Homeowners Again

After five years being off the ladder, we're getting back on. (It's a lot higher than it was when we got off, though.)

Negotiations with the seller finished earlier this week, and now we have a binding contract. Our final financing approval is in. We've picked a law office for the title transfer. In the morning Margo and I are creating a joint account just for the mortgage.

The sellers vacate by late July and our title transfer happens then. We have a few renovations in mind - flooring and cabinetry - that will keep us from moving until another week or two afterwards.

Where are we moving? About where I said we probably would in a recent post - to a townhouse in Coquitlam, just past Port Moody, built in the late 80's. This link shows images of building exteriors in the townhouse complex: http://www.coquitlamtownhouse.com/falcon-gate-1140-falcon-drive-coquitlam.

This was the second property that we got excited about. (The first turned out to be a situation we wanted to avoid as it wasn't managed well by the owners and so, though the interiors were wonderful, there were subtle deteriorations of exterior elements that would only get worse, as the strata was woefully underfunded.)

It seems silly that we're making such a huge decision based on a quick ten minute view (though Margo had quality time there during the inspection), but things we initially liked included ...

• Large bedrooms - perhaps the largest we'd seen
• The windows. Most housing built in this period had early-generation double-pane windows that were good but not great, and some still get condensation in wintertime. (Our current residence is like that.) These are better. I also like that the windows are more vertical; most older housing has more horizontal windows. 
• The rooms are bright, with lots of natural light.
• It has two living rooms, sort of - one's a "family room" - on the main floor on either side of the central kitchen, in addition to the basement room.
• A bay window, with a ledge we can sit on. (Margo wants to sew a cushion for it.)
• Not only is there a garage, but it has room for two cars, side by side - kind of rare for a townhouse. Not that we expect to have two cars, but it's nice to have the interior storage.
• But mostly ... we just had a good feel about the place. About how the exteriors are nicely kept up, the immaculate landscaping, seeing kids playing, getting some smiles from other residents as we walked around. A good gut feeling.

Since then, we've got further good impressions about the strata overall, having reviewed notes of monthly strata meetings. It seems well funded and nicely run.

It's not all rainbows and lollipops of course. Though it's move-in ready, some things are just old and could easily be replaced, like the furnace, dishwasher, and sliding glass doors. Carpets and cabinetry are also old, and we'll be replacing those right away. And the roof is about due for replacement, which will be a decent assessment we'll have to pay, and was included in our negotiations. The popcorn ceilings annoy me, but I decided to live with them because it's a big effort to remove them just for my aesthetic sensibilities (they actually are quite useful in deadening sound - with hardwoods it could get a bit tinny).

And we know we're being utter chumps to buy, especially here, in North America's craziest real estate market. It's been so high for so long one can't help but wonder when the bubble will burst, and we're kind of expecting a correction some time in the future. We're not buying this for financial reasons, though we expect to gain a little in the far future. We're buying because we want a home of our own.

Margo's been busy staying on top of details like the home inspection and other preparations, and has been gathering quotes for the renovation work. Soon we'll make some (hopefully fun) choices on things like the countertop, carpet and hardwood details, and room paint colours.

This will be a great change for us. We'll be able to have a cat again - perhaps Emma herself, still in Portland - and the girls want to get a second so they can keep each other company. We'll be able to host real dinners again, which we've been missing for these years, especially Margo. And we'll be able to host people for longer visits, which we've never had much space for. For me, I'll love the walkability: the walk score is very high, even higher than our old Portland address (including all the recent niceties in that neighbourhood). (And having an English-style pub across the street doesn't hurt.)

Anyway, we're really excited to be having a new home soon.