Calgary-Ho!


I have not been on here for a while, and here is my excuse:  Somewhere towards the end of February, out of the blue, my husband got offered his dream job in Calgary... starting the beginning of April.  From that point on, life became a blur of packing, storage, moving companies, agents, listings, open houses, de-cluttering, and even a quick jaunt to Calgary to look at houses.  Any spare time was spent on the internet flicking between mls, google earth, and the calgary school board school finder page.  Entirely too much wine and coffee was consumed.

Last night we sold my beloved house, the subject of so much of this blog.

It actually felt kind of nice to "stage" my house for sale - I felt quite proud of the photos and virtual tour, and was happy to pack up a lot of the chaos to let the house shine.  Sure, maintaining clear surfaces was a pain, but it was lovely to sit in the evenings with my bottles of wine and think "I did this!"  I made this warm and cozy space.


The downside is that, despite my efforts polishing bathroom fixtures, filling in the nicks in my painted bathrooms floor with a Sharpie, hauling my toaster oven out to the trunk of the car every morning, and scrubbing every handprint from the walls, we received but one offer.  Happily, it was for our asking price, but somehow the hype of the Toronto real estate market had me secretly hoping for more.  With all the press around multiple offers and bidding wars, scarcity of product and rabid buyers, it was generally assumed that for a house like ours, in the neighbourhood we are in, people would be lining up at the door.  I know that sounds like hubris, but this message was reiterated and reinforced over and over from friends, agents, and armchair analysts.  Day in and day out, the real estate sections of the papers crowed about the seller's market, the unstoppable prices, the results that exceeded everyone's expectations.

So when we had one agent quietly submit the offer last night, I felt relief to have received our asking price, relief that this big component of our process was finished, and relief that we could bring the toaster oven back in permanently.  I even felt really happy for the nervous couple that were no doubt waiting outside in their car with their fingers crossed.  But I also felt a little... rejected.  So many views online, so many showings, such successful open houses, and one offer.  No one wanted my beautiful house.


Now, before you all start reassuring me that this wasn't the case, I have a beautiful house, I should feel proud (cause I know you guys are amazing and sweet and kind and will do that!), or chastising me for being so greedy, know that I consciously and rationally accept that it was not the house, it was the lack of parking.  Parking is a huge hairy deal around here, and that was the overwhelming feedback from the viewings.  Our neighbour, who has had his completely top-to-bottom renovated fancy house on the market since November, has been having the same frustration.  The other issue is that the school zone right next to ours is apparently the one everyone wants to get their kids into.  Plus there are a LOT of really beautiful houses around here.  So I am very very grateful to have had someone buy it at the price we were asking (which seemed huge).

All the same... it sort of stung.


HOWEVER, this morning I am feeling much more upbeat about the whole thing, and concentrating on the full-to-the-top glass and not the missing overflow!  Our house still sold in a week, for a very silly amount of money.  Three of these seven days we were all out of the house and didn't have to worry about wiping the fridge handle every time we closed it or camping out at the coffee shop while people toured the house.  I already have a large chunk of the packing done.  It was a quick and painless process, when it could have dragged on and on and on.  It is a huge financial relief, and we now know what our budget is for Calgary and that we can move forward on a house there without worrying about carrying two mortgages.  HOORAY!

Amazing what a good night's sleep can do for one's perspective. :)

Now everyone sing along with me:

18 comments:

  1. Wow!!! BIG NEWS!
    Are you going to share the new house? The setting up and making it so YOU? How are you feeling about sharing these days? I am luke warm to sharing...i used to be so excited, and there is no reason to cool, but I just wonder why am I putting these things online?! Have you cooled, or just got super busy, or both??!


    The news is a lot of hype...that one house that that a dump that sold $300k over asking? yah...right...one house...you can't expect that to happen! One offer, one week, got your asking?? That means the buyer was pretty into it! You know the buyers of your house are sooo lucky! do they know about the blog?!




    Really really happy for you and the family! Exciting new chapter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (my keyboard added all those exclamation points on it's own - apparently, it is happy too!

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  2. ps the house showed beautifully! Rare to see something so well put together! House pride!!!

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  3. Congratulations! Your home is beautiful and I'm sure the next one will be too (once you put your mark on it, of course :)

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  4. Aw Shannon THANK YOU for this awesome encouraging comment. You RULE. It's funny, I have definitely cooled on the sharing thing - when I started getting really busy I kept thinking why am I allocating so much of my time to putting things on this blog? What is the point? So it was definitely a bit of both - when I found myself with some time I just didn't feel compelled to spend it blogging.


