Friday, November 23, 2007

Our House

The long road to our very own house started on August 15th, 2007 when we heard about a house near my in-laws. Its owner, an old lady at the retirement home my mother-in-law works at, was selling it. That very evening we drove by and liked what we saw. The location was exactly what we had been looking for: on the outskirts of the city, in a quiet residential area, at the end of a dead-end street, near the street car line, a nice playground and the best elementary school around the corner, easy to reach for my parents, and in the same neighborhood as Damien's grandparents.
On August 21st the real estate agent showed us the house. It was a fix-er-upper from 1955, the property is leased from the city, and the price for the house was in our price range. So, we made our offer. There was one other rival we had to outbid.
On August 23rd the other bidder backed out and we signed the preliminary contract with the real estate agent.Credits: quickpage Simple Set #20 by KSharonK Designs; fonts: Harrison, the quiet scream.
On September 10th we officially signed the contract before a notary, which made us proud owners of a house. Our very first house and most likely our last.Credits: Shabby Fall Garden kit by Gina Marie Huff and Gina Miller available at GinaMillerDesigns.com; template blog freebie sept 8 by Shandy Vogt from SVdesigns; red paper from Doing The Polka by Gina Marie Huff from Weeds & Wildflowers Design available at WeedsAndWildflowersDesigns.com; Hand Stamped Alpha by Michelle Coleman; font: 2peas scrapbook.
And now the waiting began...Not only did the tenant have to move out before we could get the keys, but the owner had a legal guardian. Which means our buying the house had to be approved by the guardianship court.
Saturday, November 3rd, the tenant moved out and we seized the opportunity of having access to a power outlet for that day. With the help of Christian's and my parents we started cutting down the wilderness called garden around our future home.
Credits: frame by Chere Kaye from Eat, Drink, and Be Scary kit available at WeedsAndWildflowersDesigns.com
On November 16th the court approved and the bank began the process of transferring the money. Finally on November 23rd we got the keys to our new home. Now let the renovations begin!