Wednesday 14 October 2009

To buy or not to buy

 

The Other Half tengok my blog tadi, baru lah dia terperasan yang I added a title to my entry last nite and dia tak berkenan pulak dengan the font and the colour of the title. Dia kata dia dah terbiasa dengan  my title-less blog so bila nampak title tu rasa macam termasuk blog orang lain aje, hehehe… I said to him, alah, tengok lah berapa lama I’ll keep up with writing a title sebab I ni selalunya warm warm chicken droppings aje, wakakakaka….. (mengamuk cikgu BI I kalau dia terbaca my blog ni).

Ok lah, let me story mory about the title above. A few nights ago, The Other Half and I were discussing about when is the right time to buy a house and the most important question is how much we are willing to spend on a house. Dulu masa we all kat Adelaide, we’ve already bought a house which we had to sell masa we all pindah ke Perth. And then, suddenly the housing price kat Perth ni skyrocketed out of the blue. Tak sanggup we all tengok harga rumah kat sini! Our first house in Adelaide only cost us $150,000 for a 3-bedroom 1 bathroom house. Nak dapat rumah harga tu sekarang kat Perth, we have to live out in the boondocks (kalau translate ke Bahasa Melayu, tinggal kat ceruk hutan jauh from pekan lah). Sekarang ni, at the suburb we are looking at, the median house price for a 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom is $450,000!!!! 3 kali ganda dari harga dulu! Nak dekat half a million for a small house. Mana lah tak tercekik tengok harga tu kan :-). Kalau balik Malaysia, boleh jadi millionaire I, hahaha. Sebab itulah we are currently very happy to be renting and saving like mad for a deposit for a house!

Anyway, since The Little Misses are getting bigger, we have to start thinking of the right secondary school for them to go to (I’m talking about public government run schools ok, not private schools) Sekolah kat sini ikut zone, kalau you are not in the right zone, memang susah sangat2 lah nak masuk sekolah yang bagus2 ni. It just so happened, the house we are renting currently falls in the zone of this really really bad high school (memang terkenal dengan the worst kind of students with really really bad morals and attitudes) so tu yang we definitely have to move out of here sebelum The Little Misses masuk high school.

Unless…. Miss 10 gets into the Gifted & Talented program at the public school we are aiming at. Kat sini pun lebih kurang macam kat Malaysia lah, ada special tests for the kids in Year 6 to sit if they want to join the Gifted & Talented programs at certain public high schools. Untuk nak masuk private school with scholarship pun ada test jugak but we all tak berminat pulaknya. But test ni tak wajib, sape yang nak masuk the program aje yang have to sit the test. Sebab cuma ada 600 places aje for these programs. From her school, cuma dia sorang aje yang ambik the test. I guess everyone else wasn’t interested  kot which is a bit sad. She took the tests in early August and 2200 Year 6 students took the tests along with her. November ni will be a nerve wrecking month for us sebab they will start offering the places for these programs next month. So, we will only know whether she gets it or not next month lah….Tadi we just got her test results back and she did really well, much much better than we expected but you never know kan… Hopefully, she’ll get into one of the schools we chose.

Lerr melencong jauh giler, hehehe, biasalah kan :-). Anyway, masa tengah2 berdiskusi tu, we all tried lah this mortgage calculator on the net. Alah, calculator yang asks you for you annual wage and then they’ll calculate how much you can borrow form the bank and how much mortgage you can pay. We all pun letak lah our our earnings…. and then it calculated that we can borrow $1 million dollars from the bank for our mortgage! Terkejut beruk sekejap we all tengok. 1 juta dollars tu bukannya sikit, banyak gilers weihhhhhh…. Macam tak percaya aje kan… Then bila we all tengok balik, patutlah.., rupa2nya they asked for your nett income not your gross income! We all pergi letak gross income, Cisss!!!! Anyway, when we calculated balik, they told us yang we could only borrow $620,000 max from the bank, hehehehe. Punyalah jauh beza kan the gross income and the nett income kat Australia ni. That’s what happens when you pay exorbitant amount of tax!

Anyway, we are going to start house hunting starting from this weekend. I really hate house hunting, so memenatkan and so depressing sometimes…… Beli ke tak, still undecided but we’ll have to start house hunting somewhere and some time, might as well start now, betul tak? :-)

Ya Rabbi, panjang gilers entry malam ni. Nasib baik ada title kan, kalau tak, sure orang dah malas nak baca, hahahahaha…

Ok lah, sebelum you all terlelap, meh I tayang our dinner tonite. Burger and chips, easy peasy lemon squeezy…. :-)

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28 comments:

Cikmin said...

ekekekek...bes baca n3 u yg ada title ni LG..huh..klu kt mesia..besar punya gedabak u dpt rumah gan rege tu kan..

lemongrass said...

