Back on the Hunt

House interested in went into pending. It was listed on Friday, we saw it Saturday, we decided we wanted to make an offer Sunday, and some time on Monday night it went pending. 

Though not as disappointed as Paul, still feel sad.  It always takes me a bit of time to get around to a new idea and big change.  This one was starting to warm up on me - the problems I first saw were being smoothed out in my mind, and the benefits were starting to glow... to have it halted at such a stage is horrible.  Maybe if it was even a day ago, it wouldn't feel like such a loss, but to actually find out only when we met up with Paulette to make offer (taking time off work for the appointment)... ouch.  I know it's even harder for Paul since he really fell in love with it. 

Just have to get back on the hunt. 

Angela's Advice

Angela makes me laugh: She is Eliza Doolittle at the race tracks - awful stories of warning or horrible deeds graced with high class / refined accents.  She is the lilting, singing voice that drops the "F-bomb" (or the Chinese equivalent).  All this means I am paying attention to what she's saying, but probably not in the way she hopes. 

Tonight's topic - Why I should not buy a house, or a condo, or any property for that matter - was interesting even without the above because along with the rehash of old, there was some shocking new:

Old:
- She didn't think it was a good idea for me to buy a house because:
i) It wasn't safe for a single girl to be living in a house on her own
ii) I won't be able to handle a roommate (i.e. I'm anti-social, not good at sharing, and or would likely be taken advantage by someone else)
iii) All the houses I was looking at were old, and I'm not that handy and I would just be buying a huge headache (possibly true)

- She didn't think it was a good idea for me to buy a condo because:
i) Their prices are still over-inflated
ii) Resale is difficult
iii) I had too much stuff (probably also true)

New:
- She didn't think I should buy any property because:
i) I should be going out and enjoying life, travelling and seeing the world  (you live only once!) before I'm tied down to a place.

*Eyebrow* Where did that come from?  This was definitely not advice she's given to Jack or Jeff (who, admittedly, might have already done this... So "they should be" on the next step?).  Or rather... hm...

Anyway, not quite the support I was looking for.  However, on the (sort of) plus side, she finally believes Mom is as neurotic as I've tried to tell her.

Almost.

I pounced at the chance to see the latest listing.  Paul was dragged along since we were supposed to have lunch together.  Before I knew it, Lynne (the realtor) delivered us to the wedged-shaped property with the little house on it. 

The sun was shining; a cat tried to follow us in (I figured it must belong there); and once in the door, I started dreaming.  Sure it was small, but it didn't seem too far from the new LRT station.  Sure it was old, but looked much better than the others in the same age range.  I could see myself living there. 

And so, with Lynne's advice, I put in an offer. 

Hours later, I recinded. 

In between: A bunch of paper work, Paul had been dropped off back at work, and I'd gone to pick up my parents - pulling them out of their relative tranquility to land them directly into shock.  And then they saw the place.  I immediately realised how this was in their eyes: Far, far away from where they lived... every stain and nick another thing that needed to be fixed.  Most of all, the things that I didn't mind were obviously bad choices for resale value...

I was upset - because they were right: It wasn't smart to buy a place with so many bad features (even if they weren't bad to me, they would likely for others).  Also, while Lynne had pointed out many of the renovations and fixes required, my parents were probably right too that they'll cost much more than what she estimated. 

So, yes, disappointed, but admittedly it was for the best.  And at least now they're taking me more seriously.  Or so I thought. 

Later that night, Mom offered another suggestion: I should buy their house. And before you ask, the answer is they'll live with me until they decide to move to some kind of elder care.  I know they love me, but a part of me wants to cry at how hard it is for her to understand - how foreign this whole concept must be. 

The concept isn't foreign to Angela, (Jeffy's moved out), but she called me today to say she doesn't think it's safe for a girl to be living alone in a house.  But, she was also worried about crazed housemates.  From the person who said that condos are losing value and that they wouldn't be a good investment - it seems the only "smart" thing is for me to stay put.  Ugh. 

Sold?!

I was not interested in buying my neighbour's house (could you imagine moving in next door to my parents at this stage in my life?), but I'm still felt disappointed and frustrated when it sold. 

Here's how it went:

Tuesday
I get home from work.  There is a huge "For Sale" sign in my neighbour's lawn (which they got at by digging a big hole in the snowbank)

Wednesday
I get home from work.  A big "SOLD" sticker is on the sign. 

Sure, almost every house I've been interested so far has gone pending by the weekend - but this was less than 48 hours!  This is nuts. 

One Track (Two Tracks) Mind

"... and then we rip the skirt off!"  Like, Patrick Stewart in Extras (above), Eric seemed to have a one track mind.  But it was all in good fun.  He'd agreed to devote time to cheorgraph and train us for a formation team!  (And the Excutives had agreed to fund us.)  After finishing all the required regular TA training, most of us stayed back to brainstorm theme and costume ideas (all of them involved pieces of costumes being ripped off...), and to tally up skills (we have ballet dancers, some who can do the splits, and tumblers)  Nothing's set yet, but we're supposed to give it all a good think for next class. 

