Well, we did it. We bought a house. I'd love to say it was a wonderful, fun process. But it's been a lot of work and mostly frustration along the way. You watch all those TV shows about people buying houses, and it looks so exciting. But they really don't portray all the research, leg work and disappointment that comes with the whole process. BUT, here we are! We found a place, knew it was the one, put in an offer, and after some "back and forth", got the place.

It's a big old box house built in the early 1960's. It's got a really solid structure and loads of potential. Looks like it was probably a custom build too. The neighbourhood is not the best, but not the worst either. and we've definitely got the worst house on the block, so lots to work with. We're close to the university, which means renting out the downstairs suite should never be a problem. It's also a very hot rental market here, so that works in our favour too.

The house is filthy and very run down. There was a group of people renting the whole thing out for the past eight years. They've smashed windows, put holes in walls, stuck gum everywhere, and I don't think anyone ever bothered to clean ANYTHING. But once we get it cleaned up it will be so much better. I think that alone will increase our equity! All the taps in the house leak, so both bathrooms have to be gutted immediately. Our friend Sandra and her two daughters helped clean the place on moving day, and were SUCH a huge help! They were able to get rid of lots of mold build-up on walls, ceilings, and windows.

The yard is quite big, with lots of trees. Unfortunately, some will have to come down because they're too close to the house and will start to damage it if they're left.

Negotiations for the house included having the roof redone. It should have been done several years ago. So we got a cheque from the sellers, payable to a company that we chose as part of the final negotiations. They're going to put in some skylights for next to nothing too, and we're very excited about that!

We've taken out extra money on the mortgage for the renos because the rate is better than our credit line. That means steeper monthly payments though, so it's going to be tight!