CikMin,
wehehehe... title tu ye yg best nya? ;-P. Tu lah kan, kalau I balik M'sia, besar giler rumah I dgn duit bnyk tu :-). Nak anak sepuluh pun boleh kan, hehehe

orange scent said...

Tu la kan LG rumah tengah mahal kan..kita pergi baru ni pun pegi tengok2 rumah...jgn harap la nk yg double storey mcm kat msia kan..hehehehee mahal giler! So kita ingat postpone ler dulu nk pegi dok sana. Tunggu la jual rumah di Msia dulu baru la boleh beli rumah saiz ok sket di Perth.

Happy house hunting!:)

lemongrass said...

Ann Kay,
oh, kiranya you dtg Perth hari tu tgh survey2 nak migrate ke? Perth is such a nice city, pity about the house price though! Tu yang we all pun pening kepala sekejap bila fikir pasal house price ni, hmmm...

Sizuka said...

k.min, boleh beli rumah bungalow atas bukit kat melawati tu with that value. pastu 5-6 tahun lagi, dah boleh jual, double the price. mahalnya rumah kat perth. i hope u'll get the best value for money for ur new home and yg penting, ada extra room yg boleh visitor mcm i bunk in.. hahaha.. just kidding k.min. happy house hunting! :D

ps : next week on friday, i'm gonna have lunch with k.anza, k.min nak ikut? :D

ain said...

mmg panjang betul n3 min malam ni! tp seronok baca. nak beli umah ni, kena fikir betul2. jgn sampai menyesal kemudian hari. but akak yakin, hubby n min dah congak pro n cons bila nak beli umah ni!!

psst....why dont u put n3 about ur house hunting tu. boleh ler we all share psl umah2 yg min tengok!

mrswongjowo said...

house hunting...penat wei...Kat M'sia pun harga rumah macam tak munasabah...he..he...LG I thought OZ government bagi u duit for buying a house due to the GFC ni..Dah tak dak eh? My friend sempat beli and received the money..Good Luck ye on your hunting...duk jauh fr town pun OK what..tenang you...

Natasha said...

good luck for the house and also for that cute lil girl! hope she'll get a place! being in the best school is essential... at least that's what i think lah... hehe...

and buying a house... i'd say YES! lol. price will increase more and more... so better buy now than later kan?

Muslimah Perth said...

Mynn,
I somehow have a feeling that she will get it.. i personally think she is a very smart girl, so don't you worry about that :)
and i perasan the area that you wanted to buy, the house prices are starting to fall, which is good. kitorg bet by next year, when dah tak govt funding 21k or whatnot, the house prices will drop gile2. so if u could just wait a bit. but having said that (as an ex-mortgage officer), your accountant would know better la kan? heheh.. good luck anyways

indahhouse said...

Salam kak LG,

Untung kak bole buat own decision.
Bila nak jual, bila nak beli.

Kat Malaysia,kalu nak beli rumah slalu dipengaruhi saudara-mara. Beli rumah yang besar gedabak khas untuk hari tua n maintain bayar sampai abis.
N, nak jual rumah yang dah beli susah sesusahnya. Walupun area on da way to KL.

Happy hunting,kak..:)

arapink said...

Tapi ara dah biasa baca entry kak min without title...hehehhe

kalo rege mcm tu kan, bukan ajer rumah (kalo rumah besar giler) boleh dpt kereta pon..silap haribulan, dpt naik ke bulan lagik...hehehhe...holidays...

bila anak dah besar2, mulalah memikirkan masa depan dgn lebih detail kan :-)

My Life My World said...

Salam Kenal. Nice blog. Seronok membaca nyer. Harap U jumpa rumah yang di idam-idamkan. Ialah beli rumah ni, bukan macam beli ikan kat pasar kan ;)

Suriada Sulong said...

ade title ker xder title ker..., ttp best bace bloh kak mim nie hah..

suke tgk slide show baru kak mim..( oppsss.., da lame or baru maybe i x perasan sbb asik bace entry je kan ) heheheh..

the kids x pandai ckp melayu kn kak mim.., so bile balik malaysia cmmane dorg berinteraksi ngn nenek and atuk? or cousin mereka? or sume org ckp english? mesti kelakar bile dorg ckp melayu.. huahuahua...

azieazah said...

