we could afford as we didn’t want to get an enormous mortgage as I’m not a huge fan of banks.
Time passes quickly as older people are want to say – it’s true, way too quickly. Fast forward and our son has finished the HSC, so there is no other reason to live in Tempe; except it is what we have become used to. We love the local Vietnamese restaurants, and we’ve made a couple of good friends. Saying that I always knew that I would be out of there once our son had left school. You see, my heart belongs to the coast. I spent the first eight years of my life living in an apartment in Ramsgate Ave, North Bondi with my single dad. I have mentioned that he was a swimmer – dad was more than that, he was a devoted man of the water.
Each morning we would hit Bondi Beach, fighting our way out the back over breaking waves to swim amongst the fishes. Dad and I did this daily regime at 6 am and 6 pm – in winter it was bloody freezing, and I still have an aversion to cold water after all these years.
Dad continued this daily habit till in his mid 80s. Bondi Beach, Parsley Bay and Neilson Park being his favourites – but good old Redleaf Pool on Sydney Harbour was his spot of choice as he grew older, just because it was close to his home in Bellevue Hill and for the best reason of all – it was easy to park his car.
Eight months ago, I began looking in earnest for our new home. Deciding where to buy was hard as it had to be within our budget and close to the coast. Now Sydney real estate prices are some of the most expensive in the world. I’m a true Sydney eastern suburbs gal. It is where I feel at home. Since birth, I’ve lived in Bondi, Rose Bay, Woollahra (twice), Bondi Junction, Edgecliff, Surry Hills, Darlinghurst, Redfern and Elizabeth Bay. I made a few detours along the way to Oatley (where my mum settled), Hurstville, Peakhurst and I once ventured to Cremorne Point…talk about adventurous. I have also lived in Boston in the good old USA, but that’s a story for another day.
So the hunt was on. I thought Cronulla might offer a less expensive beachside option – wrong + too far away from friends and family. Malabar beckoned – alas I was too late as the market had exploded and house prices were out of our reach. Rose Bay, Double Bay, Elizabeth Bay – all lovely but not much bang for your buck. I finally happened on the old Prince Henry Hospital redevelopment at Little Bay. My dad had been a developer, so I’d spent my childhood sniffing the delightful aroma of concrete (which I still love by the way). He’d build subdivisions in the western and northern suburbs of Sydney. Built apartments in Bondi, on the north shore and surrounds so I know location is important but I also knew that to live in an apartment (did I mention we were downsizing), it had to be of good design. We didn’t want low ceilings, and pokey rooms. A largish patio was a must as we had our much-loved dog Max to consider. After all, Maxie is like another son to us, so he has to be happy too.
Little Bay offered the lot. A fabulous, protected beach that I could use to fulfil my lap addiction. A well planned layout with a mixture of houses and apartments with heritage buildings dotted around to add flavour. Restaurants, cafes, a gym, doctor surgery and a small supermarket at our doorstep – I’d found the spot, all I needed was the right apartment and bingo, our dream would come true.
It took me a while, but I found us the perfect, in our price range, apartment and we snapped it up. Now I’m a lady of action as I know how hard it is to find “the one” but still had to sell our home – can I stress that buying before you sell is not for the faint-hearted unless you are rolling in cash, which we were not. I’m not complaining, it is a first-world problem, but nevertheless, it did stress me out a tad as one never really knows how much your house will sell for on the day, or if indeed it will sell. One of my besties, the wise Deborah Travers, a well respected real estate agent at Sotheby’s in Sydney gave me sage advice. She was on an extended holiday overseas yet nevertheless was never too busy to help guide me – she helped keep me on the right path. My smart as a whip brother Greg always gave me excellent advice as did my great mates Dijanna (another bestie) and her lovely husband Paul. My son and husband had my back, but left the negotiating and logistics up to me.
I had started the real estate agent interview process a few months back, so I had an idea of who I wanted to assist me in the selling process. I have to say I did meet some lovely agents, but I chose Adrian Tsavalas from McGrath Inner West as he was a nice guy who knew his market and because he gave me great advice.
Adrian recently said, “My job is to ensure each and every home is well-exposed so as many buyers as possible know about it, have the opportunity to inspect and compete for the keys, so my clients (vendors) sell for the very best price.”
Adrian Tsavalas did a terrific job as our real estate agent; I would highly recommend him to anyone who wants a great result. Not only was Adrian generous with his insights into the property market, but he was also generous with his time and contacts. His advice was always excellent, and he truly went beyond what is expected, which helped with my occasional bouts of pre-selling nerves. Adrian and his team were there to hold our hands when necessary – it was a true partnership between seller and agent. He’s a special man. Our property at 56 Union Street, Tempe, sold well above our expectations and a double bonus, it sold to a lovely couple.
You know the old saying, “it takes a village,” well when selling or buying a home it does.
Adrian has been in real estate since 2005, with McGrath since 2012 – he had a long list of contacts who helped us get our house ready to sell. All were experts in their fields, did an excellent job and did not rip us off regarding pricing. I want to take the opportunity to thank our selling and buying team. It would not have been possible without them:
Adrian Tsavalas, Licensed Real Estate Agent – McGrath Estate Agents, Inner West
Claudia Massa, Manager, Team Tsavalas – McGrath Estate Agents
Deborah Travers, Licensed Real Estate Agent – Sydney Sotheby’s International Realty
George Pernicano – GPS Home & Garden
Metro Storage, Marrickville
Chris Hammond –
Michael Sarkis – Property Maintenance Group
Jason – Master Cleaning
Sarah – Spatial Property Styling
Nicky Stein – Key Property Lawyers
Gil Baron, solicitor director & Courtney Wrightson, paralegal – Baron + Associates
Little Bay here we come – if you want me, you’ll find me at the beach doing laps.
Our sale, blow by blow, with a fabulous result: www.news.com.au
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