Our Black Friday

Our ‘Black Friday’ was Nov 22nd, closing day for the house deal. We think we got a good deal on this property but that remains to be seen once we open it up!

Our day started out innocent enough. There was no promise from the lawyer that we could get the keys early so we could get away on our south western excursion! We’re excited about both the property and our trip to California. We are hoping to take our time travelling – probably having Christmas dinner in a Walmart parking lot somewhere warm! So about noonish, we decided to head toward St Catharines where our lawyer is located so we would be nearby when we got the call to pick up the keys. Just before we hit the highway, my doctor called to go over my blood test we had done on Wednesday. She did not come with good news and our day drew gloomy. But as we have always said, our plans are cast in Jello so changes can be made. My doctor will book me an appointment with a specialist to do further testing before we leave so we have to delay  our departure. So, back to picking up the keys - we started out at Home Depot pricing supplies and generally ‘window’ shopping. We talked to a couple of the sales folks that gave us good info about Tankless Hot Water systems and HVAC stuff. The last time we had to research this stuff was back when we built our house in 1983! Certainly some significant changes have occurred since then.

Our next stop was the Restore to see what bargains we could find there. Not much but we did find a pocket door frame for only $15.00 – regularly $100 so this was a good deal. We also picked up some hazmat suits (read painter suits) for when we start demolition. We’re sure to find lots of mouse poop and mold when we’re taking the house apart. By now, it was going on 3PM and still no word from the lawyer. Our realtor wants to meet up so we find a Tim’s nearby and take a break. As we’re waiting for Elizabeth, the lawyer calls (4ish) and our keys are ready. Elizabeth arrives and quickly presents us with a gift basket to celebrate our purchase – it was very nice of her and we’ll make use of the sparking wine and glasses!

We’re finally at the house in the dark, not what we expected and slightly depressing but Barb unlocks the door and we step into our future hobby! We take a quick look around and take stock of what’s what and start making plans. The property management group that looked after the property for the trustee left signs all around to say that the house was winterized. After some checking, it is not winterized like we would winterize a trailer – water still in the water lines and in the hot water tank. So we’ll need to do some real winterizing. We’ve decided that all the appliances are to go and our realtor thinks she may have a home for them. Originally, we were going to keep the fridge but the mold everywhere in and on it is too much for us! The upside of the day is we met the new neighbours and they seem very nice – they’ll have to be – you know it’s hard for me to play nice with others! We lock up and head back home with our heads whirring with ideas and plans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Terri & Mark wanted to meet us at the house on Sunday to show Mark the house. Terri brought cheese and crackers and some sparking wine and along with the bottle we had, we had a nice ‘house warming’ with them. After a short break and knowing we were staying in Ontario longer than planned, we started some demolition and with Terri & Mark’s help, we soon made significant headway – carpets out, drywall off bedroom walls, sub floor up in bedroom, hot water tank out, ceramic tiles off bathroom floor and 3 of 4 appliances gone. It looks like the hot water tank has been leaking for a long time as I broke through the bathroom tile floor and subfloor trying to smash the ceramic floor tiles up! The floor in the bathroom is totally rotten and will have to be replaced. Can not tell what condition the floor joists are in until we expose them. All the debris was stacked up in the garage and Barb & I went down on Monday (next day) to load garbage in truck and haul it over to the dump – it took us 2 trips! After cleaning up, we took stock again for our next trip down so we could bring appropriate supplies.

Until then, we hope all is good where ever you are…