"You have to be willing to get happy about nothing."
Andy Warhol
April 29, 2011
April 24, 2011
the introduction
When we bought our house, we had a the great fortune of buying from the original owners. That is something that really made a difference for me, and looking back now, I think it was actually one of the top deciding factors when we finally sealed the deal and bought the place. Especially the fact that we got to meet the lovely woman (she had been widowed a decade prior) and have her show us around the place and give us a rundown of everything.
Not only was it a really great experience to get to see the house through her eyes (this place had been her home since 1960, there was a lot of history for her) and hear a few stories about sing-a-long parties around the piano in the basement (she left the piano for us - how sweet is that?!) but we got to learn a lot. As first time homeowners, the little things that she showed us, and the handwritten reminders she had posted everywhere, which we asked her to please leave up (things like a note on the furnace explaining how to bleed to humidifier valve and when and how to change the filter) were absolutely invaluable to us.
That kind of interaction between the buyer and seller is something that real estate agents do their best to prevent (and perhaps understandably so) but I will always be so happy that we just went for it, knocked on her door, and very fortunately for us, were warmly welcomed and invited in. *Just to clarify - this all happened after the deal was done, but before the closing date, during that 60 day gap - I definitely would not recommend doing this during the short conditional sale period. I'm no expert, but it could cause some trouble for you and you can never be too careful with these things.
The grand tour that we ended up getting was definitely not part of our plan going in - we had no expectations at all. We were really just hoping to say hello, and to let her know that she was free to leave behind any small furniture/yard tools/workshop items, etc., as we were just starting out and we knew we could use all the help we could get. It helped that we also knew she was moving in with one of her children, so we had a pretty good idea that she might not need/want to take a lot of that stuff with her. If you were wondering, she did leave us shovels and rakes and sprinklers (oh my!) along with the piano I mentioned earlier and a few other little things. We were so grateful! We could have easily spent hundreds of dollars trying to accumulate all that stuff, not to mention the time it saved us.
I'm so sorry for the terrible photos (especially this front shot). This is all I have right now. These were actually taken by our insurance company a week or so before we moved in (part of their standard procedure for home insurance).
And here is our little backyard shed, which was built by the owner's husband before he passed away. As was the carport, and the mudroom, and the sunroom. He was actually a civil engineer - he designed bridges all across Canada. (Our shed even has eavestroughs! I don't know, maybe that's totally normal but I've never seen it before and I find it so cute!)
So, there you have it. Internet, meet house. I hope you two get along.
Not only was it a really great experience to get to see the house through her eyes (this place had been her home since 1960, there was a lot of history for her) and hear a few stories about sing-a-long parties around the piano in the basement (she left the piano for us - how sweet is that?!) but we got to learn a lot. As first time homeowners, the little things that she showed us, and the handwritten reminders she had posted everywhere, which we asked her to please leave up (things like a note on the furnace explaining how to bleed to humidifier valve and when and how to change the filter) were absolutely invaluable to us.
That kind of interaction between the buyer and seller is something that real estate agents do their best to prevent (and perhaps understandably so) but I will always be so happy that we just went for it, knocked on her door, and very fortunately for us, were warmly welcomed and invited in. *Just to clarify - this all happened after the deal was done, but before the closing date, during that 60 day gap - I definitely would not recommend doing this during the short conditional sale period. I'm no expert, but it could cause some trouble for you and you can never be too careful with these things.
The grand tour that we ended up getting was definitely not part of our plan going in - we had no expectations at all. We were really just hoping to say hello, and to let her know that she was free to leave behind any small furniture/yard tools/workshop items, etc., as we were just starting out and we knew we could use all the help we could get. It helped that we also knew she was moving in with one of her children, so we had a pretty good idea that she might not need/want to take a lot of that stuff with her. If you were wondering, she did leave us shovels and rakes and sprinklers (oh my!) along with the piano I mentioned earlier and a few other little things. We were so grateful! We could have easily spent hundreds of dollars trying to accumulate all that stuff, not to mention the time it saved us.
I'm so sorry for the terrible photos (especially this front shot). This is all I have right now. These were actually taken by our insurance company a week or so before we moved in (part of their standard procedure for home insurance).
And here is our little backyard shed, which was built by the owner's husband before he passed away. As was the carport, and the mudroom, and the sunroom. He was actually a civil engineer - he designed bridges all across Canada. (Our shed even has eavestroughs! I don't know, maybe that's totally normal but I've never seen it before and I find it so cute!)
So, there you have it. Internet, meet house. I hope you two get along.
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