Life: Buying a House

The mortgage broker emailed me last week to say that the conditions on the mortgage have been lifted. We only have to show up at the lawyer's office with photo ids in hand to finish that now.

It has been more than a little stressful to go through this whole process. I have to say that Aerin and I are not looking forward to the prospect of doing the whole thing again anytime soon. Chris (our realtor) told us that people in Calgary are averaging a new home every four years. Four years! You're barely moved in before you move out again. Why would I want to put myself through the selling process at the same time as the ringer we just went through with buying? Granted this is our first home, but even then I'm not at all taken with the idea of "moving up". I plan to firmly plant this memory in my mind for instant recall if we ever consider buying another place before we've lived in this house less than 10 years.

Despite the financial considerations that go into home ownership, I'm happy to be a home owner. We can make changes and improvements as we see fit. We don't have to worry about finding a place to live that will allow Ursa. I don't have to concern myself with grass at any point in the future. We'll probably hire a local entrepeneur to take care of that until we get things zeroscaped. And we won't have to worry about our rent getting jacked up on us - at least until we have to renew the mortgage anyway.

We purchased new keypad locks for the house and garage. That was a $527 purchase, and I don't think we may even bother getting them rekeyed to match either. Once we get the codes set we won't need to worry about needing a key until such time as the battery dies or the circuits fry.

I hope we can get the new laminate flooring picked out this coming weekend on our way through Red Deer in either direction. We're getting a cash deal, so we can get the good stuff for far cheaper. I will look forward to getting that job done before we move in, or at least in the rooms and hallway if not the stairs. Once we get the flooring picked out I hope to start organizing the work gangs. A number of friends and family have offered to help with the install. Since I'm taking a couple days off after possession to get everything ready I hope it will go quickly to get it installed.

The other near immediate change is to chaulk around the window frames and flashing where there was some shoddy work. It'll hold up for a couple years until we fix up the windows and exterior. The windows are more important in my mind since they are the original aluminum sliders that are drafty and don't keep out a bit of the evening sun's heat. Nice in the winter, but not so much in the summer. Thankfully we're lower in the river valley where we can get some relief before it's bed time. The nice ceiling fan in the master bedroom will be most welcome.

I need to put a section of fence to ensure that Ursa doesn't escape on us, but that will happen once the floors are ready for their redo. I plan to have that done before we move.

And finally we'll replace the garage roof before the fall. Not sure of when that might happen, but again we have numerous offers of help to get it all done. I'm currently leaning towards the August long weekend since I despise camping with the long weekend crowds. But it's not decided, so there are still options. Of course the weather will be a major factor to consider, so who knows if Plan A will actually work out.

We're so looking forward to having a place of our own. It certainly casts renting in a different like. And while our current place has served admirably, it was definitely starting to cause frustrations for its deficiencies. But that will soon be a distance memory. Less than a month until possession!