​The Hunt : Week 4 : Rainy days & Saturdays, great views, bad renos and food. [Part 2]

We headed back down the mountain still discussing the first house.

Look. The reno itself was done beautifully, but what possessed them to forgo a dining room I have no idea. It is such a bad money decision and such a shame. Needless to say we had high hopes about this property, that despite the obvious need for a renovation that, that would be it.

However when we got there it ended up being a bigger disappointment than the first house. So much so, I didn't even bother getting photos of the house. Once again it was a case of the Agents having a really REALLY great photographer.

So many things wrong at such a high price with neighbors I already don't like considering how they've both taken over this poor house's yard. Some houses you look at and wonder.. Where is the border??!!

And you know at some point in time, someone needed to say NO!

I didn't think two storey granny flats were allowed in the mountains until I looked at next door's set up.

This was down the back yard though..

(Amazing rock formation at the end of this horror block.)

This whole obsession to be backing on to bush came from my childhood growing up in Hornsby Heights where the backyard was all rock then bush. Pretty much like the first photo.

I remember finding myself a little nook, sitting there and enjoy the sound of the birds and the wind weaving through the bush.

It was so magical growing up in a space like that and I have always wanted it back.

Disappointed with the inspections today we headed back up to Lawson for a feed. It was almost 2pm and it really was started to bucket down.

There was a tapas bar at Lawson we had been going after inspections but I just didn't feel like it and opted for the Thai Restaurant instead.

Maprang is a little restaurant tucked away at the back of Lawson shops. I noticed it a few weeks ago, I had assumed they were closed but upon further inspection (like reading the sign..) I realised they were open for Lunch.

We walked in and was happy to note there were other diners enjoying the relaxed atmosphere. It was small, cosy and serving green tea - Just what we were after.

(Ha! and our number - No doubt popping up to say - Chin up guys. It's going to be ok.)

Looking at the menu was a treat in itself. It's actually really hard to find places to eat at over here, especially being vegetarian so sometimes I'm a pescatarian just so I won't starve.

For entree we ordered Eggplant chips and Crab Spring Rolls.

EGGPLANT CHIPS!! I knew someone up there was giving me a huge cheer up hug by sending me to a place that sold eggplant chips. I love love LOVE eggplant. It was something I always ate as a child in the Philippines, but not so much when we moved to Australia.

These chips were delicious and unlike any I have ever had before. The batter reminded me of the Zinger batter from KFC.. so well seasoned and crispy.

The Crab Spring Rolls were ok. I expected the filling to be like what they use to make the Crab Claws but it wasnt. It was still nice though, but I wouldn't order it again.

We chowed down while we discussed the houses.

Immediately, we crossed off the second house. The house you can always do something about, but the neighbors.. Especially the one with the two storey granny flat? That guy ain't going no where. He's got a great spot and he looked like he was fortifying his fortress while inspecting the house inspectors.

Just as we were about to touch on the BadReno house more food arrived.

The Thai Fried Rice was as basic as you can get, but it tasted nice and did the trick.

Choochee Barramundi - Choochee is a variation of Red Thai Curry with emphasis on the Kaffir Lime leaves but minus the coriander seeds and cumin.

The sauce itself was beautiful and exactly the flavor I was after. The Barramundi was cooked to perfection however my taste buds were shocked by the very fishy barra taste and just couldn't enjoy it with the fish. Could it be my pescatarian days are numbered?

Hubby's Laksa arrived, figuring I have taken enough photos today I left him to eat his Laksa in peace.

Lost in our thoughts and the food, we ate in silence until he said.

"You look really depressed."

LOL I guess I bloody was.

My to do list for the BadReno house was mounting and with every addition meant a lower asking price from their top price.

I was mentally placing our furniture in the house and wondering where the hell I was going to put our 6 seater dining table, even our lounge was bigger than theirs.

I was seeing walls being knocked down and wondering where I was putting the laundry if we moved the toilet in that room.

That view though.

Later that night we received an email from the agent wondering what our thoughts were and gave me more information regarding the dog that initially turned us off the house. I told him all my reservations specially with he kitchen and the dog and everything in between and ended up putting an offer down below asking price.

By the time I had calculated the amount of money we had to spend to fix the reno faux pas this is what we came down to.

Gah! That reno... If only they did it properly.. If they did, we would have really come to the party. We don't really have time to mess around with a reno when we'll be getting married in 1 year and 5 days.

The window for getting the house is way done, we should be well into wedding prep right now.

Not surprisingly, the owner declined our offer. It has only been on the market for a few days and there could be other people out there who don't think dining areas are necessary. I did let the agent know to keep our offer as a standing one, that if there is still no offer next week, our number stands.

The only good thing I suppose is, as of next weekend we'll be going to inspections ready to buy no more pre approvals etc.

💗Arly

Pictures taken by my Samsung Galaxy Note 3

Week 4: Part 1: https://steemit.com/blog/@bearone/the-hunt-week-4-rainy-days-and-saturdays-great-views-bad-renos-and-food-part-1
Week 3: https://steemit.com/blog/@bearone/the-hunt-week-3
Week 2: https://steemit.com/blog/@bearone/the-house-hunting-begins