A fresh start - a new beginning?

Amazing things happen when you least expect it.

We went out with Agent M this afternoon to look at some town/row houses in Preston. Again, as mentioned, we wanted to stay in Preston or Hespeler, so we thought we'd give it a try.

Sure enough we went through two gems today - oddly enough on the same street right across from each other.

House one had a great flow to it. But the main floor felt a little small in the family and living room. The house was pretty much all builders white. The rooms were all a good size and everything was really good. It was an end unit with the only attachment being the garage. You could enter the backyard from the house or through a really nice wooden gate at the side of the house. The only issue was that the basement wasn't finished, and that it was slightly oddly laid out so that you only had a small area for a rec room. But we could finish it and make the house be so much more.

House two was across the street and a centre town unit. One side was connected by a house, the other by the garage. The layout was somewhat similar but the house was so much bigger. Higher ceilings in the fully finished basement. The kitchen also had a really great breakfast bar that looked out on the great room which is a living room and a dining area. It had really big windows and let in lots of light. The people who built the home definitely got some extras. A book shelf built in at the top of the stairs, the basement finished and a gas fireplace. Walk in closet in the master bedroom and a rough in for an en suite. The closets are all big too and there's a deck out the back.

Realistically great houses, $10,000 different. When looking at the houses there are many differences, but one just seemed to stand heads over the other. House two is great. After thinking about it and talking about it, we decided that we are going to put in an offer. Hard to believe that we finally have found a place we could see our selves settling down and spending time together and growing a family together. If all goes well and a few negotiations later, we will only have to worry about furniture!

Housing Types

I've realized that the more I talk about houses with people that the more they get confused. What do you mean "Side-Split" and what is the difference between town and row house?

I thought I'd clean up some of the confusion for everyone.
Detached - this house will stand alone and have at least four walls that are not attached to any other house
Attached Dwellings - Separate residences that are attached side by side

For single family you can have a multitude of ways they built - here are some popular ways a house could be built.

Bungalow - single storey house
Two storey - straight forward, house has two storey's stacked on top of each other
Side split - house is built lengthwise, with one half of the house appearing to be a bungalow and the other half split into two stories.
Back split - house is split front and back and the back appears to be a two storey front a bungalow
Front split - the front of the house appears to be two storeys and the back a bungalow

Attached dwellings can be built many ways and here are some that we find in our area:

Semi-Detached/Duplex - two houses are connected together
Rowhouse - three or more houses are connected by the garage walls only - with space between the houses to access the back yard
Townhouse - three or more houses that are connected by the inside walls

Many times when you are looking into attached dwellings, they may or may not be a condominium. Condominiums are broken into two groups - your typical condo means that they are maintained all at the same time in both your front and back yards and all common areas such as parking lots, etc. In the case of Freehold Condominiums, you own the property and are responsible for your back yard maintenance, but your condo fees will cover the front yard and common areas. You own your building much more and must take care of your own unit's maintenance.

With so many options, you really need to look at what works for you - but it doesn't hurt to do a little bit more research before deciding to buy.

Revelations of a House Hunter

My husband and I had a bit of an epiphany since we went to see those houses this week. We've come to realize that we have lost focus of our initial goal.

We work in Guelph - we want a house that is in Cambridge but closer to Guelph. This will make it faster for us to get to work and make life easier for us as we'll be in the city. In Cambridge, this means that we would prefer to live in Hespeler or Preston.
But where have we been looking lately? Galt - which is even further from where we want to be. And why have we been looking there? Houses are bigger; you can get a single family home for the price of a semi or town house in Hespeler or Preston; yards are bigger; houses are older and therefore have more charm. The area in Galt we are looking in is close to amenities and is a complete comfort to us in that it's an area we know and have lived before. This area is between my parents and James' parents - which makes it easily accessible.

Now what sounds wrong with that? Well basically it's taking us from all that we wanted. When we first started looking and evaluating what we wanted, we had a certain list of things that needed in our first house.

1. Three bedrooms or more to a) allow us office space, b) allow us a room for one or more children that we may have in this house c) allow us a bedroom too!
2. Garage doesn't matter but we need some sort of shed for outside things, ie. lawnmower and tools, shovels, etc.
3. House must be one or two streets off of at least a tertiary street. Meaning - just off a well enough and easily recognizable route for family and friends to find us fairly easily.
4. Be in Preston or Hespeler
5. Two bathrooms are preferred but not neccessary (although our mothers both think we need a bathroom on the main floor.
6. Be able to have parking enough for at least two cars
7. Outdoor space that we'd be able to have a barbecue and some entertaining space - but not too big where we'd have to maintain it constantly
8. Have a certain amount of charm
9. Be priced well enough that we can still live our lives - we do not want to be house poor

