Nesting

[mousme]

My landlords are selling my building. No exact date, since the place just went on the market, but my lease is up August 31st.

I found out about ten days ago, and after my initial reaction of oh my God holy shit I don't wanna! I stopped freaking out and started considering my options. Prompted by a couple of people, and reassured that the Régie du Logement rules state that I can't be kicked out of my apartment with no notice, I decided to go poke at my bank and see if I'm still the credit-score equivalent of the Black Plague.

As it turns out, I'm not anymore. So I got pre-approved for a mortgage, and I am now in the market for a house. Those of you unfortunate enough to be following me on Twitter already know about this, but I figured I haven't been around on this LJ in a really long time and so it behooved me to give a little news.

So I spent this afternoon looking at houses, and telling myself that it's ridiculous to fall in love with the very first house you see. That's what happened, of course, but I'm trying to be objective about it. The other places ranged from "okay" to "Sure, I'd buy that if I wanted to become a serial killer and needed a nice wooded area in which to bury the bodies of my victims." In short, I'm kind of starry-eyed about that first place, in spite of the fact that it has a couple of obvious drawbacks.

There will be more house visiting this week, and I'm hoping that if no other, even more awesome houses turn up in my price range, that that first house won't get snapped right up.


So how's everyone else doing? What have I missed? I know that scads of babies have been born and that we're still waiting on a couple more, but is there anything else going on? :)

Comments

[moskevyu.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on finding out that owning a house is within reach. I can't wait to be back in homewonership myself. :) House shopping is very fun.

[mousme.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm very excited. :D

[grimmwire.livejournal.com]

Good luck! (Looking forward to the housewarming :D )

[mousme.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

If I get the house I want, I am planning a BIG housewarming. I missed out on the last place, mostly because I moved at a slightly inconvenient time for housewarmings.

[chasingthenuns.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! A lot of people told us we didn't look at enough houses, but I felt like you know the house you want
when you see it. Good luck!

[mousme.livejournal.com]

I seriously think this house might be The One, as bizarre as it might sound. I'm going back this week to take a second look and have a look at a few more houses just to be on the safe side. Then I'll go crunch some numbers and make an offer.

*bounces*

I'm excited!

[ladyiolanthe.livejournal.com]

Awesome! Enjoy your house shopping experience. Hope you find a wonderful place to call your own!

[mousme.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I am going to try very hard to enjoy it. So far it's been great, even though I'm on night shift which has made sleeping kind of iffy what with everything else that's happening.

[primrose-1.livejournal.com]

I love house hunting- I have recurring house hunting dreams, even! I think it's awesome that you're looking. I picked out this house before we ever WENT house hunting. I found the listing online, loved it, and that was it. It's okay to love your first house. It means that providence guided you to the right place first :) Still, keep looking just in case.

[mousme.livejournal.com]

Recurring house-hunting dreams, eh? That's kind of nice, so long as they're not stressful dreams. ;)

Bizarrely, this place isn't the one that caught my eye in the online listings, but I loved it even before I walked through the front door. It really feels like the house I've always wanted.

[guruwench.livejournal.com]

Oh wow!!!! I'm thrilled for you. :D N and I both wish you well in the hunt. :D

[mousme.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

*bounces madly*

The house I'm looking at is a lot closer to Ontario than my previous place, and would have plenty of spare room, so you and N would totally be invited to come by and crash for a night or two if you wanted. \o/

[joenotcharles.livejournal.com]

Make damn sure you don't get a variable rate mortgage - interest rates are going to skyrocket soon.

[fearsclave.livejournal.com]

This. And that serial killer place sounds about perfect.

[mousme.livejournal.com]

No, the serial killer place has no acreage and the storage wasn't good at all. Plus, all I could think was "Paddle faster, I hear banjos!" There was even a cross-eyed cat keeping watch over the front porch.

The place I am currently in love with has acreage and a fire pit! It's about 30 minutes away from you, maybe a wee bit more, so we could visit more often!

Check it out: http://www.remax-quebec.com/en/inscription/M/8549803.rmx?source=centris

[fearsclave.livejournal.com]

That is just plain gorgeous!

