Hard to believe we’re almost half way through 2008. I keep thinking what a paradox time can be… the older you are, the faster it goes. I also used to think that the older you get, the more stable life becomes. You tend to have a more secure job, know who you are, and generally settle down.
I don’t know why, but it seems like the rollercoaster is speeding up and we’re about to go into free-fall!
First up, we have an accepted offer on a house! When e started walking and entering toddlerhood, it was at that point where we outgrew our place. Generally we love living here. The area is really convenient, we have a lot of friends in the area, e’s daycare is around the corner, and we spent many days enjoying the views from the decks, and of course BBQs!
We’ve been looking for a house in our neighborhood for about a couple of years, but nothing seemed to fit. The value just wasn’t there. For example, 600K gets you a standard lot with a small house built in the 1950’s. Prices have just gone up and up, although they are now moderating, I don’t think we can get what we want for under 760K. Unfortunately we had to look east in search of value, and that search took us out of Burnaby and into Coquitlam.
Last weekend we were driving around looking at open houses, not really expecting anything as we’ve been taking drives out there for about 6 weeks to try and get to know the area better. The first few were flips, and although nicely done up, we didn’t feel the value was there. The last house on our list was in a Cul de sac in Harbour Place. Couldn’t recall why I jotted it down, but we were passing on the way home so we decided to drop by.
They say that it’s your gut feeling that tells you when it’s the “one.” I guess it’s similar to dating… but we both got the same feeling after looking around for a few minutes. The price was reasonable, the size, condition, layout, and yard met our criteria, even the wall color was similar to what we would have chosen. For us, it hit all the marks except it wasn’t located beside Jericho beach. There’s still a lot of work to do to remove the subjects, and if we get that far, I’ll post pics of the house and write more about it. That being said, we’re now in a mad rush to get our place on the market and sold quickly. Should be fun decluttering and moving furniture with a toddler running around!
Second bit of news is that we’re expecting our… second! Yes we decided one was not enough work and so #2 should be arriving mid-September. <reminder to self- exhale> It was this that prompted us to get a realtor and fast track the house hunting as I don’t know how we’d cope with 2 in our current place. I think the timing should work out- hopefully we can sell soon and move in by late August. <note #2 to self- never start a new job and have a baby the same month>
So if you’re feeling up to moving boxes, I’m sure we’ll need all the help we can get! <note #3- thou shalt not sell and move while wife is very pregnant, and especially not when there’s a very active toddler getting into everything!>
Wish us luck! So far I haven’t changed jobs this year. 🙂
