It has been just over a year now since we moved from Manitoba to Ontario, and we still seem to be moving.
The housing market is tricky here. Unlike any that we are used to. Moving from outside Winnipeg where the market is extremely active and fast to a smaller community where the market is not at all like that. Don’t get me wrong, houses sell here and some sell quickly, no question. However we had a hard time finding anything that suit our style and our needs. The cost of housing in our little town is surprisingly high as well. Hoping this is our last move, we just really wanted to get into something we would be in long-term.
For us that meant a large yard…. acreage really. Four bedrooms and at least two bathrooms. Lots of space. Wide open space. This style is readily available in larger cities. Not so here. So we decided to invest in a vacant lot just on the outskirts of town and rent until we either built or found something we could move into.
Early in the new year, we set our sights on possibly getting into the rental market and purchasing a property to rent out. We found a steal of a deal, but it wasn’t without its challenges. It would require us to do some grunt work and some pretty big renovations. Craig and I were up for the challenge, so we bought it. We completely gutted the kitchen and bathroom and built it all over again. We changed a cold back porch into a warm mudroom where we hang the girls jackets and school bags. We removed the stairs to the basement, and turned the area into a huge pantry. We cut a hole in the dining room floor for the new set of stairs to the basement. We completely finished the basement into a laundry/bathroom area, a rec area and big bedroom. During this process we decided that when it was all finished, we would move in. We only planned to stay a while, perhaps a year while we got into the process of building on our lot.
A dream that wasn’t so much a dream anymore, but perhaps a nightmare. Our hearts were not into building. Although we would have loved to custom build our dream home, the expense and the time was daunting. So, we kept our eye on the real estate market in town and decided to enjoy our summer and not live under the pressure of building or renovating any longer.
Our little fixer upper, isn’t such a bad little home. It’s cozy and warm. It affords us the space to eat at a dining table and gather around as a family. What it doesn’t afford us is the space to spread out or park both vehicles or the girls to have all of their outdoor toys.
A house came on the market in the fall, that we were intrigued by and loved. We put in an offer but the vendors opted not to sell when their purchase fell through, so they declined our offer. We were upset but had moved past the idea of moving again any time soon. After all we had only been in our fixer upper for 3 months. Then a month later, our realtor and friend, sent us a text letting us know that she knew of a property that she thought we would love.
Not certain we would love it and on a whim, we decided to go take a look. She could not have been more right. This little home on 30 acres stole our hearts. Both Craig and I could see our family loving the property, so we threw in an offer, listed our house… and this happened
To say the last year has been a bit chaotic is an understatement but it has been full of adventure for our family. I wouldn’t change a thing, really and in less than a month we will be living on our own 30 acre wood.
