No Dream House, Then Yes Dream House. It's Ours!

Here's the short answer to the question everyone has been asking: yup, we did buy the lovely lakehouse!  It was unplanned, unexpected and a completely nutty whirlwind that we're still swept up in.

Here's the longer answer:

On a Monday (May 20) : Hubby sends me a link to a stunning lakehouse.  We had talked about selling our townhouse next spring and moving to a home on Lake Superior, but our plans were still up in the air.  We both really, really like this house, though, and quickly realize how few lakeside homes come up for sale.  One of us suggests the crazy idea of buying this one while we have the chance.  We ponder.

Tuesday (May 21): We decide to speak to our bank about whether we even have the funds to buy this house.  More importantly, if our townhouse doesn't sell quickly, could we carry both mortgages?

Wednesday (May 22): I call the bank, make an appointment for Thursday.  Meanwhile, I ask my Mom to call the sellers (it's a private sale) to schedule a viewing because the house is in our hometown.  The phone number leads to the seller's daughter, who doesn't have the key.  The seller now lives in another city, but a neighbour has the key.  My Mom calls the seller to schedule an appointment but no offer is made to see the interior.  My Mom is invited to tour the outside.  What?!  The seller says another woman expressed an interest three months ago but after five showings, lots of empty promises and legal fees, no offer has materialized.  He claims he owes her nothing.

Thursday (May 23): The banks gives me an unofficial YAY to giving us a stupid amount of money in addition to our current mortgage.  I brag a little when the banker asks, "any other debt, besides the mortgage?"  "NOPE!" I say and grin like this:

Via

Meanwhile, my Mom and Dad tour the property.  It is beautifully landscaped, they report, including the shore.  It's on a bay of Lake Superior, but it's shallow, perfect for swimming, canoeing and kayaking.  The house is solid as a rock and in pristine condition.  Guest house is larger than thought!  Mom says buy it.  Dad says finish your PhD first.  I start cleaning the townhouse and contacting real estate agents in Ottawa.

Friday (May 24): We call the seller, tell him we want to fly in and see the lakehouse at the beginning of June.  We need to sell our house, but want to put in an offer to buy his.  He says "great," but seems noncommittal.  I decide to loop in a buyer's agent.  Once the agent is on board and tells the seller what our offer will look like, the seller says the price is right but doesn't want our condition of selling our house.  We say fine, we'll waive that condition and ask for a longer closing date instead (90 days).  He says max 60 days.  Eeegads.  We say fine.  Meanwhile, he says the other woman has gotten more serious.  We suspect he used our interest as leverage.  We say we can fly in sooner to view it and will present our offer as promised, no surprises, when we arrive.  He doesn't feel comfortable with us not having seen it.  Our realtor asks if he'll give us the chance to tour the house and present an offer before deciding anything.  At least let us and the other woman present offers before making a decision.  He says yes.  Sweet!  But then the realtor calls back.  He's backed out.  He doesn't even want to entertain the idea of our offer or facilitate our seeing the house and he is going to go with the other buyer, who still has not listed her house and hasn't submitted a formal offer in writing.  We are stumped!  So is our realtor.  Sometimes For Sale by Owner goes weirdly, he tells us, and reminds us of the importance of an agent.

Saturday (May 25): We spend the day saying "I'm sad.  I loved that house."  We convince ourselves that the house was wrong for us (a bit of a longer drive than I wanted, a 5 foot high basement only good for storage, really horrible timing).  The days pass and we're relieved not to have to prepare our house for sale, because we still have the big bad laundry room to contend with, the basement to declutter, the back fence to remove, the garden to tend to, the garage to clean, the bedrooms to swap and a million or so odds and ends we've lived with for four years.  Our realtor says other lake homes might open up in the next months, so we make a list of things to tackle in our house so we can (slowly) get ready for sale, in case another gem appears.  Whew, we think, we've got time and this has lit a small fire under our bums to get things done, without launching us into full blown panic mode.

Thursday (May 30):  Panic mode.  I'm eating my cereal and checking email when our realtor calls!  The deal fell through with the other woman and we're up to bat.  Ohhhhhkay.  Lucky seller, that we're even still interested because his snubbing us would have turned off other people!!  Our realtor pushes us along to move fast.  Too fast, in hindsight.  Hubby's unreachable at a conference in another city, and it's up to me to make decisions.  We put together an offer and with a series of scanners and fax machines (fax machines!) we manage to sign the offer in two different cities and submit it to our realtor in a third city.

Saturday (May 31): The day after Hubby returns from his conference, I leave for Victoria for a three day conference of my own.  Four layovers and 13 hours.  I deliver my paper the next day, then turn around and fly home 6:45a.m. the next day.

Monday (June 3): Exhausted, I return from Victoria after a 12 hour flight.  I touch down around suppertime.  We can't sleep.

Tuesday (June 4): We head to the bank when it opens, to start the official mortgage approval process.  After our appointment, we drive straight to the airport and we fly to our hometown, eat a bagel melt, then drive straight to the property for a viewing and home inspection.  Home inspection reveals a truly well built home with amazing bones and quality building materials.  Viewing reveals more updates than I planned!  But the lake is amazing and the home has a great layout with spacious rooms and open concept that I can work with.

