Location Location Location

AH and I are vaguely looking at places for rent and I noticed that a Mary Street Newtown house is once again up for rent 6 months after the last time again for $400 a week.
Real Estate agents describe it as:
"We love
The abundance of natural light and air
The short walk to the heart of Newtown
The open plan loft style second bedroom
The leafy rear courtyard, timber benches
The large neat and tidy eat in kitchen "

complete with pretty pic:

doesnt that look nice...

I walk past this house often on my way to our post office box and I can tell you now that the above photo is from over 6 months ago and of course they try for the most flattering looks.  (I suppose only 6 months old is better than the photos of houses for rent that stupidly have digital date stamps on them from 2005 that I've seen recently.)

If you walk just past number 3, well, right next to it you will see an electricity substation. That's right, a big load of lectrickery is your next door neighbour.  Opposite the 1/2 house is a drop in place, a phone company depot (read vans driving in and out with big roller door) and a pub with an exit on King Street and Mary Street (read men urinating on their way home).  It really is only 3 doors away from King Street - the park is at the other end of the street but the transport, lots and lots of it - trucks, buses, cars, really is at your doorstep.

Not long ago I was walking down Mary Street, early evening but still daylight & watched as 2 meth boys smashed a car window and stole what looked like a laptop bag right in front of me.  Now, I do realise that once a gel is over 40 and not of a breeding age, she often becomes the invisible woman but that was ridiculous and just a tiny bit scary.

Does this house come with off-street parking? No, don't be silly, that would mean lots more rent.

This is what it REALLY looks like:

I took this at the end of last week.
Notice all the bakery trays - they are there most of the time.  Notice the open and over-full wheelie rubbish bins? same.   Check out the (lack of) gutter above the verandah - one could think of that as a statement as to the condition of the rest of the house.   In the background I see a palm tree - that must be the "leafy" bit - they drop their dirty great branches with big spikes, heavy enough to kill your cat (they allow pets) but that doesn't matter because if the animal gets past the barbed wire, it will be electrocuted anyway.
Security? I am not going there but I reckon the contents insurance premium will be plus a few hundred and if you have a car...  But remember: location location location!
That's not location that's being certifiable.
By the way, it's better revenue for real estate agents to lease every 6 months then to have long-term tenants.

I just read that it's been rented.