[mousme.livejournal.com]

Isn't it beautiful? Two acres, a place for a veggie garden and there's already a pre-dug fire pit. I'm in love. I just hope I can pull it all together and make it work. :)

[le-maistre-e.livejournal.com]

I want those bathrooms... How pretty!! I will now be forced to look into CommunAuto... :-)

[mousme.livejournal.com]

It's gorgeous. I am GIDDY. Poor Ryan, he spent all of Saturday trying to talk me down, to little avail. ;)

[le-maistre-e.livejournal.com]

Yeah, he'll do that to a girl. I think it's his Puppy-like demeanour... LOL!!

But, he does have his point of view and, sometimes, when one has fallen head over heals, it is a good thing to have the cold-hard-truth side, too.

[mousme.livejournal.com]

Heh. He did try to give my the cold-hard-truth part of it, but his objections are, realistically speaking, not very big ones. I can live with some of the "drawbacks" of the property, quite frankly.

Now, if only he would call me back... *frets*

[le-maistre-e.livejournal.com]

Oy. The dreaded "waiting for Ryan to call back" How I remember those days...

He will. Don't worry about that. If he can talk me down off the ledges I was on, both for the selling and the buying, he can do anything

[mousme.livejournal.com]

He called back, all is well. Going back tomorrow for another look-see. I'm about 90% sure this is The One.

[catsarah.livejournal.com]

That is a little gem! What are the drawbacks of which you speak?

[mousme.livejournal.com]

There aren't many. It's an older house (1920), so while it has all been recently renovated it will require more maintenance than a newer house. There's also the bit where I have to maintain two acres of land and a swimming pool all by my lonesome. Thirdly, it's located between the CN railroad tracks and the railroad tracks of the local passenger trains as well. Fourthly, it's a 45 minute drive to my office. So there's that to consider.

Overall, the pros outweigh the cons.

[mousme.livejournal.com]

I had heard that, yes, and thank you for the head's-up!

[sorceror.livejournal.com]

Good luck with the search!

Any chance we'll see you this summer? It's been a long time!

Of course, we also have a goatstravaganza to plan... ^_^

[mousme.livejournal.com]

I hope so! I'm actually going to Cylon-occupied Caprica for a week in August. :)

We do have the goatstravaganza to plan. We should email.

[langolier2408.livejournal.com]

If I may give you some advice in regards to mortgage shopping... Find a mortgage broker one that is not affiliated with any particular financial institution, he/she will provide a competitive rate amongst all the offerings that are out there. Your mortgage does not have to be at the financial institution you are currently dealing with. Most have the ability to debit an account anywhere in Canada. Get the rate from the broker and the term and the amortization, then approach your financial insitution and see if they can match it or even beat it...don't feel shy, it's your money and every 1/8 of a perent you can shave off is money you will save. As for paying it off try and choose a weekly accelerated payment, the actual difference from a monthly payment is minor but will shave years off your amortization and again is money in your pocket. As for rates historically persons that choose a variable have saved money in the long term, that being said rates are low and are projected to move up .25-.50% over the next year...hardly a skyrocketing effect but nevertheless higher. In choosing fix over variable I would ask yourself how will you sleep at night if rates move up and it forces your payment to increase...if your answer is that your not comfortable then fixed term is the way to go. I don't want to sound like a know it all, however, I think fearsclave will attest I have over 20 years experience in banking so I have some knowledge in the field. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. Good luck...oh and I saw the listing...it looks very nice!

[mousme.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much! I am currently working with the regional director of mortgage management (I forget the exact title) of the Montérégie area, who's the father of a friend of mine. So far, having shopped around a little bit, he's the one who appears to be the most up-front and reliable. Once I make my offer, I'll see who out there is going to give me the best price/rate for the least amount of headache, and go with them. I'm definitely going for a fixed rate: my stress leves will not tolerate watching things fluctuate overly much.

[catsarah.livejournal.com]

Exciting! Don't forget a guest room! I still really want to come out for a Supernatural fest :) *Snorgles*

And I had wondered if you'd fallen down the well, but Lassie was laying on her ass and not saying anything.

[mousme.livejournal.com]

There are at least two guest rooms and plenty of space for extra people to come over, for sure. :D

I didn't fall down the well, but I came close. ;)