Wednesday (June 5): I fly back to Ottawa bright and early, so I can get to work on time that night.  Hubby flies later in the day and I pick him up at 9p.m. when I'm done work.  We can't sleep.

Thursday (June 6): Well water tests come back good, the bank says YES (officially, this time).  Our conditions are waved.  We've bought a house.  We start tearing around the townhouse, finishing up projects, cleaning, organizing.   We log long days prepping. 

Saturday (June 8): We marvel at how little time it took to finish the laundry room that we spent 18 months ignoring.  Stupid us, it looks amazing.  Details soon. 

So, that's it.  We bought a house when we weren't even really looking for one.  But it's gorgeous, with so much potential.  I'm meeting with realtors this week to list the townhouse (sniff).  I'm worried it's too late in the season and we won't sell.  Right now, we're in overdrive trying to finish projects to list before June is over, because April, May and June are supposedly the busiest months for real estate in Ottawa.  We haven't stopped to tell many of our family members yet, but we will once things calm down a little.  Did I mention chapter three of my dissertation was due a week ago?  It's 30% written but I'm too covered in paint, dust and marble cleaner to focus.

Stay tuned for plans for the new house, and photos from projects we're wrapping up here - in addition to photos of the townhouse staged for sale!  For now, here are some photos of the new place, some you've seen but some you haven't.  A few I snapped super quickly during the viewing, while others are from the listing.  Maybe I'll do a video tour when we move in?

There's a lot of work to do, but I already have a vision . . . and a Pinterest board.

Our Dream House . . . Just Out of Reach, or Not?

If you've read the blog for awhile, you know Hubby & I have this dream of living on a lake (Lake Superior is my first choice).  Our plan was to wait until I'm done my PhD (I hope to submit this August), then wrap up house projects during the fall, sell the townhouse early next spring and move.  But we weren't sure where, exactly.  Lake Superior living would mean moving back to our hometown, which has benefits and drawbacks.  Until now, we've moved where I've gone to school.  It seems scary and exciting to think that we could move anywhere next because Hubby's job has flexibility like that.  So do we want to move anywhere . . . or back home?

To help decide (and to totally distract me throughout the week), Captain Distracto keeps tabs on Lake Superior homes for sale and emails me listings.  Until now we've done our best Goldilocks impressions: too small, too big, too expensive, too far.  But Hubs found a house so perfect, it's making me go all crazy-eyed.  I actually suggested buying it now, living off ramen noodles if we have to, carrying two mortgages until we're done in Ottawa and then selling the townhouse and moving. 

The house: good price, fabulous location, lakefront (on Lake Superior), 1400 square feet, two bedrooms and two bathrooms, two car garage and cart port, work shop (hello painting studio!), guest house with its own (extra) bathroom, sauna, a dreamy open layout with spacious living area and sunny kitchen.  It is a bit dated even though it's only 13 years old, but it has SO much potential.  Imagine it with all white walls and trim, bright artwork, painted kitchen cabinets, updated tile and counters . . .

The back, facing the lake.

The view.  My word, the view.  Rainbows not included.

Guest house with its own bathroom.

Two car garage with so much spray painting room!

The living room is huge with a fireplace, million dollar view, and great hardwood floors.  Just hand me some paint!

Love this dining room!  But I'm already dreaming of a new light fixture.

A kitchen I can finally paint!  I am thinking pale turquoise cupboards with white counters and grey tile floor.

I know when we're ready to move, we won't find something as perfect (or affordable) and I'll be disappointed.  Before when we looked at homes, I was willing to make ridiculous concessions ("axe the guest bedroom!" "who needs an office!" "kitchens are overrated, we can live without one!") because I knew to buy a lakefront property we'd have to make sacrifices.  But this home has everything we want and need and more, so I don't think I'll be able to be so chill about sacrifices from now on.  Everyone think good thoughts so no one else buys this and it's available when we're ready . . .

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Easy Ways to Add Personality to a Home

Yesterday I bemoaned the fact that our first home is a temporary home, so every design decision is made with strangers in mind.  This means no hot pink tile, painted wood floors, or turquoise ceilings.  But we still try to add personality to our space.  After all, we live here now!  For anyone else in a temporary spot (especially renters), here are some great ideas for keeping things neutral (like flooring, walls, kitchen cabinets and drapes), but still adding some personality.

Art!
Colourful art is obviously my not-so-secret weapon for jazzing up very house-buyer friendly white walls.  If I think some of our art might be too bold for potential buyers to see past, it's easily stashed in the basement and replaced with a black and white photo.  Easy.  

Desire to Inspire

Familjeliv

California Home Design

Large scale paintings can replace ambitious and trendy ideas like wallpaper and even wilder ideas like handwritten wall designs.  

