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(Something strange happened with my last post, so I'm reposting this and deleting the old version.)
We signed for a house yesterday! Next up, bringing a heap o' papers to the lawyer for vetting. We have a while to bring back objections to the contract. The current expected completion date is mid-September; a few weeks more delay wouldn't surprise me.
Lest folks think that this has been a two-week decision, permit me to assure you that we have in fact been thinking about it for several months, and we looked at a fair number of listings and developments. This place is, as best we can tell, a good mix of affordability, location, timing, size, layout, features, and quality. The base price is in the $270K range for a 3-storey row unit of about 1550 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths, garage, and driveway, for those of you looking to compare. (If you're really diligent, you can probably figure out from this what model we bought from what builder in what development!)
Some of you expressed concern about living in Kanata being isolating, and I should address that here. We aren't alone in Kanata; several very good and close friends live out that way, most particularly![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ilanikhan, and we look forward to living closer to them. We aren't totally off the transit grid, with bidirectional rush-hour service to and from downtown and 7-day local service until around midnight. We have a car, which lets us get around quite conveniently. An increasing number of our other friends have cars too, and most of us are willing to coordinate rides without any major fuss. Yes, some folks are less likely to come out to games days, or to socialize with us in other contexts, but I think we'll still succeed in getting together with the folks who are closest to us.
The biggest logistical trick, I expect, will be getting to aikido; my work schedule will likely have to shift a bit to accommodate car swaps withsoul_diaspora.
Yes, there is a heap of stuff to do, and to buy, yet. Just the extras we're going to pile onto the house will cost a few kilobucks: stuff like air conditioning, better carpets and underpadding, extra kitchen cabinets, and whatever else the nice folks at the design center show us that we really like and decide to plough money into. Then there's curtains, appliances, and furniture... our vacation this summer in the Okanagan will probably be our last big-ticket vacation for a little while.
It's a bit scary, but we're confident that we can pull it off, and maybe even enjoy at least parts of the process, to say nothing of the final result!
We signed for a house yesterday! Next up, bringing a heap o' papers to the lawyer for vetting. We have a while to bring back objections to the contract. The current expected completion date is mid-September; a few weeks more delay wouldn't surprise me.
Lest folks think that this has been a two-week decision, permit me to assure you that we have in fact been thinking about it for several months, and we looked at a fair number of listings and developments. This place is, as best we can tell, a good mix of affordability, location, timing, size, layout, features, and quality. The base price is in the $270K range for a 3-storey row unit of about 1550 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths, garage, and driveway, for those of you looking to compare. (If you're really diligent, you can probably figure out from this what model we bought from what builder in what development!)
Some of you expressed concern about living in Kanata being isolating, and I should address that here. We aren't alone in Kanata; several very good and close friends live out that way, most particularly
ilanikhan, and we look forward to living closer to them. We aren't totally off the transit grid, with bidirectional rush-hour service to and from downtown and 7-day local service until around midnight. We have a car, which lets us get around quite conveniently. An increasing number of our other friends have cars too, and most of us are willing to coordinate rides without any major fuss. Yes, some folks are less likely to come out to games days, or to socialize with us in other contexts, but I think we'll still succeed in getting together with the folks who are closest to us.The biggest logistical trick, I expect, will be getting to aikido; my work schedule will likely have to shift a bit to accommodate car swaps with
soul_diaspora.Yes, there is a heap of stuff to do, and to buy, yet. Just the extras we're going to pile onto the house will cost a few kilobucks: stuff like air conditioning, better carpets and underpadding, extra kitchen cabinets, and whatever else the nice folks at the design center show us that we really like and decide to plough money into. Then there's curtains, appliances, and furniture... our vacation this summer in the Okanagan will probably be our last big-ticket vacation for a little while.
It's a bit scary, but we're confident that we can pull it off, and maybe even enjoy at least parts of the process, to say nothing of the final result!
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Yay house!
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Can't wait to see it.
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Neither can we! Currently, the bottom floor is framed.
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Felicitations!
I am thrilled and happy for you.
May your new home be filled with laughter + love, and bless you both in it.
I expect a housewarming party at some point. :P
PS. You will be invited to my housewarming too, upon my TRIUMPHANT OTTAWA RETURN! *crowd goes wild*
PPS. More importantly- CONGRATS AGAIN!!! I am so excited and happy for you!!! *gleeful hugs all around*
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Housewarming will be a little while yet!
When are you back in town?
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I knows it takes time to finalize deals and fully move in, I meant I expect a housewarming... eventually. In the fall? Winter? Whenever you get around to it. :P
Back in town to visit late April/early May. Back in town for good still TBD.
Pretty convinced I want to scrap any sort of long-term Europe plans (although summer vacay may be in the cards) and just be back in the city I love with the friends who care about me. <3
So... ETA August/September sometime? But like I said, mostly still TBD.
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Re: Felicitations!
So, your ETA is around when we expect to take possession of the new house; we'll try not to schedule conflicting housewarmings!
I worked 3 months in Finland one summer, and found that an excellent way to travel and learn at least some of the real culture, not just what you get as a tourist. Right after finishing a degree is a good time for such things, because it doesn't mean leaving permanent jobs, housing, etc. Still, I can understand wanting to be home for a while!
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:)
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That said, it's also possible that both of them were there during the winter, I'm not sure.
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The selfish me is worried that Kanata is a long ways away. The less selfish me is happy that you found a place that will suit you and that has the right balance of price/features/location/etc you were looking for.
What are you going to do with all that space??
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I'm sure some friendly neighbors would be quite willing to help you get there, and transit service does work at least somewhat decently... pickup from Transitway is also a possibility.
All that space: upstairs, one bedroom for each of us, and a computer room/office; kitchen and main living and eating area on the main floor; supplementary social space on the ground floor; storage in the basement. It's not really that huge a place, although it's bigger than most apartments/condos. Take a look at the size of most of the single family homes being built... there's stuff that's well past double the size of this place all over.