To update everyone, the latest impulsive thought that I am running with is buying a new house.. Blame it on Sage, this is the girl that convinced me during my kitchen reno to put in dishwasher, not bad idea, but then that progressed to all new stainless steel appliances. Don't get me wrong I love the appliances especially my fridge. But I digress.
This started on Monday when I went to pick up my car from the dealership after some warranty work. I had to wait for them to bring my car around so I was chatting with a sales rep and was asking about the new mazda Cx7. Of course I had to sit in it and it was beeutiful. I have liked this car since it came out and since I paided off my mazda 3 last year I was very tempted to sell and buy this one.. Sage was against this in her wisdom (she said she only supports new appliances) so after sleeping on it I decided that I would forgo the new car since mine is only 3 yrs old and has 30000km on it and save up for what I really want which is another convertable. I used to own a miata for 5 years and I loved it. But it was kinda a pain with only 2 seats but I always said I would get another when I could afford to have 2 cars. Here is a pic of my late Miata
This started on Monday when I went to pick up my car from the dealership after some warranty work. I had to wait for them to bring my car around so I was chatting with a sales rep and was asking about the new mazda Cx7. Of course I had to sit in it and it was beeutiful. I have liked this car since it came out and since I paided off my mazda 3 last year I was very tempted to sell and buy this one.. Sage was against this in her wisdom (she said she only supports new appliances) so after sleeping on it I decided that I would forgo the new car since mine is only 3 yrs old and has 30000km on it and save up for what I really want which is another convertable. I used to own a miata for 5 years and I loved it. But it was kinda a pain with only 2 seats but I always said I would get another when I could afford to have 2 cars. Here is a pic of my late Miata
you can see meathead in the background. This car travelled many a mile on gorgeous mountain roads with the top down. So back in 2001 when the miata was facing some big repairs, I decided to move on to new car. The next impulsive purchase was quite a departure from the little roadster, it was a subaru Outback. Really nice car, loaded, leather the works.
On a whim I purchased this 99 Outback for a cool 28000, pretty steep I know.. But it seemed like a good idea at the time..Here is a pic of the Outback..
About 9 months after buying this I decided that I should grow up and focus on buying a house. So the Outback went on the market, luckily I was able to sell it for 27000, so I didn't do too bad. My plan was to buy something cheap but reliable to drive until I could afford a nice car again. So I ended up buying a 88 pathfinder.. quite a departure from the Outback, this SUV had no perks.. none, but was a really good truck for hauling stuff which was a godsend after buying my house.
As you all know I have a bit of a problem with renovating and that truck hauled a lot of stuff from the Totem down the street. Here is a pic.
after 2 years of driving the old truck I took the plunge and bought my current car. This was one my impulse buys as well. Took it for a test drive and bought it a couple days later. I call her Stella. She is quite a sporty little gal and has all the bells and whistles that the pathfinder didn't. This is also the first time I bought something brand new kinda exciting picking up a car with 12 kms on it.. It also has leather, sunroof power everything.. Because as JT knows, I like that sort of thing.. Oh Chunks in case you think i have a red car obsession,, (I know how red cars upset you) the only car that I had a choice on the color was the latest. The others just happened to be red and it wasn't a deciding factor in the purchase.
So how does this all relate to my latest escapades? Well let me tell you. The house I live in right now does not have a driveway or back alley, so there is no way I can ever have a garage.. This is the only thing that I didn't like when I bought it but I thought I could live with it.. I can and have been living with it, even planned on putting in driveway in the front this summer.
Back to Sage. When I came into work on Tuesday I told Sage that I had come to my senses about the new car, and was planning on keeping Stella and eventually buying a Miata again. I explained that after I put in the driveway I could have 2 cars parked off the street safe and sound.. Well thats when Sage 'suggested' that I need a house with a garage.. This isn't the first time she has said this.. Anywhoo, I would love a garage and had kinda resigned to not having one in the short term anyways. Well Sage who knows me pretty well suggested I look in Mckenzie Towne b/c they have unique houses (Craftsmen style that I love) and that this new neighborhood has backlanes and garages. Alot of new areas don't have alleys and if you want a garage they have to be the front attached kind which I am not keen on.
So anyways, I pop onto the MLS listings to just take a look and see what the fuss was about.. Well I found my dreamhouse with a few clicks of the mouse.. It is a lovely 1500 sq foot Craftsman style bungalow..
Aint it pretty.. and check this out..
This is the perfect home for Stella and the new Miata (Stan Perhaps??)
So thats where I am right now.. We are going to look the the new house on Sat Morning armed with a camera and tape measure... I called yesterday to Jencor mortgage broker and we are preapproved for 425000. Crazy eh? I plan on keeping my little house that I have now and renting out the upstairs and basement. I can easily get 1500 for the upstairs and probably 650 for the basement. This will help subsidize the new place and as well I can use the equity in my current house for the down payment. I really want to keep the old place as a revenue property since the neighborhood is only going to keep going up and its close to downtown..
So am I crazy for thinking of doing this? Or am I being a shrewd business woman for attempting to get into the property game..?
You decide.
Margo
4 comments:
Well, I already think you are crazy for driving that damn red car, especially after I told you how they are like big old red bullseys! Anyway! It is a damn cute car and I can see why you'd want to have her in a garage.
Don't buy the first house you see. Seriously, that is what we did with this effing money pit and you don't want to make that mistake! Even though yours will be new and all. I would make your realtor work and find you every house in town with the same kind of specs. Shop around. You can never really go wrong with a house though. And if things get tight, see the duplex and put that into your mortgage then refinance. Or something.
Don't listen to me, I'm borderline homeless so what the shit do I know?
I dunno what to say since we bought the first home we looked at both times. Well, the first house was the second house we looked at, I think, and then this one we weren't even looking for a house and then saw this one and bought it. I have no complaints but a few things annoy me about my house, although they wouldn't be anything that would have stopped the sale had i known. However, i do wonder what else was out there for the same price at that time... so i would say make the realtor work for you as chunks says. say you want something in the 435s or whatever and to show you stuff in different 'hoods too. don't rely on mls - make them work for you. if this house is to be yours, it will be. but just look, because i am curious as to what was around when we bought our house when the market was cheaper....
i still want to shit in my Hanes when I think of that price though. I don't care where ya live, that's just too much.
but you go girl.
Kristen and I have our swimming class tomorrow morning and kelly has hers, so i'll call you later in the day. be nonchalant, INSIST you see a handful of others in DIFFERENT HOODS - just listen to me for once in your life and do that.
good luck.
Godspeed.
JT - AKA Theologian Kevin
Don't worry folks, we are going to keep our emotions out of it when we go look at the house. Really I am in no panic to move and if it doesn't work out I won't be dissapointed that much. I will ask the agent if there is anything similar that I didn't see on MLS. I am not hooked on this area either, it just happens to be 1 of the 2 areas in town that have this style of architecture other than Mount Royal, which unless I win the lotto, I could never afford.
As for the price, it is pretty much the average price for a single family home..
It's a beautiful home. I love the craftsman style houses as well.
I tend to agree with Chunks...make the realtors work for you.
Best of luck!
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