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The last few weeks have been a bit challenging, partly because everyone was sick, but also because we have been working on trying to buy a house. This has been a ton of work, and has distracted me from most other things.
We like our current house, but it isn't really perfect as a long-term home. It is fairly small, close to a road that is essentially a highway (meaning we hear traffic noise), and close enough to the airport to occasionally smell jet fuel. It is open and bright, but that means that there is essentially only one space - it can feel messy unless the whole house is clean and uncluttered. At the same time, this house is very livable, and we have not had any interest in moving into a home that isn't quite what we want.
I have been obsessively checking real estate listings for the past year, and very few promising houses have come up. Then about a month ago, one was listed that almost seemed too good to be true. It is in a perfect location, right in the middle of my favourite neighbourhood - four blocks from the creek/path/park system in one direction, four blocks from groceries/shops/restaurants in the other direction, on a very quiet street, directly across from a playground and about one block from a K-8 school. It is much larger than our current house, and has much more character (built in 1919), but is structurally in better condition than any house we have seen in this city (aside from new construction). Also, it is within our price range.
We made an offer right away after seeing it, and the house passed all inspections. The one catch is that it is a two-story house, and I can't physically manage stairs multiple times per day. So after multiple construction company estimates regarding installing a home elevator and some back and forth with the bank, we had to consider other options. Putting in an elevator wasn't going to work.
But all was not lost. We looked into installing a stair chair lift, and it will work - and will be a fraction of the cost, and easily affordable. We signed papers with the bank on Friday. So we are moving!
I will post more about the house after we move, which we are planning for late April. I am so relieved to have made this work - I don't know when another house like this would have come on the market.
I can't help posting another Maren video - she is continuing to learn at a rapid pace, and amazes me almost daily. Here is her newest trick:
We like our current house, but it isn't really perfect as a long-term home. It is fairly small, close to a road that is essentially a highway (meaning we hear traffic noise), and close enough to the airport to occasionally smell jet fuel. It is open and bright, but that means that there is essentially only one space - it can feel messy unless the whole house is clean and uncluttered. At the same time, this house is very livable, and we have not had any interest in moving into a home that isn't quite what we want.
I have been obsessively checking real estate listings for the past year, and very few promising houses have come up. Then about a month ago, one was listed that almost seemed too good to be true. It is in a perfect location, right in the middle of my favourite neighbourhood - four blocks from the creek/path/park system in one direction, four blocks from groceries/shops/restaurants in the other direction, on a very quiet street, directly across from a playground and about one block from a K-8 school. It is much larger than our current house, and has much more character (built in 1919), but is structurally in better condition than any house we have seen in this city (aside from new construction). Also, it is within our price range.
We made an offer right away after seeing it, and the house passed all inspections. The one catch is that it is a two-story house, and I can't physically manage stairs multiple times per day. So after multiple construction company estimates regarding installing a home elevator and some back and forth with the bank, we had to consider other options. Putting in an elevator wasn't going to work.
But all was not lost. We looked into installing a stair chair lift, and it will work - and will be a fraction of the cost, and easily affordable. We signed papers with the bank on Friday. So we are moving!
I will post more about the house after we move, which we are planning for late April. I am so relieved to have made this work - I don't know when another house like this would have come on the market.
I can't help posting another Maren video - she is continuing to learn at a rapid pace, and amazes me almost daily. Here is her newest trick:
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