We Bought the Farm

We arrived in Ottawa at the end of August and immediately made an appointment with a real estate agent. We worked quickly providing her with a collection of 12 houses we had shortlisted and she provided a few more. In total, we vetted about 30 houses from the outside and set up 4 viewings. We were instantly sold on the fourth – a trapper log home on 25 acres of mixed wood forest with some cleared green space, a lot of sand, and a few apple trees.

We were nervous about the mortgage, but ended up with one of the lowest rates possible and one for which we did not expect the property to qualify. Our experience last year was that land provided no guarantee to the bank so the house alone would need to be worth the majority of the mortgage amount and we would be hit with a considerable interest rate.

We made out like bandits! Which made the period between the sale and closing that much more stressful – it seemed impossible that the bankster, lawyer, home inspector wouldn’t find something in the interim that would disqualify us or the house.

They didn’t! And we picked up the keys on November 3 and slept on the floor that night!

Luckily our family has also been invaluable, providing us with unmatched and unwavering support throughout. Mom, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and friends have offered their homes and financial support to allow us to save for our first house and have never once indicated that our idea was totally nuts! …even though I’m sure they were thinking it loudly at times… Thanks for helping us get here – we couldn’t have done it with out you! Now when are you coming to visit!?!? (It’s BYOB – bring your own bed – for now).

#Keys #Farm #Newbs