There's plenty of dance for the next while: Paul and I are taking Level I and II together on Tuesday, and I'm again teaching Wednesday night with Don.  Also, must think of some thing for Formation that doesn't include stripping!  Just the things to keep me distracted from the disappointment: The lastest "house of interest" went pending, again before I even got a chance to see it.  Who knew the housing market was so hot right now? 

Side note: Congratulations Jono and Dawn!  Look forward to meeting baby Arilyn.

Still Looking

“Good, only 770 more pages to go.”  The going probably would have been easier, except that there are simply too many strange words in Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.  I would trip multiple times in a sentence and Paul would correct me.  I would also start giggling.  At our current six pages an hour speed, the complete "Trilogy in Five Parts" will take us a while. 

The laughing was much needed for the end of a very long day that started with viewing five different houses. 

While I had been very excited at the start of the morning, it soon became very obvious that what I could afford in the areas I liked, was something that would take a lot of work. 

There was the over 100 year old house with sloping floors and a staircase that had no banister.  It was charming in an odd ball kind of way with lovely large windows, a new half bath, and bright sunny colours.

There was the 60 year old house with an evergreen in the front yard that looked like it would eat anyone who came too close.  The current owners definitely made everything look nice on the first and second floors (dark hardwood floors, richly coloured walls).  They even dealt with the almost no closet space issue in a creative way: Stuffing things into the walls (i.e. shoes and clothes were nestled in the pink the pink fluff, and then a little cupboard door was attached to cover it all up it). The basement had also been partitioned off with curtains to create a small office surrounded by storage boxes. In this mini maze I found a toilet and sink raised up on a tiled platform - surprisingly it was not listed as a half (quarter?) bath, but maybe they weren't hooked up.

There was another close to a hundred year old house where the most memorable feature for me was a cracked green linoleum covered, really long and narrow basement with an upright piano sitting approximately in the middle.  I thought of the ghost story potentials.

My favourite was unfortunately owned by a smoker (who must have smoked indoors from the smell) and had two cats (we saw) and probably a dog (evidenced by a dish).  I also suspected a member in the family was an artist as the walls had been painted with small murals. Its basement wasn't very large, but it did have a working toilet, sink and shower - however, if you wanted privacy in using any of these, all you had was a curtain. 

I couldn't believe how even with our zipping through each house, the whole morning had gone and we were late in meeting Steph at the blood clinic.  Thankfully, Stephen was there with her and her third try wasn't a strike.  (Mine, however, didn't go as well.)

Paul nursed my aching arm and to help replenish my iron made cottage pie for dinner ("Shepherds keep sheep, cottages keep...").

I continued to hem-and-haw over the houses we had seen.  Realtor Lynn had pointed out areas of concern (area didn't look safe or check if the electrical box had been updated) and used her expertise to advise on what kinds of work would most likely need to be done (and their estimated costs).  Paul was positive and encouraging in general, rather than giving much of an opinion.  The problem was, of course, that I could see myself in any of these these places.  But none of them really seemed like a great idea. 

Finally, between cottage pie and Hitchhikers, I said "Yes."  I left a message for Lynne about how to make an offer on my favourite.  This afternoon, she called me back with the news: The house had gone pending (someone had made an offer) only hours after we'd seen it. 

I'm disappointed, but at the same time, I knew it needed a lot of work.  The search will just have to continue.

Reality is like...

Reality Television

"My Spidey-senses are tingling." ~ Beth

TA tryouts first cuts are next week! I mentioned this to a co-worker. His reaction: Wow, it's like a reality show. I still don't watch television, but I'm pretty sure if there are similarities, it would be because television is imitating real life, not the other way around (well... at least in this case).

Tonight's tryout class focused on tango and was taught by Martin from Calgary. I remember seeing him at competition and thinking, "He seems slimey." Maybe it was the Calgary-Edmonton rivalry talking... or his super slicked back hair... Turns out, however, he's fun! After a warmup that involved isolations and stretching to music, we get to work on tango. The footwork seemed almost secondary as he kept noting for us to smile... or at least grimmace... or agressive-passive-agressive teeth baring.

After class, I walk with Shane, Beth, and others to salsa dancing at On the Rocks. While catching up was nice, it also made me feel old. Shane and I were reminiscing of the old "glory" days with D&D. It seemed that we were the only ones left from those days, the others have either left UADC (now at Elite) or switched to executives roles (of them was Big Mark and Danielle - who are engaged!).


A Broken Record

For almost two weeks, since they found out I was looking at condos, there has been only some curious inquiries (what's out there, what are you looking at, what do they cost...)  Last night the objections started.

