goofy homeowners!

So, it's been just over a week now since Mr. Hall and I took possession of our house.


Let it be said that I absolutely LOVE my house. It's definitely on its way to becoming our home.


Here's a bit of a run down on our last week.


Last Thursday we met with our REALTOR(R) who led us through a walk through of our house to make sure that everything was left in good condition and working order. Everything seemed to check out fine!
We completed our evening by cleaning the kitchen refrigerator so that our food could get brought over prior to Saturday... MOVING DAY!


On Friday, Mr. Hall and I were joined at our new house by his mother and his sister. Those ladies are cleaning machines and a blast to chat with! We accomplished so much more than I ever imagined! Mr. Hall was able to tackle the basement carpet which smelled like one too many dogs. Even though the previous owners left us a receipt in proof of carpet cleaning, Mr. Hall sucked up gallon upon gallon of black, hairy water with an amazing carpet cleaner - courtesy of my Mom, who joined us later in the afternoon. It's an understatement to say that Mr. Hall was a little obsessed with this carpet cleaner! He just wanted to keep vacuuming! Friday evening, we returned for our last night in our apartment. 


Saturday - MOVING DAY! I could not have dreamed of a better moving day! All the help we received, everyone's reactions to our home, the transportation, the unpacking, the respect for our privacy (and my control), the food, the housewarming gifts, the company - it was all beyond remarkable!


Ever since then, everything's kind of been a blur. There's been a lot of unpacking, organizing, buying small things we need (we realized that one soap dispenser just wasn't going to cut it for our three bathrooms - who knew?).

Despite nearly all of our boxes being unpacked, I would say our house is still pretty empty and that's okay. Mr. Hall and I made a decision a while ago that we were going to take the time to make this house a home and surround ourselves with things we loved. We figured we've waiting long enough to become homeowners that now isn't the time to compromise on the things that aid in that "homey" feeling.

I'm definitely excited to share with you how we make this house a home.

one small step for man... one giant leap for us!

Microsoft Image

Today I become a homeowner.

I walk away from the world of damage deposits, huge apartment keys, miniature appliances, noisy neighbours and their sad puppies that are left alone all day crying in a small space. I will not miss any of this.

I walk into a world of the unknown. Mowing the lawn, shovelling the sidewalks, changing furnace filters, paying for utilities, taking the bus to work, having much more space, having random people who knock on your door, a house, a home, a totally different lifestyle.

I have been waiting 3 long years for this day. I've watched many people take trips with their friends and buy new cars. I've sat at home on a Saturday night to save money, while I've seen friends have their down payment handed to them from unnamed sources. I've complained over Mr. Hall buying another online video game or another icy beverage because it's affected our monthly budget. I've cried about it. I've complained about it. I've wondered many times how people do it.

But today, together with Mr. Hall, we can take a step back. Be proud. Stand tall. Move forward. THIS is a new direction in our lives. A new stepping point. We moved out after high school. Went to university. Paid for it on our own. We are debt free. We own a car. We have plans for our financial future. We have incredible people in our lives who supported us through this. We did this.

Ms. Hall and Mr. Hall will be homeowners in less than 12 hours.

It feels incredible! Stay tuned for pictures!

thanks when and where it's due

Image is courtesy of psd - flickr - THANK YOU!

Buying a house involves interacting with a lot of people.

• REALTORS
• Realtors' Assistants
• Mortgage Brokers
• Home Inspectors
• Employers - for those job letters
• Home and Auto Insurance Brokers
• Financial Planners
• Life Insurance Professionals
• Lawyers
• Bank tellers - for bank draft
• Furniture Salesmen
• Power, Gas, Water, and Internet Customer Service Representatives
• Movers
• The list goes on...

I've been extremely lucky to have a fantastic professional team assisting Mr. Hall and I with the purchase process of our first home. 

In this day and age, it's so easy to point blame and complain at the disappointing service one can receive for any number of reasons. There's probably a number of reasons for that, but that's another whole post, or even blog for that matter.


I guess what I'm saying is don't be afraid to say thank you when it's due. Thank that assistant for sending you the listing sheet of your dreams, your REALTOR for getting you in the house to see it in the first place, the mortgage broker for getting you the most competitive rate and useful mortgage product, the home inspector for teaching you how to change that furnace filter, that employer for giving you the time off to handle the whole financing process, etc., etc..


You may or may not be buying a house, but don't forget how simple it is to take a moment to thank that special person for something they did to make your day a little better.

I know I am truly grateful! Who are you grateful for today?

a quick, clean change

Microsoft Office Image

In less than a week now Mr. and Ms. Hall will be moved into our first home. So exciting!

What's less than a little exciting is the fact that we need to be entirely out of our current apartment by noon the following day. This means that our apartment has to be clean and ready for inspection by our landlord. If he's happy we get our full deposit back. That's kind of my motivation at this point, because my deposit is looking more and more like a new bedroom set. There's my motivation. Focus: new bedroom set!

Despite having 6 other apartments in the last 8 years I have never had to make a quick, clean change like this before. It's truly been a blessing that I've overlooked.

So today is about figuring out what we need for the next week, packing the rest, and then cleaning the most that we can. My goal is to get as much cleaned today and this week, so that come next Sunday, before we do our walk-through inspection with our landlord, all I have to do is clean the floors and mirrors of the apartment. Sounds like a plan!

FYI: My favorite cleaning tools are my IKEA rubber gloves and any old toothbrush.

Focus: new bedroom set! Wish me luck!

four little letters

Another four letter word that made me so happy! SOLD!

Home!

Isn't it cute?

single digits - multiple memories

So here I am, 9 sleeps away from being a homeowner!


Tonight I spent the night packing up our bedroom. I was really surprised by the layers and layers of items and memories. Wedding ring boxes, eye glasses, university sweaters, journals, music, makeup, pictures of my grandma - the list goes on.


My husband and I have been in our apartment for just over two years - but there are so many memories here. Memories stored and memories made. Now those memories are boxed up and we're getting ready to make new memories.


I'll keep you posted on the packing progress! 

ten sleeps and counting

In ten sleeps I will become a homeowner!


Tonight Mr. Hall and I received great news that our landlord found tenants for our current apartment.

This was such a HUGE relief to know that we won't have to pay rent AND our first mortgage payment in the same month.

Now, don't get me wrong, we could definitely swing paying for both, but as you'll soon find out - I'm kinda a money-saving enthusiast.

Here's a quick overview:


For the past three years Mr. Hall and I have been extremely focused on getting ourselves out of debt. Debt that included university degrees and living expenses, a part of our wedding, a new car, and a few non-necessities too. So for the last few months we've lived in the bliss of being debt-free and saving for all those grown-up things that we've been dreaming of. Our tenacity and financial-saavy-ness enabled us to save enough money for a down payment. We are so proud of ourselves to be able to say that we bought our first home by working at it together!


So here we are - ten sleeps away from taking possession of our first home. It's incredibly exciting, undoubtably nerve-wracking, and completely full of dream and wonder of what's to be!

So as you can see I'm very excited that I'm going to be a homeowner. I thought this would be a fun way to share my journey and all that it entails (at least in my world). I hope to touch on:

• Financing
• Real Estate
• Economy
• Moving
• Decorating
• Cleaning
• Maintenance
• Memories

The list goes on...

While I'm very excited to get IN our house and get settled (and okay, I'll admit it, decorate too), I feel that there are so many different dimensions to this process. It's so easy to get overwhelmed with the entire process. With that being said, I thought that this would be a great opportunity to share my experience with others and a fun way to document my journey.

With that being said, follow me on my journey, as I nest my house into a home!