    However, I do kind of miss it by times, and as I was looking at houses in Calgary I was thinking "well this is beautiful, but what would I blog about?" or "wow, this would certainly give me lots to blog about!" So perhaps part of my cooling off was that I just didn't have the time or money for any more big projects around the house, and it didn't seem that any of my smaller stuff was all that interesting...


    But even writing this one up felt so nice! I guess a bit of me is a writer at heart - I like the opportunity to express myself this way.


    Anyway, I'm getting all philosophical. The more I think about the big move, a new house, a new life - it's kind of excited, non? :)

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  5. Thank Janice!! One of the houses we are looking at in Calgary needs a LOT of love - LOTS! - and part of me is leaning towards that one so I can really get my hands dirty making it shine!

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  6. Hooray! I'm so excited your house sold Lisa, and with relatively little heartache and stress! I think the Calgary market isn't as crazy as it is here so hopefully a decorating/renovating plan is now on the books :) When things fall into place so easily too, its a good sign you've made the right decisions. We'll keep in touch for sure but I'll be sad every time I'm at a blogger event and don't see you there (like this morning's One of a Kind breakfast - missed you there!).


    Keep blogging. Your next house will be just as beautiful. xo.

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  7. Congrats on the sale of your home!!!! I feel your pain in the home selling process, we are putting this house up for sale in April for a 3rd time :( After all of our extra hard work I really hope it pays off. Carrying two homes is definitely tough! I hope you take us through your adventures of your new home and Calgary!!! Best of luck on the move.

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  8. Congratulations on the sale of your house, Lisa. But know that I will absolutely miss you so much at our blogger events!!

    I'm also wondering if you'll maintain the blog after you move. I hope you have the chance to share a bit with us if you have the time and inclination to write about your western adventures.I have a cousin in Calgary, she's such a wonderful person!! Let me know where you end up, I'd be curious to know if you're anywhere near her part of town.

    I wish you and the fam-jam all the best on the big move.

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  9. Congrats! I'm kicking myself because I'm wondering if a friend of mine knew about this house being for sale! She lives in the area and has been looking forever. She could have been a second offer! ;) Have fun in Calgary. We have friends that moved there for the same reasons and they really like it there.

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  10. Good luck! Congrats on selling the house - the market is fickle and I think a lot of the hubaloo tends to be for houses in one price range for starter homes. A good sized, detached house in your hood (not to mention so gorgeous) is probably beyond that range :) hopefully the boys are excited for the move (hiking, skiing, chinooks!) and they start school in time to make new friends. All the best and hope to hear about it if you're up for sharing - might be a good way to get into the Calgary blogging world!

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  11. Thanks so much Jen - I am really going to miss seeing you so often! :( Hopefully once I am settled I can help out with Blog Podium again and make a point of coming out in September - I need the excuse to come visit Toronto! I am pretty sure I will keep up the blog - I will need an outlet as I process all these changes! xo

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  12. Thank Danica - you are selling yours????? That makes me so sad - you put so much of yourself into that place. But the god of real estate and change cannot be denied, this I have learned. I will keep up with your adventures on the blog!

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  13. I am going to miss your guts Pam. :) I hope you will come out to visit your cousin so I get to see you!! Thank heavens for the internet, we will definitely stay in touch. I need to be inspired by your gorgeous projects. xo

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  14. Thanks Stephanie! I did consider blogging about the house being up for sale or at least posting it on Facebook, but it all went to FAST! I have heard wonderful things about Calgary, and have completely changed my attitude about moving there (I did not want to at ALL in the beginning). Now I am getting pretty excited about living out west. I'll just have to make sure I get a few years in the North next so I can tick off every region in Canada. :)

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  15. Thank you Heather!! The boys are almost unnervingly excited, they want to go TODAY. I know we are all going to love it and turn into those obnoxious healthy mountain people (even more obnoxious than we are now). Y'all have convinced me to keep blogging, I am honoured that you guys are reading! Keep us posted with pics of Owen - I can't believe how fast he is growing and what a freakin cutie he is. xo

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  16. Wow - that's big news! I'm super thrilled for your families new adventure - so exciting! That said I'm a little sad I won't be seeing you at Toronto blogging events:(
    I hope you continue blogging after you get settled - I'm sure I can't be the only one who'd love to see what you do to a new space, not to mention to hear about all the great things I'm sure Calgary has to offer (as much as people joke that Toronto is the center of the universe that is Canada, other cities have just as many neat and fun things as TO does). It would be fun to hear about those things from a transplant :)
    Good luck in your search for a new place!

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  17. So exciting!
    I have tons and tons I could share about nothing but I hold back. I don't talk about motherhood or the kids, I don't want to be philosophizing, I just want to show a bit about life...the life I happen to be living. It's not fancy!

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Thank you so much for your comment - they always make my day!