Last weekend went okay, it was just way too hot and the Jeep's a/c doesn't work well. And we waited way too long between breakfast and our next meal and I had a pretty bad low blood sugar episode. Being overheated and dehydrated (didn't bring enough water) didn't help. Bleh.
Eli and I agree that Maple Ridge just won't do for us. Not because of the available homes, but the area is just so .. not us. It's boring, flat, not nearly enough trees, not old enough. Back to Abbotsford and Mission we go. We'll be checking out townhomes in Abbotsford this coming up weekend. We're going to pick five or six to look at with our Realtor. After checking out the townhomes we'll decide if we want to pursue the two single family homes we saw in Mission.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Milestones
My answer to Sera in the previous post's comments got a little long so I'm posting it here:
It really is a milestone, Sera. We both feel guilty for being so happy since it's due to Eli's father dying, but he would be thrilled that we're able to do this thanks to him. There's no telling if or when we'd be able to save enough on our own.
There are "first time buyer" concessions in Canada, but Eli has owned homes before so we don't qualify.
We did our first drive-bys today. We found that Abbotsford, which we thought would be okay, won't. The homes in our price range, while looking okay online, just really aren't good enough mostly due to location. BUT we did see two homes we both really liked in Mission that would be much better for Eli commute-wise (he can take the West Coast Express to work). We also saw a few more for sale that didn't come up in our MLS searches. We're going to see if they're in our price range. We're also going to look for Abbotsford townhomes.
There simply aren't any single family homes in our price range in the Greater Vancouver Area except in Abbotsford and Mission. So, tomorrow we're heading out to Maple Ridge to look at townhomes. Maple Ridge has lots of nice townhomes in our price range and would be great commute-wise (better than Abbotsford).
We haven't yet told my mum that this is going on. I'm not sure why I'm so reluctant to do so. Weird, eh?
It really is a milestone, Sera. We both feel guilty for being so happy since it's due to Eli's father dying, but he would be thrilled that we're able to do this thanks to him. There's no telling if or when we'd be able to save enough on our own.
There are "first time buyer" concessions in Canada, but Eli has owned homes before so we don't qualify.
We did our first drive-bys today. We found that Abbotsford, which we thought would be okay, won't. The homes in our price range, while looking okay online, just really aren't good enough mostly due to location. BUT we did see two homes we both really liked in Mission that would be much better for Eli commute-wise (he can take the West Coast Express to work). We also saw a few more for sale that didn't come up in our MLS searches. We're going to see if they're in our price range. We're also going to look for Abbotsford townhomes.
There simply aren't any single family homes in our price range in the Greater Vancouver Area except in Abbotsford and Mission. So, tomorrow we're heading out to Maple Ridge to look at townhomes. Maple Ridge has lots of nice townhomes in our price range and would be great commute-wise (better than Abbotsford).
We haven't yet told my mum that this is going on. I'm not sure why I'm so reluctant to do so. Weird, eh?
Friday, August 04, 2006
Home Sweet Home
I've lived in this RV for six years, Eli for seven. Guess what? It was paid off the first week of July and we're pre-approved for a mortgage. I guess we've established enough credit since Eli's bankruptcy (timely payments on the RV and a new credit card about a year ago) that lenders don't think we're too much of a risk.
We're finding that we both want similar things in a home which will make choosing one much less of a headache. We both want a house rather than a condo or townhome (some of them are really nice but you have to live by other peoples rules) which means moving farther out into the Fraser Valley but that's not a hardship as neither of us are exactly city* people. We're looking for a three bedroom (that gives us each an office with my office also being the guest bedroom), two bathrooms and a decent size fenced yard. I've been doing research on MLS and have found a few homes for us to look at. We'll be doing that this weekend.
We have a Realtor (a long-time friend of Eli's) who we'll be going through. She recommended the mortgage broker who got us the pre-approval. I used to be a mortgage loan underwriter (the person who approved or denied loan applications) among other positions at a large savings & loan in the U.S. And due to that I don't have much use for mortgage brokers in general, but this guy seems to be a nice guy and got us a good rate. It's going to be interesting going through the home buying process from the buyer's side as well as being in a different country.
*Eli's lived in Vancouver and didn't particularly enjoy it. I would like the opportunity to live in a city at some point but I know I wouldn't want to stay there forever.
In other news Kaylee's spaying went well. It's been hard to keep her quiet but in spite of that she's healing well. Due to me being forgetful she hasn't had her pain drugs in the last couple days but you'd never know it. I'd love to have half of her energy.
We're finding that we both want similar things in a home which will make choosing one much less of a headache. We both want a house rather than a condo or townhome (some of them are really nice but you have to live by other peoples rules) which means moving farther out into the Fraser Valley but that's not a hardship as neither of us are exactly city* people. We're looking for a three bedroom (that gives us each an office with my office also being the guest bedroom), two bathrooms and a decent size fenced yard. I've been doing research on MLS and have found a few homes for us to look at. We'll be doing that this weekend.
