Realizing my dream of home ownership
As you know, I’ve been going to open houses and viewing appointments for the past three weeks. Well, earlier this week, my Realtor and I went to view a super cute 1-bedroom townhouse in a great neighbourhood. In fact, I’ve been admiring that building complex for years because it’s right down the road from my gym. After seeing a few other places and waiting a couple of days, we decided to go see it again. And this time I really analyzed it. I considered the location and space based on where I see myself over the next few years, my budget, and of course it’s value.
The next day, I had a friend at my old job (real estate office) pull some reports on the property. And after meeting with my Realtor to discuss comparables and numbers that we were comfortable with, we put in an offer. Then came two stressful evenings of negotiations before we finally agreed on a final price last night.
Which means: I AM A HOME OWNER! :D
As I’m sure most of you can tell, I am a level-headed person who does not make spontaneous financial decisions. This achievement represents the last 5 years of hard work, hustle, and determination. I can also say with absolute certainty that I was very practical in staying within this price range. The mortgage is a comfortable amount based on only my full-time income. It does not consider my PT job, freelance, or blogging income.
This entire process, from start to finish, was done with just my Realtor. I never thought I’d have to make such an important decision on my own, so I consider myself to be extremely fortunate to have found someone so great to work with. I also think for first-time home buyers, having an amazing Realtor is absolutely key in the buying process. He went above and beyond, and I really credit him with making sure I was comfortable every step of the way. I felt like he understood where I was coming from, and he made what could have been an overwhelming process, into something fun and exciting. I trusted his opinions and negotiation tactics, but most importantly, I never felt pressured.
When it was all said and done – I feel like we got the best price possible we could have gotten for the townhouse. And, the biggest bonus to this entire transaction is that I will be able to move in before the end of the month. Which makes everything just about a million times easier for me logistically, and will save me a lot of time and money.
It’s such an overwhelming situation to have your life change so drastically in the course of just a few weeks. But I am so happy with the place, and even though it will be weird to be on my own, I am excited to start new and shake things up.
So, now comes examining the strata minutes, hiring a home inspector, and getting my finances in order.
33 Responses to “Realizing my dream of home ownership”
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Congratulations! It seems like that worked out pretty fast for you and you were definitely lucky to get a great Realtor. I have a few friends that have been looking at houses lately that had to switch Realtors because they were being too pushy and wanted them to buy almost everything they looked at. I'm concerned that is going to happen to me too (that's why I am trying to let them find a good one first haha).
I'm sure the next few weeks will be really busy for you with getting moved in, so good luck! I hope that in the next few months I will be writing a post about buying a place too!
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oh wow! Congratulations!! I hope the home inspection goes well and you get to move in soon! There is nothing like coming home to YOUR HOUSE!
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OMG Congrats Krystal!!!
Congrats! I hope you will be very happy there :)
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Congrats. Townhouses are great in this day and age. It's like the easy living of condos without being surrounded by so many strangers haha. Enjoy it!
Congrats on finally become a home owner. It just prove if you work hard for and budget well you can achieve any goals. I can't stress enough about getting a reliable and trustworthy realtor who will look at things for the best interest of the clients and not their own pocket. It very exciting time for you!
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Wow Krystal congrats!!!! That's amazing! You must be so excited.
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Congrats! It's a stressful but exciting process. We're approaching our 5th anniversary of moving into our first place, and I still remember the heart racing, sleep stealing process of getting it all together (we were rushed due to a cross-province move for residency/work-we flew in, looked at everything in our price range in two days, picked the best one and ran with it…) We're still happy with our choice. It's great to hear you can move in so soon-it's wonderful to hear that your dream of home ownership is coming true!
Congrats girl! So exciting!!
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That's really exciting! Congrats!! Having a Realtor who's not pushy makes a huge difference through this process.
Congratulations!!! A 1-bedroom sounds absolutely perfect AND next to your gym?! Way to go. What an amazing achievement, can't wait to read more about it! Exciting that you can move in so soon and that your realtor was such a huge asset in the whole endeavor :)
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That's awesome. I can't believe that you get to move in so quickly. It sounds like your realtor really made a big difference with your home buying process.
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Amazing! I am in the same boat right now looking for places to live and it has been a stressful couple of months. I cannot wait to find my perfect place. Congrats and I would love to see pictures if you don't mind!
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Congrats Krystal!!! It's such a fun process. I still get that warm, fuzzy feeling telling people that I'm a homeowner.
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Townhouses are great… they have all the perks of living in a condo without the dingy hallway.
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CONGRATULATIONS!!
Owning your own home in a good neighborhood of a major city is an incredible accomplishment! All the best Krystal, I'm so happy for you!
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Yay!!!! So happy for you, hope the inspection and the move all go well :)
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Such a magical time of change in your life. I'm sure you'll look back on this beginning with absolute fondness. I'm really happy and excited for you!
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Yay! Congrats!!!!!
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ahhh this is way cooler than my initial prediction, CONGRATS!!!!!!! SO FUN!!
Yay yay yay, congrats! Good luck w/ the minutes, inspection, finances, etc. I closed on a condo once but then second-guessed myself, after all was said and done, and THANK GOODNESS because the stock market crashed 10 days later (this was September 2008). Anyway, get all that over and done with, and I can't wait to read more about moving in (and hopefully we'll see some pics?). :)
Agreed! I love that my little place has its own cute little entrance. I wish I could post photos, but am afraid of getting stalked. haha :)
Congrats! :) So exciting! And yes! So much is happening in such a short time!!! Maybe post some pictures of your place after you finish decorating! :) Do you need to do any renos? :)
Oh yah… since you are home owner now, you probably need some furniture. Now is a great time to buy these gift certificates for 1/2 price from Mobler, Moe's home and etc. When I moved out 2 years ago, I bought some furniture with Mobler's gift certificate that I bid on this auction. I paid $250 for a $500 gift certificate! Check it out! The auction ends this weekend! Good luck! :) http://www.cityxpress.com/postmedia/vancouver/am/…
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Nice work! Hopefully the move shortens your commute.
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Yeah, my commute goes from 45-60 min each way, to 10 min! :)
Congrats on the new house! I've been following you for a while and I'm so happy and excited for you. It's nice to have a place to call your own.
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Wow that is great! Congrats. I am so happy for you :)
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OMG!! Congrats! That's so exciting.
Congrats! Are you going to disclose the financial of this deal or keep us guessing?
I'm not sure yet. :) Definitely not until I actually take possession, and all of my financial information is in order.
[...] of home ownership, Krystal at Give Me Back My Five Bucks bought a place of her own! Congratulations go out to [...]
I agree it is very stressful and a big change. I’m still getting used to the extra stress. My main motivation for getting a house was realizing that the difference between my rent and the mortgage i would be paying was only a few hundred dollars. i’m looking forward to the day i have my principle paid down and my mortgage is less than my old rent.
Sorry, but you're not really a home owner, you don't own the home, it's technically not yours yet. This term "home owner" is something bank wants consumers to think they are even though they haven't paid the home in full. You're only a homeowner when you're not paying the bank anything and it's actually 100% yours.
Congrats on your new place :-)