There’s an abandoned warehouse just down the road from me that I’m interested in buying. No big deal. I discovered it the other day when I was searching for a place to get some milk. In fact, it towers over the landscape so I’m not exactly sure why I haven’t seen it before. It’s old, and derelict, and in need of some care. Okay, a lot of care. And sure, yes, I know I promised myself that I wouldn’t do this kind of thing anymore, but I had to go and take a look. For old time’s sake.

I fancied myself a full-fledged pest inspector back in the day. Sure, you actually need qualifications for that sort of thing, but that didn’t matter to me. I thought my extensive experience would be enough to know what to look for during a termite inspection. Mornington for some reason has the perfect climate for termites to thrive. I’d plumbed around plenty of old warehouses, factories, even mansions. Even the mansion. Still makes me shudder. But you get my point, I thought because I walked around old places a few times, I was at the top of my game. Right up there with the best ! I was indestructible.

I was delusional. The factory I spent so long renovating was knocked down after some real property inspectors took a look and decided that it wasn’t fit to be left standing. They wrote a damning building defect report. Melbourne has strict rules when it comes to buildings. Yeah, a bit gutting. Still, I think it was the right decision. In hindsight, probably. Now I focus my energy on worthwhile things, like my very sweet sort-of girlfriend. Except…well, just this once, the warehouse and it’s termites were calling to me. You know what they say about old habits, and it was just so…derelict. Derelict is my favourite way for things to be, because it means boundless promise. So one more time, I got in touch with a company for a quote on termite treatments. Mornington isn’t exactly the cheapest place in Australia for property, but termite damage can lower prices significantly. In the end I thought it was worth a look. As I thought, the cost would be astronomical. Still, I did a few calculations and made up my mind. I’m going to take the place, termites and all. I can look past the damage and see the potential.