In the beginning...

Hello All!

I guess I should have started this blog a while ago, so it could be a true account, but I only decided to do it today. So here's the scoop so far....

I bought my house on October 4, 2008 in the Fairwinds community in Kanata, Ontario, Canada. My house model is called the 'Berryhurst' Village Home.

It's the perfect size for a single girl- 3 level townhouse with about 1300 sq. ft with 2 bedrooms and I upgraded to the optional third floor with 2.5 bathrooms. I chose the house because it was seemed to have all the convienience of being a condo (good size, not a huge amount of upkeep but some outdoor space), but the added bonus of being a freehold!

So far, the experience has been..interesting. Don't get me wrong..I've been plenty excited about the whole process! It's just that it's been draining to go through, even though I know that at the end, I will have my own pretty house to show for it. So for now, I'll try to break this down into a timeline for everyone...

September 2007--

I started seriously looking for a house on my own. I considered the Tartan Java condos, Minto Terrace homes and Urbandale Jazz condos, but then discovered the Mattamy Village homes in Kanata. I liked the idea that it was a freehold since I'm really not comfortable with the uncertainty and cost of condo fees, and the Fairwinds area seemed really nice. I have already lived out there before, so I was used to the distance between Kanata and downtown Ottawa. I looked through all the models from Mattamy and the Berryhurst was the one that suited me the most....open concept, nice flow, full laundry room, good sized kitchen, option for an ensuite, room for a small office without giving up or sharing the second bedroom..the list goes on! So now my mind is made up and I've found a house and had the pre-approval done (IMPORTANT STEP BTW! HELPED ME IMMENSELY!). Only now with all my book reading, number crunching and decision making, I have missed out on the latest release that Mattamy had and have to wait for the next one...phooey!

October 1, 2008--

After a year of scrounging for information like Pavlov's dog, I finally start getting word that the Mattamy release for village homes is confirmed for Saturday, October 4. Colour Me EXCITED! The price at this point is about 187k and I've been told that the increases are usually about 5k per release. Now I just have to wait until the evening of October 3 to get the confirmed details and see exactly what homes are going to be released and where. So I'm flying pretty high at this point and just waiting for my piece of village home pie!

October 3, 2008--

I have plans to go to the sales centre to find out information about the house, but a little birdie tells me to call ahead of time. That's when the bombshells begin...

1- They are only releasing 2- count 'em TWO!!- Berryhursts out of about 20 homes that they have available. Neither of them are the elevation I had wanted (CRAP!)

2- Of those two homes, one couple has already staked a claim and are prepared to spend the night at the sales centre to secure their place in the first-come-first-serve line. (DOUBLE CRAP!!)

3- The price didn't go up 5 k..it didn't even go up 10 k...the price of the home went up SEVENTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS in the one release...WAAAY over my nicely projected numbers!!! (Awww &^%&!)

So...Now I have a choice.

Do I:

A- wait until I can get the elevation that I had originally wanted even though I don't know when that will be and run the risk of the price increasing yet again, possibly completely out of my range?

OR

B- Buy the house anyways, since it is still my model that I wanted and the only difference is the size of the deck and the placement of a few windows PLUS any increase in the future is now an increased VALUE instead of an increased COST??

You guessed it!!

I decided to buy the house!!!

(OK OK. That was pretty obvious, but I had to do it for the dramatic flair! =D)

SO...Now my plan goes to action. Lucky, a diva is always prepared, because I had already packed up what I needed to sleep over, in case it came to that. So I bundled up and get ready with my sleeping bag, sweaters, blankets, hats..ready to sleep outside. By the time the sales office closed down for the night, I had 4 of my new neighbours bundled up next to me to stave off the fall cold. We joked that it's ironic that before we could be homeowners, we had to sleep outside..but it was all worth it, the next morning when my funky, morning-breathed, tore-down lookin' self woke up, signed on the dotted line, and became a HOMEOWNER!! Though signing those 3 deposit cheques for 5k each hurt my feelings a little and -not gonna lie- brought a few tears to my eyes...lol! Closing date is set for March 11, 2010- a full 18 months away!!

October 2008- May 2009--

Most of this time was spent going to Mattamy showhomes and pestering the staff with questions! lol..We became goooooooooooooood friends after a while! Visited the Design Centre on multiple occasions to wrap my head around the options that were available. Now I'm just waiting to DO something with the house instead of knowing that it's going to be ready in the next year or so.

June 17, 2009--

I finally get my design centre appointment catalogues and book my appt for July 16.
HA ZAAAAAAA!! I am incredibly excited and start jotting down all the things I want...and then start looking at the prices..and then slowly but surely, those things that I HAD to have don't seem so essential anymore. lol... I start doing more number crunching and then map out my come-hell-or-high-water-I'm-sticking-to-it budget...although I do reserve the right to change my mind. =D

SO! That pretty much catches you up to date on the saga that is my homebuying experience. I am currently trying to make decisions for my appointment next Thursday.

WISH ME LUCK!! or better yet, SEND MONEY! =D

...........................................

No. Really. Cash...money orders..travellers cheques..regular cheques...Credit Cards...first borns.. S'all good!!! LOL..

Tune in next time!