I can’t believe I’m actually checking this one off! This has been a dream of ours for what seems like forever.
We got the keys yesterday, the Realtor left us a card and a lovely gift basket (wonderful and practical – tools and gift cards and things we can use!) and we spent the next couple of hours there wandering from room to room, looking in drawers and cupboards, making plans, measuring spaces, and feeling giddy and glad. The kids ran up and down the stairs, rolled around on the floors, danced around the patio space and watched clouds go by from balcony, went out to the little playground for a while… they’re so excited. We all are. We definitely feel like we’ve made a very good decision and will all be very happy there.
Very best of luck to anyone else looking for their place to call home.
I’m happily, happily checking this off my list at long last.
Now if we can just survive the moving process… but that’s a new goal that can take the place of this one.2 days ago
Sellers have changed their move-out date again. I’ve been assured this is the last time, and a contract addendum was signed. Not terribly convinced of this, though. 1 week ago
It’s so surreal – in the last month this has gone from a long time pipe dream to reality.
We’ve now met with our lovely broker to hand over our paperwork and sign all the mortgage documents, transferred all of the downpayment (savings and RRSPs) to a single high savings account, met with an insurance agent (we still need to get back to them), signed the forms for our brilliant Realtor, and have an appointment with a lawyer for the final paperwork and payment next Tuesday.
M. spoke to our wonderful landlord last night about us moving out at the end of June – he’s really happy for us and thinks buying a place right now is a fantastic choice, particularly in the area we’re moving to. I’ve already set up a date for internet, cable, and phone to kick in at the new place (and picked our new number), and am scoping out schools in the area, which is difficult – we love the school here.
There’s a lot of work to be done at the new place (ceilings and fresh paint), and a lot of work weeding and packing our belongings here, big decisions to make and cleanup to do, but we’ll get there. Soon this will be checked off and a ‘smooth move’ type goal will take its place.
One week from today we close, next Thursday we get our keys!! Unbelievable. 1 week ago
The sellers have changed the settlement date and their move-out date on me three times already. Getting some signatures down now, so hopefully this little frustration will cease to exist soon.
Closing date is not that big of a deal for me and my situation, thankfully. But it’d be really nice to definitely know when I’ll have an empty home to move into, so I can give my landlord adequate notice I’m outta here. I’d really hate to pay rent longer than I absolutely have to. 1 week ago
I still can’t believe it but the house is all ours! My head is swimming with all that is on my mind but we are so excited!
Last Sunday we did the final walkthrough. We met one of the sellers (the wife) who was finishing up with some packing. She seemed sad to be leaving and my heart went out to her (the sellers are going through a divorce). When she said her teenage daughter’s bright purple room would be perfect for our little girl I didn’t have the heart to say that we were repainting everything. :(
But on a happier note, we got the keys on Wednesday and my hubby and I celebrated with a champagne toast in the empty house that evening!
We are moving in three weeks – hoping that that is enough time to do most of our projects!!
Yay!!! 2 weeks ago
Crossing my fingers that everything goes well! 2 weeks ago
I am pretty sure that my husband has ruined any chance of us buying a house anytime soon 2 weeks ago
It’s time I wrote about this again. This goal is my main New Year’s Resolution but 2013 hasn’t been good for this goal at all. It seemed like we started strong late last year, coming to work out what we wanted, and that ended in late November with bidding on a house we didn’t quite get. Not a bad start.
I knew after that there would be a down period during the end-of-year break and it might not pick up again until February. But it’s only just started to pick up in April but even now there are only a couple of houses for us to look at in a week. We’re very picky (especially me) and it also means we’re not bothering to look at houses that don’t meet key criteria (e.g. brick not weatherboard, dishwasher or obvious space for one, secure parking space).
There was one we rather liked recently. A little small perhaps in the lounge/kitchen area, and no separate laundry, but roomy outside and a good size overall. It’s in very good condition too. We were thinking of taking it further. My dad tried hard to talk me out of it based on the suburb not having a great name. I really don’t think it is a bad suburb anymore and I think it’s growing in value – good for investment as well as living – but he doesn’t think it will really grow because people won’t want to live in this suburb. Neither of us really knows though. But my folks were less supportive for this one, so I haven’t pushed them to see it and left it to think a while. Now an offer has been received that they want to take so it will be sold before auction.
Maybe it’s for the best as it doesn’t tick every box. I don’t know. It’s been seven months now! Sometimes I feel like my time is wasted where I am. I’m really looking forward to having this over and done with so I can live with my girlfriend and step-cat and enjoy the place. The Australian government is now getting rid of the first homebuyer’s grant on 30 June and it doesn’t look likely that we’ll find somewhere by then, though you never know. Such a shame, as that would have helped. 2 weeks ago
I’m thrilled to report that Friday our financing was officially approved and the home inspection Saturday went wonderfully, in fact much better than expected (I was bracing myself). The fellow doing it was lovely, thorough, and very positive about the place, he’d done a number of other inspections there and knows people in the complex.
He said we could skip replacing the furnace for now as long as we have it inspected annually, make a slight belt repair, and get a carbon monoxide detector to install between it and the fireplace. The water tank is newer than we’d been told, though we’ll want to switch it up before too long.
No bad surprises at all, and several good ones (like no discernible mold/asbestos, though we’ll get a test for 100% certainty before scraping the ceiling), wiring/plumbing is all good (except for a $3 toilet fix and a – now dealt with – wire for the AWOL dishwasher), there’s a small square of attic insulation missing, all easy, easy cheap stuff. The main work will be the aesthetic renos as we choose to do them. He gave us our report right then and accompanying photos are on their way. He even gave us a great first time buyers discount and said to get in touch any time, he lives nearby.
We also dealt with some of the Big Bank stuff yesterday, fixing a name glitch, moving the main nest egg, and getting a bank draft for the deposit which we’re dropping off Monday when we sign the subject removal papers! We’ve read 99% of the paperwork (strata notes, minutes, etc.) and now we need to look at insurance to be in place before closing day and consolidating the rest of the downpayment. We need to set up a meeting to sign the mortgage paperwork and print financial papers/gift letters, etc. but everything is going smoothly. I hope it all continues to flow so well.
So close. Excitement is beginning to overshadow all the anxiety! 3 weeks ago