Cool handwritten wall on A Beautiful Mess & a handwritten painting, Kristin Peake Interiors

Furniture and more. 
I have few really colourful pieces of furniture, but they are a great way to add colour and spunk to a room with neutral walls and floors.  Bri Emery's new living room has simple wood floors, white walls and drapes and a neutral rug (all sell-friendly) but the furniture and art make the room special.  Even the addition of a cheery lamp and glossy table already lend the room great personality.  Although some buyers can be turned off by even personal items (like furniture and accessories) they are easy to swap out - especially if you have a friend with neutral furnishings - temporarily.  Much less commitment than turquoise walls or kitchen cabinets.

Design Love Fest

Wooniden

House to Home

Stealthy Style.
I like the idea of sneaking colour into stealthy spots: like the inside of kitchen cabinets.  Like my secret Pyrex stash, it's a little treat every time you open the cupboards but isn't a large enough colour commitment to scare off potential buyers and, if you're worried, it takes very little paint to cover it up!

A Beautiful Mess

Less is more.
A home-stager advised our neighbours to remove quite a bit of their furniture.  Her guideline was to ask each homeowner to remove about 70% of their furniture and knick knacks to show off a home to its fullest potential.  We're trying to keep our home uncluttered to begin with, because I have no idea where to put 70% of a home's stuff when it's time to sell and, further, moving stuff is awful.  So we make the most of each item.  Sometimes all a spartan room needs is one pretty thing.  A small, thoughtful detail can really make an impact.

Desire to Inspire

Annie McElwain

Apartment Therapy

Calculated Risks.
Quirky little details, like a house number in a tiled entryway, are a small enough risk to take.

Four Men and a Lady

Embrace Neutral.
Who said neutral is boring?  A space with quietly layered textures and shades is sell-able, and loveable.  

HGTV

me oh my!

Desire to Inspire

Desire to Inspire

Are you a renter, or selling soon?  How do you keep your space neutral enough for someone else, but still personal enough to be "yours"?  What would turn you off an apartment or house that you were considering?

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Decorating for Strangers

What sometimes gives me a headache is trying to renovate and decorate our townhouse with the tastes and preferences of someone I haven't met in mind.  As longtime readers know, the townhouse is a layover for us.  Our plan was to be here for about five years before (hopefully) buying a cute lakefront home in another city.  This summer marks year four and we're still on schedule to move next year.  Although we'll do lots of de-cluttering and staging when the time comes to sell, we've tried to make things easier (and more economical) by making design decisions that will transition easily. 

via Emily A. Clark

Because home buyers can be conservative and can sometimes have a hard time seeing past clutter, bold design or unusual design decisions, we've kept core elements "neutral".  When you take away our colourful art and accessories, the townhouse is quite simple: bright white walls, trim and doors, sheer and neutral curtains, white bathroom vanities with marble tops and grey floors, maple hard wood flooring (which is light and airy, but not too trendy), lots of white tile (in a herringbone pattern in the kitchen for some stealthy fun), and classic but contemporary fixtures in various neutral finishes.  No turquoise chandeliers (although I want one)!  Even a lot of our furniture (white guest bed and bedding, cream sofa, dark leather dining chairs) can be easily toned down for staging the house.  I know, I know: we could go wild and stencil walls, paint the ceiling blue and do all kinds of fun things and then paint it all out when it's time to sell, but it's taken so much time, effort and cash to get the home from its "before" stage, it would be heart-breaking to have to do it all over again in a few short years for resale.

I think our formula is a good one but, honestly, you can never know what a home buyer will like.  A house with bright green cabinets could catch someone's eye while a home with a pretty grey bathroom can turn people off.  It's a gamble, but odds are better if a home can appeal to as many people as possible.  So we keep things on the "safe" side.  Here's a little peak at some bold design choices that I like to fantasize about when I think about a future where we get to decorate a "forever" home.

Colourful glass counters (turquoise instead of green or pink) in an all white space would be nice.  I also think playing with some pattern on the walls would be an interesting contrast with white walls.

New England Home

via Bungalow 5

If not colourful counters, then a dash of colourful tile would suffice - in a kitchen or bathroom.

The Design Files

Pinecone Camp

Susan Jablon

Decorpad

Whoorl

I gravitate toward spaces with white floors, but somehow I think painting our maple flooring would be strongly discouraged by local realtors.  Hubby would have a heart attack.  Is it strange that I hope our next home has hardwood in terrible condition so I have to paint it a glossy white?

via Door Sixteen (along with a whole host of other pretty white-floored spaces)

via SF Girl by Bay

Sometimes I think a bright colour would be a striking choice too, especially with my penchant for white walls.  I will have some colour on the laundry room floor because I doubt a cheery laundry room will make or break a deal, but I can see potential buyers running from a colourful room like this - especially if they hate the colour in question!

via Coco & Kelley

I've always lusted after a white kitchen but now I'm itching for one with more spunk.  I think turquoise lower cabinets with pale grey uppers would be pretty, but any colour catches my eye these days.

via Oh Joy!

via SF Girl by Bay

Better Homes & Gardens

Even with my self-imposed limitations, there are plenty of ways to add personality.  I favor using punchy art and accessories (I have a huge art project in the works).  Tomorrow I'm sharing more ways to add a dash of bright and quirky to an otherwise neutral (and sell-able!) space.

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