That’s pretty much it. We’ve closed on a house as of today. I figure the nightmares should really kick in tonight, based on [thread=584198]Super Kapowzler’s thread.[/thread]
It has been a solid pain in the ass by the way. Everything everyone has predicted was correct - Rental in new town got screwed up, we wound up camping for months in a damp basement apartment and living out of suitcases we packed last August. We made offers on two other houses, both of which fell apart at the home inspection stage. Home inspectors were excellent, as was the realtor, so that’s good. The house we finally bought is in a newish part of town, which is not my favorite part, but the house is good, and seems well built with room for upgrading. We were getting tired of seeing either fix-er-uppers or mcmansions.
Thanks to everybody who posted in the [thread=582618]Battlements thread[/thread], [thread=570545]Lynn Bodoni’s house thread [/thread] and my thread on the same topic [thread=570921] “how do I buy a house” [/thread].
Particular thanks to Cat Whisperer, who always gives very solid advice, as well as the rest of the Canadian content dopers. I never made it out to Drumheller this year, but I still have high hopes for the next year or so.
We’ve recently (and finally) put an offer on a house here in London, which has been accepted. Just had the survey, waiting for the bank to confirm they will give us the financing. They’re suddenly getting nervous about our work permits expiring in February, even tho hubby is localizing and qualifies for leave to remain. So fingers crossed.
I much preferred buying a house in Canada than here in the UK. I LOVE going to open houses, mostly because I’m nosey but it’s so much easier than trying to book appointments. I remember signing offers late at night, waiting up until until midnight to see if it was accepted. It was all very exciting. The agents here don’t work past 6 o’clock and at most showings I went to on the weekend, it was the owner, not the agent who showed us around. Good thing the commission is so much lower. And we waited three days before we found out if the offer was accepted!
The market here is in pretty bad shape and until we get these papers signed, there’s still a chance someone could come along and offer a high price, so thing are still very much edge of the seat.
Latest update - the movers have come and gone. The Attackkids are home (sick, unfortunately) in their new house (fortunately). Ms. Attack is off cleaning the old place.
As it happens, I’m closing on one tomorrow. We found the place on our 2nd day of looking, inspection and all went fine. The tough part was getting a decision out of the loan underwriter. Move should be fairly easy; it’s about 200 yards away from the place were currently renting.
We joked that when I bought a house and my boyfriend started a storefront business that we needed to found two stores - one’s for homeowners and it’s the “Everything’s $500 Store” and the other one is for small businesses and it’s the “Everything’s A Thousand Bucks Store”. Because it is. Every damned thing you need is going to be either a hundred bucks or five hundred bucks. Every trip to the hardware store is going to require somebody to help you load it into your car. Every time you go to the stupid grocery store you spent five hundred bucks, too, by the way. (Maybe not for you, but I moved into my own house from my parents’ house and didn’t own, you know, ketchup.)
Ask around for a good plumber, by the way. If you need one, you need one NOW.
Ack! Just got the surveyor’s report by email and even though the house is in good order for its age, there are a few issues. Now I’m sitting here with my blood rushing in my ears completely second-guessing the purchase decision. His estimate of the cost of repairs is a little heart stopping and throwaway phrases like “busy street” and “small garden” though acknowledged compromises, are FREAKING ME OUT!
We just celebrated our one year anniversary in this house at the end of August - there was much talk after the selling and buying and moving that we are never, ever doing this again. We still love our house, though, so we’re glad for that. In the year we’ve been here, we’ve replaced the washer and dryer (not planned - washer was leaking oil), the garage door opener (one of the gears on it broke, if I recall correctly), and the fridge has a fatal leak too, that can’t be repaired (it’s not that old, either - it’s just a flawed design). The yard is coming along nicely, too.
It’s interesting to read threads like this and see how far we’ve come from that very, very stressful time last year. Congratulations, all y’all.
I just put in an accepted offer on my first house ever last week. I looked at houses with my agent for 2 days but ended up choosing a house that had only hit the market a day or two prior in a different part of the county. The inspections (house, termite, radon) are this weekend and closing is scheduled for about mid-December. It’s kind of scary and exhilarating at the same time, and I’m aware that the deal could still fall apart. As I expected, everything with houses is EXPENSIVE, and I am pretty much resigned to have to start a thread about how to get a good housemate sometime in the coming months, or else it might take me longer than I’d want to fully furnish it.
You should probably set it up with a marriage counselor now, by the way. Today I replaced the garbage disposal, having bought a replacement over a year ago and Not Getting Around To It. (By the way - if there’s anything you want to do to the house, do it RIGHT NOW. Because you will never change out the switchplates or the light fixtures or paint or anything once your stuff is in it.) So I read the instructions and thought it would be easy, right? And it was! Comparatively. It only took:
1 trip to Lowes (a personal best, I’ll have you know)
1 band-aid
1 call to the boyfriend for help 'cause that bitch is heavy
1 “DON’T YOU DARE SHOUT AT ME! JUST GO WATCH YOUR STUPID SHOW IF YOU CAN’T HELP!”
1 “I CAN’T BECAUSE YOU TURNED OFF THE FUCKING MAIN BREAKER!”
2 nerve-wracking cuts with a hacksaw on a PVC pipe, playing chicken with “another trip to Lowes”
3 "It’s still fucking leaking!"s
1 motorcycle jack pressed into temporary service as a disposal lifter
3 screws we never needed?
2 mumbled apologies
It’s great, though - much more powerful and quieter (and the old one died a week ago, so the kitchen smells a lot better now.)
People get very, very testy in the middle of home repairs. Don’t come back and say I didn’t warn you.
good on ya. we’re looking now in a pricey part of town. China wife want’s a McMansion and I want something reasonable and safe for the bambinas. We haven’t found the perfect place yet. One hit the market around the corner from where we’re renting but an offer followed about 48 hours later so that one is taken…
You did a home repair with only one trip to the hardware store, Zsofia? That’s not only a personal best, I think that’s some kind of record. Having it done within around a year is not bad, either. We’re not planning on moving any time soon, but putting your house on the market sure does light a fire under all those things you were going to get around to.
We got our Christmas lights up today with zero fights and no one falling off a ladder - I call that a rousing success!