We have a Realtor (a long-time friend of Eli's) who we'll be going through. She recommended the mortgage broker who got us the pre-approval. I used to be a mortgage loan underwriter (the person who approved or denied loan applications) among other positions at a large savings & loan in the U.S. And due to that I don't have much use for mortgage brokers in general, but this guy seems to be a nice guy and got us a good rate. It's going to be interesting going through the home buying process from the buyer's side as well as being in a different country.
*Eli's lived in Vancouver and didn't particularly enjoy it. I would like the opportunity to live in a city at some point but I know I wouldn't want to stay there forever.
In other news Kaylee's spaying went well. It's been hard to keep her quiet but in spite of that she's healing well. Due to me being forgetful she hasn't had her pain drugs in the last couple days but you'd never know it. I'd love to have half of her energy.
Friday, July 28, 2006
Broken
Kaylee was spayed yesterday. She was so subdued last night, she didn't seem to be Kaylee. She's much, much better this morning - not quite as hyper as normal but definately Kaylee. We gave her her pain meds although she didn't seem to be in any pain. Better safe than sorry, eh? We're gonna have so much fun keeping her quiet for the next ten days.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Bugger
Today's eye appointment/consultation was canceled. Doc had an emergency and he had to fly somewhere. While that doesn't sound good for the doc, it's really irking me. I was hoping for some answers today. And I can only hope my eyes don't get any worse. *sigh*
Monday, July 24, 2006
She's Alive!
I just haven't had much to comment on.
We returned this morning from a trip to Mum's. The Gravol worked a charm to keep Kaylee from puking. We used a quarter of a pill (dose recommended for two year-olds) about half an hour before taking off and that seemed to be about right. She drooled a little but it quickly stopped. Yay!
My consultation appointment with the eye doc is Wednesday. I'm really nervous about it but some answers (any answers!) will be great.
Kaylee gets "broken" Thursday morning. She's also going to get micro-chipped. We have a tag on her but better safe than sorry, eh? The vet will have her most of the day but we should get her back late afternoon.
Other than that, it's been hotter than Hades. How's it going in your neck of the woods?
We returned this morning from a trip to Mum's. The Gravol worked a charm to keep Kaylee from puking. We used a quarter of a pill (dose recommended for two year-olds) about half an hour before taking off and that seemed to be about right. She drooled a little but it quickly stopped. Yay!
My consultation appointment with the eye doc is Wednesday. I'm really nervous about it but some answers (any answers!) will be great.
Kaylee gets "broken" Thursday morning. She's also going to get micro-chipped. We have a tag on her but better safe than sorry, eh? The vet will have her most of the day but we should get her back late afternoon.
Other than that, it's been hotter than Hades. How's it going in your neck of the woods?
Friday, July 07, 2006
Random
Forgot to mention that there are new photos of Kaylee up at flickr (link in the sidebar). I can't believe how big she's getting. Compare the first photos of her with the current set and you'll see what I mean. And not a day goes by without someone exclaiming how cute she is and what a great personality she has. I'm rather prejudiced on the subject myself, so it's nice to get confirmation.
I got my hair cut last Friday and it's cute if I do say so. I couldn't stand it being on my neck since it's been so freakin' hot lately. So much for a long bob, it's now in a short bob. I can try again this winter to grow it out, but it's pretty damn cute the way it is. No photos forthcoming. My hair is cute, not the rest of me.
My left eye is really acting up today; lots of blank spots. Although I'm nervous about it, the consultation with the eye surgeon can't come too soon.
We're going to see Pirates this weekend. It's getting mixed reviews but I really don't give a rat's ass. It'll be a great popcorn movie and that's the best kind, if you ask me.
I'm going to the library after my WW meeting today. I have a couple books on hold to pick up. They're a couple kid's books I last read about 25-30 years ago but they've stuck with me. I can't wait to see how they've held up. They're The Cat in the Mirror and The Girl Who Owned a City. Does anyone else remember reading these two books?
I got my hair cut last Friday and it's cute if I do say so. I couldn't stand it being on my neck since it's been so freakin' hot lately. So much for a long bob, it's now in a short bob. I can try again this winter to grow it out, but it's pretty damn cute the way it is. No photos forthcoming. My hair is cute, not the rest of me.
My left eye is really acting up today; lots of blank spots. Although I'm nervous about it, the consultation with the eye surgeon can't come too soon.
We're going to see Pirates this weekend. It's getting mixed reviews but I really don't give a rat's ass. It'll be a great popcorn movie and that's the best kind, if you ask me.
I'm going to the library after my WW meeting today. I have a couple books on hold to pick up. They're a couple kid's books I last read about 25-30 years ago but they've stuck with me. I can't wait to see how they've held up. They're The Cat in the Mirror and The Girl Who Owned a City. Does anyone else remember reading these two books?
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