I’m bringing a more personal post to the blog today. If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you might have seen references to the apartment that Scott and I were purchasing. We had started the process last March – putting down a reservation on an off-plan unit that was being built in our hometown. We had been on the hunt for the perfect place to buy, and fell in love with the apartment specification from the moment we saw it.
At the beginning of the year however, we withdrew from the buying process. And today I wanted to talk about why.
I’m going to preface this post by saying that Scott and I have actually moved our purchase onto a townhouse instead. So although this is a happy ending, I also wanted to document the process that led me a little bit stir-crazy over the past 12 months. (You can check out our new house through the Streamside Townhouse on Instagram – which will be my haven of home-related postings over the coming years.)
Before we get into it, I want to say that this was the first time Scott and I had seriously looked at buying property. The notion had existed solely as an excited conversation before then. A “what if” down the road. Somewhere we could buy with our own money – somewhere that was ours alone. A space to come back to every night and wake up to every day. So when we actually began looking, saying both of us were merely excited is probably an understatement.
So, What Happened?
I’m not going to list the obvious for why we withdrew: yes, we already knew it would be leasehold. Yes, we realised we would be co-habiting a building with a bunch of other people. Yes, we were ready to fork over for ground rent and maintenance fees. In reality, the unfortunate truth is over the past year our circumstances just changed.
The longer we held onto the dream of moving into an apartment, the more our lives started to outgrow it. And with a completion date that kept moving, it became a tug of war between staying excited for somewhere I was already nervous for becoming cluttered in, and trying to freeze time so that we didn’t accumulate more things.
As we went into 2019, you’ll have seen me reference the home buying process in my yearly wrap up. I feel like 2018 was a real year of learning the ropes when it came to this process. And by our second delay, which pushed us passed the 6 months additional waiting time, we knew it was a sign to look elsewhere.
What Made Us Finally Withdraw From the Apartment
The second we decided enough was enough, that’s when everything began falling into place. Scott and I viewed other properties throughout our town. We visited duplexes, restored and renovated manor apartments, additional new builds and even a different charming 2 bedroom renovated apartment that we were this close to buying instead.
But, everything clicked into place the second we stepped through the door of our townhouse. We saw a shell of our plot, which is awaiting completion for the end of April, and we both just knew it was right for us.
With three stories of sun-lit bedrooms and cosy bathrooms, a charming garden plot and a kitchen that I’m already dreaming of spending my Sunday afternoons baking in. Our little oasis overlooks a babbling stream and has enough space for me, Scott and a furry friend that I’m dreaming will join us further down the line, too.
I’m counting the days till we move in (and serving this as a little warning that you might receive a few home-related posts in the future!). And awaiting life to be full of removal vans, cardboard boxes and two spare rooms that will be similar to navigating a hedgemaze of cardboard through the next 12 months.
To follow the townhouse, and our home decor adventures on Instagram, check out the Streamside Townhouse. We’d love to have you over!
What was your first home buying process like?
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