Finding your dream home can be hard work but with interest rates at record low levels it seems everyone is looking to buy at the moment. To help you buy sooner and with a little less stress we have compiled a brief list of things that may help to make your Saturday’s more fun when hunting for your new home with the family.
1. Plan ahead – set your itinerary the night before and ensure you have allocated realistic transit time for Saturday traffic, toilet stops and finding a parking spot. An unrealistic itinerary often causes the most stress when looking at property so give yourself enough time to get from one home to the next, and find a park
2. Dont try to see too much – its hard to pick your favourites before you’ve been inside but by trying to see too many properties on your Saturday you will just make the day stressful and the kids wont want to do it again next weekend! Pick your top 3 or 4 and spread them out a little. Most homes are open between 10am – 12.30pm or 1.00pm so that’s your window!
3. Pick your suburbs – given the short window you have to look at homes on a Saturday, combined with the fact that the kids will be tired and cranky soon, don’t try to rush all over Sydney. Pick your target suburb(s) and look at 3 or 4 homes in that area. Then find a nice cafe for coffee or lunch and make it fun for everyone. Check out our favourites below!
4. Do drive-by’s in advance – a quick drive-by the day before the open will often tell you straight away if you want to live there or not! Google Maps will not show you the huge block of apartments being built next door or how noisy the buses are at the front door. If you are looking for an investment property these things may not bother you but if you are planning to live there, with your children, they could well be be a deal breaker
5. Schedule pit stops – looking at real estate is exhausting, even more so for little people. So that you don’t end up with everyone in tears, plan a few stops in your itinerary for food, coffee and to run in the park. If you are considering living in these suburbs you will want to know where the parks and cafes are anyway, so consider it research and take a break. Here are a few of our favourite playgrounds, most with cafes, where you can take a quick break while on the hunt for your new home
- Queen’s Park Playground, Queen’s Park (fenced) – with the Shed Cafe right beside the fenced playground this place is paradise for kids and parents
- Bieler Reserve Playground, Randwick (fenced) – this is a medium sized playground that has a large climbing net for the bigger kids
- Rushcutters Bay Kiosk, Rushcutters Bay (fenced) – lovely atmosphere and glorious views of the water from this cafe and playground
- Clementson Park Playground, Bondi Junction (fenced) – this small park in Bondi Junction does not have its own cafe but there are plenty in the streets nearby Ebley Street, Bondi Junction
- Bondi Beach Playground (fenced) – great location right by the beach and there are cafes at the Pavillion next door
- Lyne Park Playground, Rose Bay – (fenced) – lovely playground with a cafe just across the park
- Coogee Playground (not fenced) – great playground for kids of all ages with a cafe just around the corner at BarZura
- Bangor Park Playground, Coogee (fenced) – lovely neighbourhood playground, closest cafes are at the Spot which is just a couple of blocks away
- Robertson Park Playground, Watson’s Bay (gated) – great small enclosed playground with plenty of grasses area and cafes on both sides of the park
- Maroubra Beach Playground (fenced) – this is a larger fenced playground suitable for children big and small with the kiosk directly opposite
- Malabar Beach Playground (gated) – a lovely shaded playground with plenty of grass and BBQ’s nearby, cafes just across the road and the beach at the doorstep
If you have had enough of house hunting and would prefer to spend your weekends having fun with your family, let Unlisted Property Buyer’s Agent find your dream home or investment property. Unlisted Property is a boutique buyer’s agency set up to help you find and purchase your dream home or investment. We do not sell real estate, we search for, evaluate and negotiate the purchase of real estate in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. At Unlisted, we make buying real estate a pleasure. Contact us today to find out how we can find your new home, sooner
www.unlistedproperty.com.au facebook.com/unlistedproperty 0242 266 205 felicity@unlistedproperty.com.au