That was where we started and this is how it changed:
1. Bedroom amounts didn't change, but the thought of having a big master with potential for en suite or walk in closet became a dream we thought might come true.
2. This did not change
3 and 4. We started looking in an area that we were more comfortable in - and our family felt more comfortable visiting
5. Nicer looking bathrooms became a huge priority - and we started looking into houses that had two bathrooms but could be renovated into nicer bathrooms.
6. We wanted to find parking for three or more in the off chance that someone would want to come and visit us
7. We looked for bigger property to have huge parties, such as the beer olympics - even though this means that we have more upkeep and more challenges. And realistically we could have the olympics, and just make the events tighter right? Besides, more property generally means that you lose out on things in the house.
8. Charm became the deciding factor - and we were only looking at houses that were close to 100 years old - where each house would be different and draw us in by the looks outside alone. Older houses mean a lot more work though!
9. Prices for the houses may be the same as something slightly newer, but the amount of money and time that would go into an older house with charm and in older established neighbourhoods means that we'd be putting all our extra money and energy into fixing problems. How would we end up ahead by doing that?

So what does this all mean? That we are going to see some newer houses, in Preston, that are row houses, but in great shape tomorrow. Somehow there are three on one street - and all around the same price and all with certain charms. They are newer and won't involve a lot of work until we are ready to do it. They are all in the right neighbourhood for us to get to and from work and they are close to all amenities. Not maybe in walking distance, but really close nonetheless. There are good schools in the neighbourhoods and the sizes of the houses are great. The property size isn't that huge, but it would be ours and will serve our main purpose. I think they might be good viable options for us.

And I must say that it feels really good to not feel so overwhelmed by the amount of work that needs to be done in a house in order to make it work!

Twenty-Five

25 years ago I was four turning five. I was pretty excited about this big birthday, as it was my first birthday while I was in school. I tended to wear my long hair in two pig tails as I liked how they bounced and how my curls would make them form two big fat ringlets. I was in kindergarten at Manchester Public School in Ms. Mackenzie’s class. I was also enrolled in learn to skate with the Cambridge Ringette Association with other kiddies. I caught on quickly and was a true tomboy. I loved building things and climbing things. I didn’t have very many fears and thought my brother Joe was the coolest guy on the planet, my sister Lisa was the coolest girl and my sister Heather was mean. We lived on Norfolk Avenue back then, in a three bedroom house for 6 people. I shared a room with my sisters that was painted pink. My favourite toys were dinky cars, Light Brite and Strawberry Shortcake. I desperately wanted a Cabbage Patch Kid but would have to wait until I woke up Christmas morning to find Jenna under the tree. Back when I was four turning five I loved one piece pyjamas and riding my bike – even though it had training wheels. My best friends were two of my cousins: Graham and Danny. Danny and his family lived in the same city as us and he and I would play dinky cars for hours and hours. Graham and his family lived on a farm and we spent a lot of time there. I loved running around on the rafters and jumping into the hay. We would explore and build castles out of sand or blocks. When I was four turning five, I became friends with Devon – and she remains my friend to this day. We used to play house with Steve Roblin as our husband. At this age, I believed that me and my neighbour down the street looked the same with our round faces and long brown hair and I thought because of that we would be friends forever. When I was four turning five I dreamed a lot, played outside a lot and always tried to fit in. I loved animals and loved to laugh. I used to sing to my sister’s high school friends and never minded wearing pink and red together (hey Strawberry shortcake did it all the time, why couldn’t I?) When I was four turning five, I would catch snakes with my sister, build snow forts in any snowbank that I could find and try to have fun whenever possible.

Things that have changed in the past 25 years

• I have discovered that I like most vegetables – yams, asparagus, brussel sprouts, bean sprouts, spinach are all things I would’ve never ate when I was 5
• I no longer like the taste of cooked carrots
• I no longer run away screaming from mushrooms in items and instead pick through and do not comment
• I really like broccoli, spinach and sundried tomatoes on a pizza
• I can tolerate small amounts of black pepper on certain things – but not all things
• The thought of losing control on a toboggan doesn’t hold as much appeal as it did when I was a kid.
• I really enjoy spending time with my family now
• If cooked right, I really like meatloaf
• I no longer want to be a nurse although I do like to help people
• Spending time with seniors is precious and I wish I learned that sooner in life
• Having a puppy is a lot of work and a lot of training time – I’d rather have a full grown dog
• Swimming pools are not the be all end all
• I spend more time on the internet talking with friends than seeing them face to face
• Thanks to the internet I’ve been able to keep in contact with friends across Canada – and great friends they are!
• Having designer clothing doesn’t matter, but having clothes that fit does
• Having to share my birthday with Jesus isn’t nearly as bad as it used to be
• Steve Roblin married someone else and has spent the past few years traveling the world – but I still think he’s one of the nicest people I’ve met
• I don’t play outside that much but still like to get out into the sunshine every once in awhile
• I can ride a two wheeler bike, but still prefer to ride a Florida trike if given the chance
• I can now skate forward, backwards, stop quickly without falling down, do cross cuts and circles and would rather be skating than running
• I still sing in the car but will not sing in front of other people unless in a large group where I can be part of the crowd

