Parts One, Two and Three
The home inspection went well. We would have been surprised it if didn't. We had permits and inspections done along the way when we finished the basement, so everything was in order and legal.
The only issue was a few shingles missing from the roof. Given the tornado warnings, extreme thunderstorms, and high winds we get here, that's not a surprise. Our neighbours had their entire roof replaced last year. On a new house! They are only about 5 years old in our section. So the few we have missing is fine, we can (and will!) fix that before we move.
Financing is the only other condition remaining for the buyers. They have until next Tuesday. In the meantime, we need to book our HHT, let our real estate agent in Ottawa know we are going to be house shopping soon, and get pre-approval for our mortgage!
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It's now Sunday, 05 of June. We flew to Ontario this morning for our house hunting trip. Three hour flight was fine. iPads are probably one of the best inventions when it comes to flying. All 3 kids were occupied for the majority of the trip. We normally don't allow a lot of TV, but when we fly, anything (child/age appropriate) goes for screen time. You have to sit in your seat anyway, why not watch garbage television?
We rented a van for the week, and pick it up after we collect our luggage. We always rent a van for house hunting. The extra space and ease of getting in and out quickly for viewing houses makes sense for us. We did this even when we only had 2 kids. We would fold down the center row of seats (right behind the driver/passenger seats) and use that as a play room for Lego or whatever. They sat in the third row.
This was perfect when they were about 5 and over. They didn't have to come into any of the houses if they didn't want to, and could just sit and play in the van. We would roll all the windows down and tell them they could come into the house at any point. HHT's usually take place in the Spring, so leaving them in a hot vehicle has never been an issue. Just an FYI for anyone thinking we are in the habit of leaving children in hot cars.
We view houses quickly. Five minutes is pretty normal for us. This system worked well for many, many HHT's.
This time was a bit different, as we weren't keen to leave our 2 1/2 year old in the van, even with his brothers watching. We did it for the last house of the day, when he had had enough and didn't want to be buckled in and out of his car seat anymore. We were way out in the country, down a pretty long lane way, so we weren't too worried about leaving the boys in the van. That house was not a favourite, I didn't even really want to view it, so it took me under 5 minutes to be in and out. Corey and our agent took a bit longer, and had a bit of a poke around the house and property. We needed to do too much to it to make it work for us, so it was struck off the list.
So, Day 1 of house hunting ended up being a bust. We viewed 10 houses altogether. Five in the morning, all out in the country just North West of Ottawa. Then, an additional 5 in the afternoon in and around the town of Almonte. We both only really liked one and have a second viewing set up for tomorrow. We can make it work, but there is something about it that I'm not completely sold on.
We are all exhausted. Knowing we HAVE to find a house to buy and move into within a month is unbelievably stressful. So far, least fun house hunting trip ever.
Read Part 5 here
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