How it all began - May/June 2008

We were not looking for a house just yet but when the for sale sign was spotted on a favourite street the idea was planted on a Friday afternoon. After a mosquito/rain infested overnight camping trip, Erin was invited to join us at a Sunday showing without a realtor in hand. We explored a house that not only had character but authentic elements of an original home - smoke stained walls, grimy kitchen and all. While the idea that it "needed a little work" was clear, the house had so much potential with its unique layout (with 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms) and incredible location.

After it sank in over brownies and a few phone calls, Sunday night was spent wide awake trying to figure out if this was even a possibility. With bids due Monday afternoon, the advice of a realtor was to secure the only time spot for a house inspection on Monday morning. Phone calls with parents reminiscing about a old house on Albert St in K-town and excel spreadsheets seeing if the numbers worked filled our brains.

The house inspection Monday morning was as expected - knob and tube wiring to be removed, some galvanized pipes, new roofs, old windows but new furnace/ac and the list goes on. While the house was said to be owned by one family only around 1950s, the existence of a poured foundation in acceptable condition and the knob and tube wiring made the age of the house questionable. All we did know is that little upgrades had been made over the years.

Considering all of the work to be done, one low bid was made in the morning with the only condition being the ability to rebid if someone else entered the game later in the day. This was done standing in steel-toed boots in a filthy kitchen on break from overseeing the installation of watermains/sewers on a nearby street with the other half in meetings in Sarnia (talk about trust!). A couple hours later the phone rang and one of the other 20 people that did a showing on the weekend decided to bid. 15 minutes was all we had to decide if an increased bid was going to be submitted. After scrolling through the cell phone to find someone to call, the "sounding board" himself was found in K-town. A new bid was placed with 5 minutes to go (a number based on no available information on what the other person would be submitting - talk about pressure).

Standing under a tree in the rain, the phone rang 20 minutes later and the house was ours. Apparently, having the house inspection done helped and we only outbid the other by a small margin! The papers were signed instantly and with one party still away at a meeting and out of contact, patience was to be had waiting to be able to tell them about our new home a few hours later.

Saw on a Sunday - bought on a Monday! Wow.....