It’s official!
We’re under contract and we’re buying a house! We’ve been basement dwellers for more than 3 years and now we get the opportunity to create new memories in a new place! At the beginning of the year, I set the intention that by June 30, we would have a house plan in place and I’m so grateful that it has worked out! There have been a few bumps and things to figure out along the way, but we are making it happen!
This house fits 4 main criteria I set when we began the house hunt:
- Must be close to our preferred school – for 4 years, we have been commuting to this school so that our kids would have the opportunity to learn French in an immersion program. It is the only French program in our district, so we were prepared to make sacrifices for our kids to attend. As we wrap up our 4th year there, we are still happy with our decision to attend this school. Our kids have learned so much (more on this in another blog post) and have made some great friends. But I am most excited for the kids to be able to walk to school and to have their friends be able to visit our house more often. Our current home presents us with a 30 min drive each way, so this will be a welcome break for me as well!
- Must have a basement suitable for renting – the housing market is tough where we live and finding a small place to rent is not always easy. We wanted to be able to offer some of our space to the market. And…we really wanted to the extra income to help cover our mortgage payment.
- Must have 3 bedrooms – the boys have been sharing a room for 3+ years and are literally on top of each other all the time. We feel like they would benefit from having their own space for a while.
- Must be in our budget – this was the toughest criteria to meet, considering the market right now. Most of the homes on the market in the area we were looking were 20-40% more expensive than what we could qualify for and afford.
I feel it was a miracle we were able to find this home the day it went on the market and make an offer shortly after we walked through. In true fashion, we’ve already had several late-night discussions about construction/remodel plans we want to begin as soon as we get the keys.
Stay tuned as we embark on this new adventure and transform this next house into our home. I can’t wait to get creating!