Things that haven’t changed

• I still hate onions
• Pizza is still my favourite food
• I still have sudden urges to make snow angels in the snow
• My family still drives me nuts every once in awhile
• Playing with Lego’s and colouring are still great ways to pass the time
• Devon and I are still really close – and can pick up where we left off without skipping a beat
• Long Point, Ontario is still one of the most peaceful places on earth
• I still get excited about my birthday
• I love stickers
• I love wearing knee high socks
  
• I still dream a lot and I still try to fit in as much as I can
• Seeing animals of all shapes and sizes still gets me giddy
• I am still silly, still trying to have fun and still trying to make people smile

I am still me.

Evening with Agent M

After an awesome weekend away where we actually finished our Christmas shopping, James and I met with our awesome real estate agent to go through some houses. We had hoped on going through a house that we liked a few months ago. It's been on the market for awhile and I was hoping we could go back through one more time. As we were away, I had to log on in our hotel and send a list of houses to our agent on the weekend. Narrowed it down to five.

Hespeler - 3 houses - one of which ended up sold
Galt - 2 houses - and the one we liked has an offer pending

Ultimately it was the worst news I could hear. It almost made me want to turn back and just not go look at all. I had high hopes that this would be the house as it was the only one we really went into and saw ourselves living there and being happy for a really long time. I could see us completely raising kids there and being very happy. Even with a slightly low ceiling in part of the basement.

So with the two houses out - it left us with three.

House number one, on a slightly busy street, but managable. In the neighbourhood we initially thought was our ideal. Big two storey older home but with two bathrooms. Oddly enough - it had two kitchens too and both were old and needed replaced. The layout was a little strange but it had original hard wood floors. The yard was absolutely huge and had two great old trees and an old fashioned lamp post in the middle of it. Strangely though - within about four minutes we were out of the house and done. We didn't want to be there and didn't want to live there. It's a great house for someone, just not us.

House number two was in another area of Hespeler, just around the corner from another house that I fell in love with during the summer when we weren't really looking to buy. The house was new, which meant less problems for a few years. It had a finished basement and really good sized rooms - but there were two major problems. #1 - the back yard was very tiny and irregularily shaped - came to almost a point. Pretty much could have a patio table and a small piece of grass and the backyard is full. Never could host the Beer Olympics out there! Issue #2 - the kitchen/dining area was very tiny. It was compact and functional, but only could stand one person in the kitchen and probably not even that if the oven door or fridge door were open. It was too bad because the house was in really good shape. Oh well - we moved on.

The third house was back in Galt - the same house that my mother thought we should be more seriously considering over the other house we liked but had foundation issues. A tall two storey brick house with a private drive and garage and a good sized yard. From the outside it checked all the boxes. Inside the rooms are all a really good size, and there is a room in the basement that is mostly finished - which leads me to think playroom for the kids. The kitchen is really big too - but there are problems. Bathrooms all will need work done - including a pink bathtub upstairs. (What is with the pink bathroom furniture lately???) And the kitchen cabinets seem to be the original with coat upon coat of paint on them. We could live with that, but when you go up the stairs and through all the bedrooms you see the same recurring theme - painted wood panneling. And one room even has writing under the paint that you could clearly make out. "Sklyer I love your one wheeled house" and "Green is great" and a big "exit" sign painted on the top of the door but now covered with a very thin coat of paint. All the doors upstairs need replaced, all of the upstairs hardwood needs some serious work too.

If we'd be willing to put in the work, and the money to do it, we could really make that house shine. Problem is - it's a the very top of our budget. You get a good return on the kitchen and bathroom, but the rest of it would involve ripping out walls and making some changes.

I think we are starting to see that we don't want a fixer upper, at least not a major one. We knew that, but now it's pretty much been cemented. Our realtor now knows that we need to have a good sized kitchen and we need lots of outlets for us to be able to have all of our crazy technology.

And still - my mind goes back to the other house we liked - the one with an offer. Our awesome agent has already marked on her calendar to follow up the day before the deal is to be cemented. She's going to stay on top of it to let us know. Brought up the "if it was meant to be it will be." This is something my mother has used many times to describe relationships. It's so true. Our agent said that it happens many times where an offer will come in and people will say "well I guess it wasn't meant to be" and she says "just wait and see" and sure enough the deal falls through and the couple that she's dealing with ends up with the house. Not that we are thinking that would happen, but it is a possibility.

One thing we've learned from all this - if we like something we need to go see it and act on it right away or the house will slip through our fingers.

And with that - we will take a break for awhile and only go see if something really interests us (or that other house comes up.) We should pick back up come January when it is expected that more houses end up on the market than are on it now. It's time to enjoy the holidays and so we shall!