Semoga mendapat membuat pilihan yang memuaskan hati... Sbb dah tepok poket dan tepok dada kan? so, time untuk memilih jerrr..

Itukan suatu proses kehidupan jerrr...

Watierman said...

Salam Min...terpanggil pulak akak nak komen hari ni...most of the time silent reader...title or non-title...your blog tetap vogue...

To buy or not to buy..akak ingat in ni nak beli hp lagi ker...hari tu dah beli...ooookali ni beli besar sikit...rumah...

Bagi Akak...belilah Min...yang mampu Min & Hubby beli...sebab its a good investment....

As for Little Miss 10...good luck...I know she'll get a good place for high school...

Happy House Hunting...to Min & family!

NBK said...

Salam,
nice reading ur blog..I memang enjoy baca kisah kehidupan manusia (busy body eh?)..Actually i terperasan you pernah stay kat Adelaide..I did my MBBS there 1989-1994. Maybe pernah terserempak somewhere..

Beautiful girls and loving husband you have..

I terliur everytime tengok you punya lunch or dinner..hi hi

Ha ha another 'coincidence'..Junn cupcake yg expert tu is my sis..

Better stop..I ve got piles of lectures to prepare

Bye

umi_e said...

Salam LG...

Sebagai ibu bapa memang kita inginkan anak-anak kita mendapat pendidikan yang terbaik...
All the best! semoga dapat apa yang diinginkan :)

Ayu said...

house hunting...house hunting....tu la keje kita skrg.serupa mcm akak gak.mak dah bising srh cari umah sbb dia kata smpai bila nak menyewa.mmg betul kata dia tu.

tp tu la...nak cari harga umah yg ikut kemampuan kita bknnya senang.byk faktor nak kena pk n tgk.leh dpt yg murah tp jauh dr opis.mcm2 hal....pening pale dibuatnya

Zaitun said...

Salam LG

Kat Malaysia pun harga rumah mahal apalagi ditempat yang elit tapi kalau tak beli sekarang akan datang harganya lagi berganda.

Semoga miss 10 dapat belajar disekolah yang terbaik.

lemongrass said...

Shidah,
wah, best nya klu dpt bungalow kat atas bukit kan,hehe. Kalau kat sini, boleh nak dpt bungalow murah2 tepi pantai atas bukit tp jauh gilers dr Perth,hahahaha...
Extra room in the house tu sudah mesti just for visitors like you :-)
Psst.. kirim salam kat Anza ye! Lucky you, jeles...jeles, hehehe

Kak Ain,
memang kan, nak beli rumah ni memang kena list down all the pros and cons especially bila the kids are growing up. Macam2 kena fikir esp school wise.
Memang I thnk I kena buat N3 pasal all the houses yg we all gi tengok sbb for future references kan, hehehe

Mrswongjowo,
Tu yg I tak suka betul house hunting ni sbb memenatkan sgt2 and very depressing bila tengok harga rumah kat sini. We all tak boleh dpt the first home buyers grant fr the government sbb we all dah pernah beli rumah dulu, tu yg tension nya :-)

Tasha,
how's life? :-). Thanks for the wish, we definitely need all the luck we can get when it comes to house hunting :-). We all pun thnk school plays such an important role when the kids are growing up tu yg we want them to go to a good high school.

Sheri,
Alya's so excited with her results and so were we but still kena tunggu next month jugak for the offer letter which hopefully will be positive :-).
Tu lah, memang ingat nak tunggu until next year so tu yg kena scout dari sekarang... Manalah tau kan, our luck dpt rumah murah n cantik, hehehe

Indahhouse,
bila duduk jauh fr sedara mara, memang semua desicions kena buat sendiri which is good in a way. Tapi nak beli rumah ni memang kena fikir beribu2 kali kan :-)

Ara,
tak best ke ada title ni?hehehe. Kalau balik M'sia, sure boleh beli mahligai kan dgn duit tu,wahahaha

Mylifemyworld,
salam singgah. Memang betul you cakap, nak beli ikan kat pasar pun fikir 2-3 kali pastu pilih2 nak cari yg fresh, lagi lah nak beli rumah ni kan. Memang kena fikir habis2an sampai betul2 setuju..

