Househunting in Werribee and Hoppers Crossing

We've been driving around looking at suitable houses pretty much since we arrived, but the search has really intensified this past week because we are due to move out of the guesthouse next Fri. More importantly, I have 2 medical appointments lined up next week and they're both in the Hoppers area, and it would be so more easier to have moved into our new place by then instead of commuting 1 hr each way from Bundoora.

We're looking at something that has all these features:

• Rental not exceeding $230 pw
• Accessible to train station, schools, shops
• Not in the W "birdcage area" (the triangle on the map with street names like Rosella, Thornbill, Kookabura - a supposedly not-good area)
• 3 bedrooms with BIR (built-in wardrobes)
• Ensuite bathroom for master bedroom (not as common as you would suppose; most houses seem to have just 1 bathroom for common use)
• Polished floorboards (as opposed to carpeting, which might cause allergies and is high-maintenance)
• Ducted heating (supposedly superior to gas heating)
• Mod cons such as steel appliances, dishwasher and built-in oven (yup, we've seen ads boasting such things!)
• Low-maintenance front yard (a manicured garden with flora in a dozen colours is a beautiful thing, but who's maintaining it? it wouldn't be me - my last cactus died on me)
• Separate backyard where the kids and Scottie can play safely (we notice a lot of houses here don't have fences)

These nice-to-have's were gleaned from our research on the Internet as well as drive-by inspections. Some write-ups look so good when you read them online, until you drive past and realize "ooh, so it looks like that", or you find that the place that's supposedly "walk to shops" is in all probability a 30-min walk.

Yesterday, we hit the house trail after lunch, with Hui Mei doing (as usual) a superb job of navigating the little side streets of Werribee and Hoppers. We shortlisted 3:
a. Coop St (step outside and there's the W train station!) - gorgeous landscaping, part of a gated residence of 5 or 6 units, brand new and going for $230 pw
b. Pitanga Gardens - brand new and in a quiet neighbourhood not too far from amenities, $205 pw
c. Muirhead Crescent - small and compact, all polished floorboards, and just $160 pw! (HM was esp taken with this one, saying it was by far superior to all the others she'd seen on her own. The only concern she had was when a patrol car drove by and the officer at the wheel asked if we were lost. Made us wonder if it was common for police to patrol the area and if so, why. Was the n'hood unsafe?)

Anyway, have contacted the respective agents and left our numbers so they can contact us for inspections. Hope something turns up soon, and if not, perhaps something better will!