The Property Diaries
A story of buying a house, finding a man & making a home ... all on a single income, and how you can do it too!

Wrightbooks, (Published 2011)

Written By Antonia Magee

Country Australia

Review 4 Stars - Excellent Book

How the blurb describes the book:
The Property Diaries is a fun and informative guide for women who want to get their well-heeled feet on the property ladder. Packed with practical information about saving for a deposit, applying for a bank loan and researching properties, the book follows real estate rookie Maggie Rose as she finds her dream home – and possibly her dream man as well!

In this much-awaited follow up to Living Thin, we rejoin Maggie two and a half years after she went from penniless to prosperous. She has now saved a fabulous $30,000 – perfect for a deposit on her dream home, or so she thinks.

The Property Diaries is a hilarious look at the roller-coaster ride of the first home buyer that will help you learn everything you need to know about securing your first property ... and you don’t have to wait for Prince Charming!

Things to do!
Get a house deposit.
Get over the ex and his new girlfriend.
Get dream home!

Antonia Magee is a Melbourne journalist who finally has a little place to call her own. She is deputy news editor at the Business Spectator.

Mr Home Budget’s Review:
This is the second book in this series. In the first book Living Thin, the main character, Maggie is 29, but going on 15 where her money is concerned. She has not got the first idea about saving or even paying bills. But with help from a financial planner, not only does she get out of debt but she manages to save some money just prior to her thirtieth birthday. We have reviewed this book and you can click here to see the review.

Fast forward until she hits 32. Her budgeting skills have gone from a solid grade “F” to at least a “B+” and she has managed to save $40,000. Getting sick of the rental rat race she decides to buy a place she can call home. But just making the decision is the easiest part of the whole process. Now she must find a house, make sure it’s in her price range, get approval for a loan (while worrying about her past credit rating) learn how to bid at auction, master the lingo as far as property is concerned, and on top of this, tackle her love life.

The great thing about this fictional book (as in the first book of the series) is it teaches you as you go along. You learn about property and budgeting in an entertaining manner. This is very different to sitting down and reading a book with black and white facts. You learn without even really thinking about it.

Magee is a dreamer — and right away she wants to live in some of the most exclusive and expensive parts of town. But her hopes are soon dashed as even rundown properties in this area are extremely expensive. She continues her search in surrounding towns, and eventually gets further and further away from her dream suburb. After a few near misses, where she places a bid on property’s but does not win them. She eventually finds the place of her dreams and a price in her price range.

But property hunting is not the only problem poor Magee has got. She has to deal with her ex-boyfriend coming back to town, the ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend, and her elusive new boyfriend. Plus a new unpaid job on a national TV show at a network where her ex-boyfriend works. Of course Maggie being Maggie, she takes up other projects just to make her life a little bit more complicated, such as becoming a designated matchmaker for people she hardly knows.

This book is an extremely entertaining read and you don’t need to have read the first one to read this. The great thing about it is its extremely unique. There are not many fiction/learning books out there. Grab yourself a copy.

Pros:
Teaches you in an entertaining way
At times it can be laugh out loud funny
Great for people who want to purchase property with no knowledge or background

Cons:
In parts, it seems a little long and drawn out