Kasih,
slide show tu dah lama kak mynn buat, maybe tak perasan aje kot sbb kecik sgt kan, hehehe..
The kids tak fasih ckp melayu tp bolehlah setakat 4-5 ayat. Klu balik M'sia, semua ckp English dgn diaorang but then my kids akan belajar ckp melayu dgn orang lain :-)..

Azieazah,
Eh, I should call you Kak kan :-)? Kalau bnyk duit dlm poket, we all memang tak kisah nak beli rumah apa aje. Tp sbb poket tak bnyk duit tu yg mmng kena pilih wisely :-).

Kak Watie,
salam. memang rumah ni a very good investment tu yang memang kena betul2 buat pilihan yg bijak kan. Tu yg kdg2 pening kepala fikir kan :-). Especially bila tengok harga rumah yg mencekik darah ni, lagi lah pening nya, hehehe

Dr. N,
salam singgah to my blog. Where did you study? Flinders or Adelaide Uni.? Most probably kita pernah terserempak and have friends we both know kot :-).
Wahh, best lah you dpt Junn as kakak, sure selalu dpt makan kek yg sedap2 kan :-)...

Kak E,
tu lah kan, being parents ni memang mcm2 kita kena fikir when it comes to our kids. InsyaAllah, we'll get what we want 1 day :-)

Ayu,
Mak n Abah Akak pun mmng dah bersuara jugak, bila nak beli rumah, takkan asik nak menyewa aje. tapi mcm Ayu ckp lah, nak cari rumah bukan senang kan, macam2 kita kena fikirkan, hehehe...

Kak Zaitun,
Memang agaknya kat mana2 pun sekrang ni harga rumah melambung2 naik kan. Macam lah semua orang banyak duit sekarang ni, hehehe

Unknown said...

suka baca entry kak LG kali ni.

with that amount yang membuatkan akak rasa tercekik tu boleh beli banglo mewah mewah mewah dan mewah disini.

NBK said...

Salam, i kat Adelaide uni, my friend kat flinders, echah, jameatun, liza if you know any of them...

Kelakar pulak baca you punya jawapan..jenuh nak jawab satu satu..

I duk kuantan, so gambar kek cantik cantik my sis tu utk jamu mata..:)

lemongrass said...

Tun Frida,
tu lah kan, mana lah tak tercekik tengok harga tu right! Best betul klu dpt beli banglo mewah n mewah n mewah kat sini with that amount of money, hehehe

Dr.N,
I know all of them because I pun dulu kat Flinders. If you are still in contact with Jamie, you can ask her about me. But I'm not going to tell all here, ;-) hahahaha...
Ish, rugi betul you duk Kuantan and yr sis duk KL, takpe lah, sekali sekala sure you dpt rasa jugak her kek kan :-)

Rima said...

Hi LG
Good luck to ur little missy.. and sigh.. i baru aje pindah rumah.. nak cari rumah satu hal.. nak make sure its within our budget .. tu lagi satu hal.. dah tu nak pack and unpack.. aduh jenuh betul lah bila ingat ingat pasal beli/jual/pindah rumah ni.. anyway happy house hunting!

Ms Red Hat said...

My congrats to aliya. Insyallah Mynn i think she will be accepted by your desired school. Kalau dapat beli rumah kat area tu lagi bagus.

When i first visited Perth in 2003 the houses were cheap. Never thought that the property market would boom like this. It seems that the rich Chinese tycoons from mainland china and Pak sheikhs from the middle east are buying the properties here and pushing up prices even higher! Kalau dapat rumah yang sesuai in your desired area mahal sikit pun tak apa. i think you should buy because it's a good investment

lemongrass said...

Rima,
tell me about it! That's why I feel so hesitant to go house hunting because of all the things associated with it... sigh......

Salina,
Tu lah, if she gets accepted then we don't have to rush about buying a house, we can take some time to really look at all the houses first.
When we first got here, the property market was cheap but in 6 months time, it skyrocketed like crazy. Sekarang ni lagi lah crazy. Kalau we all nak rumah besar and murah, we have to live way out in Two Rocks like that, hehehe...

makcikkantin said...

hi,
the last time i baca n3 u was yr keluh kesah when yr inlaws visited...kat adelaide kot masa tu...

something different for me to read..happy house hunting

lemongrass said...

Makcikkantin,
Hi...Masa my In Laws dtg tu I thnk was a few mths ago but we all dah kat Perth dah :-).