房產拍賣 Property Auction
在看了記不清的房屋和公寓之後，麥恪旺先生終於下定決心（儘管我還是沒下定決心）去參加一間公寓的拍賣會。澳洲這邊賣房也狠狠，多半是拍賣會上把價錢炒起來的。所以如果公告標示的是底標幾多澳幣，賣家和仲介其實是預計成交價在底標幾多澳幣再上看十趴。
After viewing countless houses and apartments, Mr McWang finally firmed up (without my full consent) to go to an auction of an apartment. Buying properties in Australia is brutal, as very often the price of properties get worked up significantly through auction. If a property is advertised with price Z, that’s the base price, as the vendor and agent are expecting the final sale price at 10% higher than base price.
雖然流浪了些許國家，但是澳洲還是第一個我認真考慮購置房地產的國家。不是說這裡風水好啊，而是因為有了小的，跨國搬家的便利性比以前低了不止幾個階級的問題。
Even though I have wandered few countries, Australia is the first country which I seriously consider purchasing a property — that is not because of the better Feng Shui in Australia, but rather because of having a youngster, who made the inter-continental migration much harder.
澳洲買房的步驟大致是這樣：
1. 去銀行拿到條件式貸款許可
2. 找到想買（而且可能買得起）的房地產
3. 找律師審讀買賣合約（仲介可提供電子版本）
4. 找獨立的第三者做一份房產蟲害評估報告（須另外付費，約兩百到三百塊澳幣），或者拿物業情況報告（公寓和有公共區域的社區房子需要拿這份報告）
5. 買房。如果價錢對了。
Steps of buying a property in Australia seem to be:
1. get a conditional loan approval from a bank
2. find a property you want (and could potentially afford) to buy
3. get a solicitor to review the contract of sale (agents can provide electronic copies)
4. get an independent party to perform a building & pest inspection report (additional costs, approximately AUD $200–300), or/and a strata report (for apartment buildings and houses having common areas with the community)
5. buy the property — if the price is right
麥恪旺先生去拍賣會的時候我沒辦法去，因為我得帶後生去上課。麥恪旺先生帶了仲介要求的空白支票，到了共有五組投標者的拍賣會現場。喊價的加碼按兩萬澳幣起跳，到尾聲是一萬起跳的加碼。所以十趴的底標到預期價格的空間也不過就三四次加碼就上去了。因為是第一次要買房地產，有一些菱菱角角的東西不是很好理解，比如：
· 我以為買家的律師重擬買賣合約的部分款項必須要在拍賣會前講定了價碼，賣方才會接受重擬的買賣合約。實際上是買家的律師還是按步驟重擬買賣合約，交給賣方仲介和律師審閱，如果拍賣會上拍到房地產，那買家和賣家就簽重擬的那份買賣合約。
· 通常拍賣房地產，仲介會要求買方準備成交價十趴的保證金，開支票或現金轉帳。實際上保證金是可以講低一點的，因為從簽了合約到房屋付款交割一般會隔四十二天（一個半月），但是保證金是放在仲介的銀行戶頭裡，買方跟賣方都沒有半點好處。
上述只是一兩件沒人告知我們的小細節，不是完整的注意事項。你想買房地產還是找專業的去討論，我不過是想買買不到的酸葡萄。
I couldn’t go to the auction with Mr McWang as I had to take our son to a class. Mr McWang took the blank cheque as requested by the agent, and arrived at the auction with four other group of participants. Bidding price is going up at AUD$20k each bid at first, and towards the end, at AUD $10k each bid. Therefore a 10% range between base to expected price would only take 3–4 rounds of bidding. As we were attempting to buy a property for the first time, certain details were first hand learning experience as well, such as:
· I thought that buyer’s solicitor is to provide amended contract of sale only when if buyer and vendor agreed on the sale prior to auction, only then would the vendor consider an amended contract of sale. In fact, even if the property is going on auction, the buyer’s solicitor still needs to provide the amended contract of sale for the vendor / agent’s solicitor to review and agree. If the buyer is successful in the auction, then the buyer and the vendor will sign the amended and agreed contract of sale.
· For property auctions, agent normally requests a 10% deposit of the sale price from the buyer, by cheque or cash transfer. In fact, the deposit percentage can be negotiated, as there is usually a 42-day (1.5 months) gap between signing the contract of sale to settlement of the property. The deposit is stacked in agent’s bank account, no benefits to neither the vendor or the buyer.
The above are just a couple of details which no one made us aware, not a complete list of what to watch out for. If you want to buy a property, talk to a professional. I am just sour grapes who could not afford to buy the property I want.
整個拍賣的過程很短，可能前後二十分鐘就結束了。我問麥恪旺先生他有機會投標嗎？他說他是第一個投標的，因為知道我給的上限，不做第一個投標者應該就沒機會投標了。嗯，人貴自知。
The auction process was short, the whole thing wrapped up within 20 minutes. I asked Mr McWang if he had the chance to bid, and he said that he was the first one to bid — knowing the upper limit I set for him, if he didn’t go for the first bid, it’s unlikely that he’d have any other chance to bid. Hum, self-awareness is priceless.
無三小路用通識之酸葡萄 Useless Common Sense of Sour Grapes
寫到酸葡萄的時候就想到了【少年悍將】卡通裡面的酸葡萄之歌。然後決定查查酸葡萄用法的由來，原來是來自【伊索寓言】的［狐狸與葡萄］故事。【伊索寓言】號稱是伊索所集結而成的短篇故事集；伊索據稱是西元前六百二十年到五百六十四年間住在古希臘的一個奴隸以及說書者。我就是那隻狐狸。
Typing up ‘sour grapes’ reminds me of the song of Sour Grapes from the cartoon Teen Titans Go! So I decided to look up the origin of sour grapes, which was from the story ‘The Fox and the Grapes’ of Aesop’s Fables. Aesop’s Fables is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BC. I am that fox.
