Melbourne family ditches auctions, buys $80k below budget

First-home buyers Jeyakaran Karnan and Shree Harini Vinothkumar with their son Yaalan outside their new $720,000 Clyde North home, bought $80,000 under budget. A Melbourne family has taken the keys to a new home that cost $80,000 less than their budget after giving up on the auction circuit. Jeyakaran Karnan and Shree Harini Vinothkumar planned to spend $800,000 on their first home, before choosing a $720,000 house-and-land package in Clyde North. They had attended inspections and auctions for established homes but found the prospect of competing with other buyers overwhelming. RELATED: Global beer boss’ Vic home seeks $3.2m deal ‘Poor’: Huge Albo snub after 44pc crash ‘Horrible’: Block legend calls out ugly backlash “It was kind of like a race to get the house. We weren’t in that mindset at that time,” Ms Vinothkumar said. The couple opted to build at Orana estate, where they hoped their 18-month-old son, Yaalan, could grow up among other young families. Parks and schooling choices were drawcards, particularly the option of Christian education alongside local public schools. And keeping some savings in reserve for their son was as important as securing the home itself, they said. ...