home
/hōm/
noun.
a. the place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household.
On October 24, 2022 we officially got the keys to our brand new forever home.
If you follow us on Instagram, you will have seen plenty of updates along the way as we selected our premium lot, the house layout, and all of the interior design features. You will have seen story updates as we drove by the property monthly (or sometimes even more frequently), as we watched each stage of the build process. Although we weren’t allowed on the property, we had so much fun driving by the front of the lot, and walking the trails behind to see what changes had occurred since our last visit.
Before our closing day would finally arrive, we had the difficult task of timing the sale of our townhouse. In the span of a few days, with a toddler and newborn in my care, I decluttered our entire home and prepared it for real estate photography. We listed our home in early Spring, and expected a very quick (48 hour) sale given the current trends in the market. It would be very early in the year, considering our anticipated summer closing date, but we were concerned that if we waited, we would miss out on the high market value in our area.
Unfortunately, the market quickly shifted as soon as we listed and all of the bidding wars, overnight sales, and high price points were no longer the name of the game. Instead, we were faced with multiple price drops, a double open house weekend with ZERO visitors and many, many showings over multiple months.
And let me tell you, keeping the house clean with two little kids is no easy feat!
Although the process of selling our home was not the experience we initially anticipated, we are SO thankful for the trusted guidance of our experienced realtor throughout all of the changes in a shifting market. In the end, we were able to negotiate a decent closing date and a sizeable profit for our first home!
We had one month between the closing date of our townhome and the delayed closing date of our new build. We gave ourselves a budget based on our regular monthly mortgage + utility bills to scour AirBnB for a month-long cottage rental. Thankfully, we found a beautiful, 3-bedroom cottage near the shores of Georgian Bay to spend our “homeless” month as a family. My husband was able to take off every other week as vacation, and we had the most beautiful time taking the kids to the beach, eating s’mores by the fire, visiting a pumpkin patch, and hosting some family for the Thanksgiving holiday.
When inspection day finally arrived, it felt like walking into a dream. There’s always an element of anxiety when you make design decisions in a bubble, many months in advance. Would we still like our choices? Would everything look as good as we hoped on a larger scale? Would the furniture we purchased and stored actually work in each space? As it turns out, everything was even better than we imagined! We left that day with huge smiles on our faces, and an even greater excitement for move-in day.
Anyone who has ever moved knows the whole process sucks. All the planning and the packing and the hidden expenses. The realization that you have way too much stuff. The choice between a long day of physical labour or forking out the cash for a moving company. The intense cleaning that needs to be done after you’ve finally emptied the house. The mail forwarding and address changes. The long list of utility hookups that need scheduling. The unpacking on the other side of it all.
Even with a moving company, a plan for storage, an incredibly helpful family, and a brand new home, there were bound to be hiccups along the way.
{WHICH IS WHY WE HOPE TO STAY HERE FOREVER lol}
This is the home where we will raise our babies. The home where we will host countless family gatherings. The home where we will grow old together.
And we are so incredibly thankful for it all. ♥