Navigating the Financial Waters

Buying a house is not all sunshine and lollipops. Sure, its exciting to be moving into a new house, thinking about all the things you want to do to make it into a "home"- but even before you cross that threshhold into new home ownership, you need to swim through sometimes daunting financial waters.

HandyMan and I were lucky to stay afloat. The waters we were treading in were more like a tsunami about to hit... in a one month span, we had to renew the mortgage on the old condo, arrange for a mortgage on the new house, secure bridge financing for the gap, close the old condo, and deal with all the agent fees, lawyer fees, land transfer taxes, and adjustments that involved. Whew, I've never had to make so many financial decisions at one time! Pile on top of this all the mini-decisions you have to make -- should we get additional life insurance? What about home insurance - need to shop for quotes and get that arranged! How about closing costs...how much do we need to sock away? And we must remember that we need to have enough to pay two mortgages while we hold both the properties. It can be overwhelming...and I have a degree in Finance!

Luckily we have a great lender who guided us through this process. But I became accutely aware that its very important, as a couple, to be of the same financial mindset before you even start to talk real dollars and cents. People always say that you should have "the talk" (financial, that is) before you get married. I think it’s a definite must-do. People approach and value (no pun intended) money in different ways. You’ve got to figure out all those differences, and work through them, in order to come up with a financial plan that is best for everyone involved. The thing to remember too is that this is an ongoing team effort; you shouldn’t just put a plan together and then be okay with one person saying “Its okay dear. I’ll take care of the finances”.

I’ve heard of couples where one dies and the other partner is left knowing absolutely nothing about the bills or where the money is. In today’s information-rich society, I think it’s a shame since there is so much knowledge and expertise available to help make each person feel comfortable with the topic. So just like HandyMan and I will lay every tile and paint every wall in our new house side by side, so too will we lay down the foundation for a secure financial future together.

Getting to "Yes"

Now that I’ve sold my condo, many people are amazed at the speed and ease in which it all happened. Even in a hot market (April 2007 had the highest number of sales ever on record, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board), selling a condo in seven hours is still pretttty fast. So what was the kicker? How did my place catch the eye of buyers and stand out from all the rest?

Here’s what I think did it:

• A picture is worth a thousand words. MLS listings allow you to have up to 9 photos. USE THEM. Put up as many pics as you can. Show your place inside and out. Buyers have a short attention span and if you can’t be bothered to post up more than one pic, they can’t be bothered to read your add. Its like internet dating (something else I know all about, haha). A good pic gets ‘em all the time.
• Paint and more paint. You’ve heard it before, but boy, what a difference a can of paint can make. Paint helps transform a “house” into a “home”. With paint, you can evoke a mood and help buyers create a vision of what it would ‘feel’ like to live in your space. If you can, paint a place BEFORE you move in because the hassle of having to move furniture and such after, is enough to keep you from doing it.
• Editing, with a heart. All the home décor shows say that to properly ‘stage’ a house for selling, you should edit out all your personal possessions. Photos, knickknacks, heirlooms, collections… tuck those dust-catchers away, at least until the place is sold. I agree with this, to some extent. You need to find that balance between “personal” and “personality”. A Personal space is one that feels like you just stepped into your grandmother’s bedroom…its filled with things that are so “her”, none of which you like. The overabundance of stuff, the stuffiness of the stuff, prevents you from seeing what’s underneath. Now a space that has “Personality”, that’s a good thing. You want people to see your place has character, good bones, is warm and livable, not cold and plain.
• Make it easy to say “Yes”. I think this maxim is true for many situations in life… when you want something from someone else – their time, effort, agreement – you need to make it easy for them to say “yes” to you. You need to easily answer the question “so what’s in it for me?” because that ultimately is what everyone else is interested in. How do you answer that question when you’re selling? You make the place clean and neat. You provide a spec sheet and layout plan if you have it. You leave lights on and curtains open so they can see each room in the best light. You have a smart agent who can answer any questions they have. You adverstise and display pics so it is easy for people to find you. You have convenient showing hours.

When all of that is said and done, a bit of luck is still involved. But when the stars align and perfect buyer meets perfect seller, oh boy, it’s a good time for all.

Timing is Everything

I thought today's post would be about the preparations HandyMan and I have made over the past few days to get my condo sold. We've already bought a new house so the pressure was on to get the condo sold by the end of July. We've spent the past few weekends scrubbing and polishing every nook and cranny - the place hasn't looked this good since I bought it! And finally, this morning, the mls listing was put in.

Well, as with the best laid plans, this one too went awry. Instead of telling you about how we're waiting on pins and needles waiting for a fair offer, I'm blogging to let you all know that I SOLD MY CONDO IN SEVEN HOURS!!! Yup, you heard right. A great offer was presented and with very little fuss, my home of the last three years is no longer my home. I'm still in shock (disbelief?)... I bought this place before it was even a hole in the ground, and now, in less time than it takes me to do a full day's work, in less time than I get in a night's sleep, in less time than the time between breakfast and dinner... I have sold my condo. WOW.

The timing couldn't be more perfect. We'll hold both the new house and old condo for an overlap of three weeks, enough time for us to do some of the dirty renovation stuff like pulling up carpet, sanding down floors, and tearing down wallpaper. While I'm excited to jump into the renos and start building a house that is "ours", truthfully, nothing will compare to that first moment I walked through the door of my condo, stood in the middle of the empty room, and said "This is mine. My first house". Goodbye McKee, you were my first great experiment in home ownership. I'll remember those lessons well.

Its In The Details

My name is Wanderluster and I’m an HGTV addict. There I said it. Most any night, you can find me watching any number of home decorating shows. Divine Design, Sarah’s House, Home To Stay, and my new favourite Property Virgins… if there is a reno show on, I will find it. And I don’t think I’m the only one. It seems that each one of my friend’s and family’s homes has had at least a little bit of “design TV” influence. Neutral walls, good space planning, wood floors throughout… I don’t think we all came about having this ‘good taste’ in design naturally. Which leads to an entirely new problem… when everybody is playing by the same design rules, how do you make your place stand out?

This weekend, HandyMan and I had the chance to walk through the Royal Ontario Museum. It is simply a stunning place, inside and out. And since we were fortunate enough to actually tour it mid-construction (as part of our book research), we got to see the Before & After. The Before was a study in chaos… angled walls, precarious catwalks, 19 massive steel beams joined in one connection. The After is much more polished but just as much an assault on your senses – which is surprising if you consider that everything is painted the same shade of white. What makes this place GREAT and not just GOOD was Libeskind’s attention to detail. If you look closely, you’ll notice the one-inch reveal around the perimeter of the floor, a small gap where floor meets wall… you ask the question “why did he do this”? You’ll notice the cut-out windows, some high up on the wall, others just rising above the floor level, small enough for young kids to crawl into (which many were doing, by the way). And though you may not see it you’ll definitely notice the gentle upward slope from the front entry to the Crystal Court. It leaves you uneasy and off-balance. All these things combine to make a very unique and memorable space. Like all great spaces, I can’t exactly remember the ‘place’, but I do remember the experience of being there. What will our new place make you feel when you step inside? I’m not sure, but I hope it’s a place you’ll want to come back to.