The closing (completion) date for our house purchase has now been set for Monday 30 November, so by the start of December we will be living in our own home!
Below are a few more photos of the house.
Update on Our House
Category Archives: arrival
We may have bought a house (2) – the house
The house we have made an offer on is not what we expected to buy but, the moment we agreed to make an offer, my energy changed so positively and the creative thoughts started whirling for both of us to such an extent that I am very happy that it is the right decision.
We will be about 15 minutes walk from Queen St and 20 from the shore, at the top end of the Beach neighbourhood (not really Beach, though increasingly running under the moniker of Upper Beach). However, we will also be just minutes from the Danforth GO station (Greater Ontario trains) and Main Street Subway station (top speed link into and across the city).
Rather than an old home, we have gone for an end of row town house, only a few years old, with masses of room, lots of light and which fronts onto green space. The house is three storeys plus a currently unfinished but huge (and high) basement, with a back yard just the right size for us and a garage with back lane access.
The ground floor is open plan and encompasses a lounge, kitchen (with new stainless steel appliances) and dining area, as well as what is described in Canada as a 2 piece washroom (loo and basin). Stairs lead from the lounge area upwards, with a door to the basement from the kitchen.
On the middle floor are two bedrooms, a full bathroom and a wonderful family room/ media room with a balcony into a full height void over the front hall area.
On the top floor is a single master bedroom with en-suite bathroom (corner bath and large separate shower), leading off a small landing which also leads out onto a high level deck/balcony. This looks along the street behind us, which is lined with sugar maples, currently aflame even after dark as the house and streetlights fall on them.
The laundry, as is common in Canada, is in the basement (Miele front loading washing machine and tumble drier, with a sink), alongside the furnace (boiler) and hot water tank (rented – this seems to be the standard pattern here and means that it is the suppliers’ responsibility to replace it when necessary). The basement has a hugely high ceiling and is a really good space. We hope we may be able to get permission for an external door and conversion to an apartment but with access retained to the furnace and tank and a shared laundry area,
The back yard (garden) has just the right amount of space to create a deck and some visual interest – it benefits from being the corner plot, continuing round the edge of the garage, which has been given a mock facade along the side. This is pretty much a blank canvas still.
This is a house that we can move into and not have to do anything, as far as we can currently see. But there is enough potential that we can hopefully both enjoy developing its character and add to its long-term value.
Our fingers are crossed for a smooth passage to Canadian home ownership!
The realtor photos of the interior of the house really do not do it justice! But at least they give you an idea.
FOOTNOTE: We removed the conditions yesterday (Wednesday), having had our mortgage approved and following a very helpful home inspection – this is equivalent to exchanging contracts in the UK.
We may have bought a house (1) – the process
Yesterday evening we had our offer accepted on a modern townhouse in the Upper Beaches area.
The house was first listed on MLS on Friday, we saw it at an open house on Saturday and our realtor immediately started working on our offer and indicated our interest. He then presented the offer to the sellers and their realtor last night at 6.15pm, whilst we waited round the corner so that the contract could go backwards and forwards with minor adjustments (and lots of signatures!). Once it was finally accepted, we were invited to meet the sellers, which was lovely and meant that we got to see round the house again straight away! At this stage, the contract is only partially binding on us subject to conditions, which have to be lifted by Wednesday evening, but is binding on the seller.
Today we had to get a bank draft for the deposit and deliver this to be held in trust by the realtor. We also saw our lawyer to go through the legal requirements and costs. Tomorrow we will have the home inspection. This is similar to a home buyers report except that we and the realtor will walk through the property with the inspector and will have the chance to ask him questions. We also hope to have confirmation of our mortgage. These are the two conditions that we need to lift. Assuming these are fine, we then move to a binding contract (subject only to any legal issues that might emerge) and our lawyer starts his checks (similar to those in the UK).
If all is well, closing (completion) will take place between 30 November and 14 December, to be confirmed by 16 November.
New Car!
I keep teasing Paul that this is his mid-life crisis car – its 2.5L engine purrs in a way that I am totally unaccustomed to! I’ve certainly never known him brush the leaves off a car before.
On Wednesday evening we took possession of a brand new Rally Blue Subaru Impreza (this is Subaru’s signature color for their rally cars, hence the name).
Having considered both used and new cars, we came to the conclusion that this way we know what we are getting and hopefully reduce maintenance costs for the first few years.
We wanted a car that was not too huge but which did have at least hatchback space for transporting things as we will undoubtedly need to buy things when we find a house. Then there are all the outdoor activities we hope at some stage to try . . .
We also felt that it was important to buy a car that is designed to cope with Canadian winter. All Subarus have AWD (all wheel drive) and traction control. We bought ours with winter tires already fitted, hence ugly wheels for now – we have to wait for the spring for our alloys! (In Canada it is best to have two sets of wheels and tires; our dealer will change these over free of charge and store the set not in use) In addition to the niceties you would expect in the UK, we also have heated seats and heated windscreen wipers. (In taking the photos below, I realized that this car definitely smiles – can’t be a bad thing! Click to see the full version of the photos, which were taken in portrait rather than landscape mode.)
The guy who sold it to us (who juggles car sales with TV production) had an e-mail pinned above his desk from someone who had come back from a vacation to find her car buried under the snow piled at the kerb by the snow-ploughs. Whilst her neighbours looked on open-mouthed, she cleared her windscreen, dug her way into the driver’s door, then drove out of the drift! Whilst I hope we don’t need to do this, it is reassuring to have a car that copes well with snow.
One step nearer to becoming Canadians
Hooray! Our PR (Permanent Resident) Cards arrived today.
This means we can now leave Canada and get back in without problems or further paperwork. It’s the nearest we will get to having Canadian passports for at least the next three years.
We will be able to apply for citizenship when we have spent a full three years out of four in Canada (this does not include any time we spend out of the country vacationing, on business or visiting the UK). We don’t have to apply for citizenship at this point; you can just have your PR card renewed every five years. But, of course, there are rights that citizenship confers that do not form part of resident status.