Category: Anything and everything

We are currently house hunting. Last Saturday we have been to our first house auction.

This house is 3 bedroom and situated under a volcano, Mt Wellington. It has three bedroom, 100 square meters living space with total of 400 square meters land size. We liked it instantly the first time we walked in, it is warm, with spacious bedrooms. Only downside is that there is only one bathroom and also it does not get much sunlight. We thought about what we could have done with the house and also our budget, then came to the conclusion that this house is worth to pursue.

The following week its about getting in touch with the lawyer and also find a good building inspector. Our lawyer found there was an extension of the living room  was applied to council back in 1996, but it did not receive a final approval. This could have a big impact on the value selling the house, as no one wants to take over a property lacking permit and have to deal with the council to regain a permit. The good news was the building inspection went well, this house was built in the 1930s, but had work done in the roof and under the house with approval. It has good insulation and we loved the solid wooden floors.

It is only a few days left till the auction and we were stilling waiting to hear back on the agent about what to do with the outstanding building permit. After a lot of phone calls to the council it turned out the 1996 work was applied but never took place. The council agreed to remove this from the LIM report, which is a record of all the work this house has gone through. We got full approval from insurance company and also our bank. With money in our pocket, now its show time.

The auction took place in a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon. We got there just before it started, and it took place in the courtyard. There were about dozen people attended the auction. The auctioneer briefly went through the legal commitments of the auction, then he suggested started it at 1 million. No one raised the hand. The agents came to us suggested to make a bid, we said we wanted to wait for others to bid first. So a bit of awkward silence passed. Then I raised my hand and called out a figure much lower than 1 million.  The auctioneer was surprised at my low figure but he still took it as a starting place, I suppose its better than $0. Another family added a bit more to that, then auctioneer asked if anyone want to add another 25K. I misheard the figure, so I just added another $2000. My figure caused a few laughs in the crowd. The auctioneer told me it did not work that way and it had to be minimum of 25K. I agreed to add that, and to be honest I was not embarrassed by the laughs at all. After that, it was the end of the auction no one else wanted to bid. We turned out to be the highest bidder. We Won !

However, the price we offered was a lot lower than what the vendor wanted. The agent pushed us to go near 1 million, I told them what I thought about the house. It a lovely layout and it is in a good school zone, we liked it but we were not crazy about it. There were a few things need to be done around the house and all of these work cost money. Also it is the buyers market right now, the market is not as hot as it was two years ago. Obviously the vendor still wanted a price at the highest point of the real estate market, they are out of touch with the reality. This land has already been subdivide, so there is no potential for adding another house to the land. The only thing for this property to increase value is to wait out for better times in the real estate market. So even if I have budget of 1 million I would not pay for it in such environment. The agent played the fear card, he said well if we put this house on the open market I guarantee it will be snatched up quickly. I said of course, there would always be someone with more money to spend and probably would not mind to pay so much. But to me there are also many better houses out there which could have much better value than this property. Each to their own and we just wish each other good luck.

So thats the end of our experience with the first auction we have been to. I am glad we didn’t cave in under pressure from the agent and the auctioneer, most people would get intimidated under those circumstances. I did wonder if I am being too realistic and should have aimed for a bit higher for this property, but then I do believe it is better not to deal with a vendor who is so out of touch with the market and wanted such a high price. The reality in the current New Zealand realestate market is that there is a ban on foreign buyers, the immigration has tightened up on the number of people moving to NZ. There are not enough buyers. Even with low interest rates, still the market is not as active as it used to be. The downside for buyers is there are not enough listings. I believe in hard work and do the research throughly . With patience and due diligence, over time I think we will find the most suitable property for us.

Watch this space.

Dear Paula,

It was a beautiful Saturday in Coromandel. We all sat around a circle, so many people shared about their moments with you. There were some common things being said again and again, you always talked about others never self-centered, despite the pain and struggle you were in. You make people feel good, feel cared for and special. When I got home that evening and read the messages between us, it mainly about my updated on Isabella. Only in between messages you mentioned you were not doing well, falling apart a bit each day.

When I think of it, they way you said falling apart a bit each day, aren’t we all falling apart a bit as time go by? The differences are some take longer and others take shorter.

I told Adele how I appreciate her selection on staff, without her choices, we would not have worked together. Fiona, Brenda, you and me were all hired by her. No longer worked together, but somehow life all entwined in a way. I am grateful that our paths crossed.

David mentioned when you first found out you were sick, you asked what you achieved in life. In my view, its not what you achieved but what you have been. You touched many people’s hearts. your courage made me go through some of the dark moments in life. I thought of you when things weren’t so good in Beijing, I thought of you when I complained about the insignificant worries I had, I thought of you when I lack of motivation to carry on another day with positivity and light in my heart.

David said he went through things to look for that message he thought you left behind. At the ceremony, he found it, it was through everyone’s memories of you. The message was carried through all these people you have met through life.

When your ashes were scattered over the forests and the ocean, you are freer than all of us. Ashes to ashes , dusts to dusts. Rest in peace and one day, we may work together again in some mysterious ways.

Go well, my dear.

Liyang

今天在艾哥发的一条消息和照片得知迪里拜尔姐姐去世了。

一开始是不可置信，下班后回到家从飞飞那里得知，姐姐得了癌症去世。

现在在家里，一遍遍听祝福， 这个mv里的女孩儿就是姐姐。她真的很美丽，就算这个视频清晰度不是那么好， 还是能感受到她的美。

祝福-艾斯卡尔 迪里拜尔

我们新疆的小孩都知道艾斯卡尔，他是新疆的骄傲，很早就去北京闯荡。我13岁去二道桥学吉他，那时候一个人背着琴穿过整个二道桥，总是热闹非凡，有很多街边集市小摊，听到人们讨价还价，我就只顾着别上课迟到，或者别回家太晚。 我的吉他老师是个北京老太太， 在我的家乡生活了很多年。她总是很骄傲的告诉学琴的学生们，艾斯卡尔和她学过吉他。

没想到我真的见到艾斯卡尔，是在新西兰。2011年我在新西兰亚洲基金会工作，那时负责接待来参加元宵灯节演出的国际团体。 艾斯卡尔灰狼乐队是那年灯节最火爆的演出， 很多新西兰的乐迷都被他们深深的吸引， 不停的问我们这个音乐是哪里来的。

我也是那时候认识迪里拜尔姐姐， 第一次在机场接到他们，就觉得姐姐特别温柔漂亮。 她话不多，总是陪在艾哥的身边， 能看得出他们两个人感情很好， 互相照顾， 一起去过世界很多地方。有时候艾哥演出，姐姐还会上台伴舞，台下的观众总是被带动的一起跳。 我记得还带乐队去体验航海，在帆船边儿和姐姐一起合影过。

之后， 我们再一次相聚，应该是那一年夏天五月份， 我和Jennifer去北京出差，在北京又和乐队所有成员一起吃饭。

之后，再次见面， 就是在我的婚礼上,2015年八月份， 南山。姐姐和艾哥都来了， 姐姐还在婚礼上跳舞， 真的是很美好的回忆。

2017年二月，乐队第二次来新西兰演出， 但那时候我已经八个月身孕，挺着大肚子去灯节现场，没有等到他们到后台， 我就回家休息了。 灯节后的第二天， 宝宝就出生了。所以完全没有时间和艾哥还有姐姐在新西兰见面。

现在想想很多人和事，擦身而过，就再也没有一次见面的机会了。

相信美丽的姐姐在天上也一样翩翩起舞，继续美丽下去。