Or, should I say, attempts to discourage / entice me to another path. 

Mom assured me there is no pressure for me to move out, after all, the goal is just to make sure your money doesn't shrink through inflation, it's not as if they were kicking me out. I told her that wasn't the reason.  The reason is I want to move out.

"I understand all your friends are buying places and that's why you want one too..."  I, still calm, tell her it's not about what my friends are doing - it's because I want to move out. 

She regrouped and offered: How about if we got a bigger, nicer house together?  I told her she and Dad could get a newer, bigger, nicer place if they liked - I want to move out.

I still don't think I'm getting through. 

Seeing and Believing

I decided to finally tell my parents at lunch: "A real estate agent is taking me to see condos today."  I had expected yelling; I got complete calm.  I was shocked.  They questioned if it was the agent who contacted me and warned me not to sign anything, but otherwise they seemed fine.

My heart felt lighter and with the skies clear, it felt like a great day to go viewing.  Realtor Lynne who had seemed very nice on the phone and had arranged for me to see four of the five listings I was interested in.  Three were downtown, one was in Mr. Anderson's old building. 

Armed with listings stats, a list of considerations from Steph, and a pen, I stepped into each place wondering what it would be like to live there.  Big things (e.g. location, amount and what was covered by condo fees), was considered alongside medium things (e.g. en suite laundry or communal laundry with coin slots).  Realtor Lynne kept an eye on things such as if the grounds and building were well maintained, and helped me find all the listed amenities. 

For the most part, the downtown places were from the 60s and 70s, and needed some renovations.  One stood out in layout for being L-shaped (entrance at the bottom of the L directly into living room and kitchen;  bathroom, den, and bedroom lined in that order along the L's long end),  and having two balconies (facing the same street!).  It was interesting, but not for me - Lynne also advised it would be a difficult resale. 

The one at Mr. Anderson's old building was newer than the downtown ones, but also stranger and a bit disturbing.  The door had a big hole (as if someone had kicked through).  It opened into a very small living area that branched off into three directions: 1. The kitchen (look like it hadn't been cleaned in years), 2. A bedroom with attached bathroom, 3. Another bedroom with attached bathroom.  The layout I could see being good for two roommates who didn't spend much time together or entertained, but it wasn't for me.  We backed away from a fogged and humid bathroom (the water left running in the bath), and I was sure I'd seen enough.  We shuffled out quickly, timely, as Realtor Lynne told me she could hear the tenant on the phone complaining loudly that his landlord had listed the place.

Throughout all these visits, I was amazed I was getting to see so much of strangers' lives. There were books in bookshelves, personal photos on the walls, clothes in the closet... I realised I was taking in all this information and guessing who it was who lived here, what their lives were like, and if I could picture myself there too. Almost as if by being allowed into their home, I was granted access into their lives or to even be them. I know, this is crazy talk, and I really shouldn't be attempting to buy a life / lifestyle. 

Anyway, there was nothing for me this time (though some of the lifestyles sure seemed nice).  I do feel I'm slowly learning what it is I want (or at least what I don't want).  Hopefully when I see the right one, I will recognise it. 

A Place of One's Own

"It's amazing how kids find the same ways to kill themselves."

~ Chris, re: Battlestar Galactica toys, the first edition

The Feasters noticed. My parents didn't. Neither did Chris.

Chris and I met up Saturday morning with plans to check out some of houses and neighbourhoods he was interested in buying into - but we got sidetracked. Or maybe the proper word would be "roadblocked". That roadblock was me. I was clueless. So, for most of the morning and a bit of the afternoon, I was given a crash course on mortgage deals, different characteristics of parts of the city that I might be interested in (such as near NAIT, where there is a large demographic of single men - paramedics?), and realtor lingo.

When we finally left Erik's, we grabbed some fast food, and ate in the car while searching. I got ideas, some considerations of what I might actually like (on the outside of a house)... and what those places were going to cost. But even more attractive than the large trees and older homes with character, was the "lifestyle" some of these places/neighbourhoods represented. A little girl was drawing on the sidewalk with chalk with a woman looking on. Now if realtors could put that into a package...

I also had visions of myself being like Chris's friend who bought a house practically on a whim...

It was then time to visit someone who had this all together. I picked up Kirsten and headed over. And voila, Chez Michael!

There was furniture where there was no furniture before. There were shelves where there were boxes. And there were people!

Did you know there's no chocolate in Reese's Pieces? I watched Rem eat his orange ones last and Kirsten build with candy.

Between the sweets, the drinks, cookies, and hot hor d'oeuvres, we were well energised to play some board games. Lively fighting erupted over plays of Apples to Apples and Pit. (Right: Steph questions people's choices / Left: Rem considers) Finally, when exhaused, we lounged and talked.

I think we warmed things up properly: We had to open the door, and even Steph took off her socks.

Congratulations Michael!