It was our first White Christmas, though there was no snow on Christmas Day. The snow collected over the previous weeks made it an extremely beautiful time of the year. The snow on the ground, the streets lit with brilliance, Christmas trees around the neighbourhood and the satisfaction of achieving some of the goals we had set ourselves made it an extremely pleasurable Christmas.
A big family dinner with Turkey, roasted ham, wine and beer with lots of presents was something that we had always dreamt off. Though we had not moved into our new house, it was still special and will be remembered fondly for years to come.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Friday, December 14, 2007
Closing Date!
Closing date is one of the greatest days in your home search journey even if it is not your first home. After months of searching you finally get the keys to your dream home and the excitement of it all can make you overlook some finer details that could leave you fretting and fuming on the day.
Normally a day before closing is when you will visit your lawyer to sign all the papers and ensure that everything is in order. By this time the mortgage money will be the lawyer too and all you need to do is complete the down payment and sign on the several dotted line.
A point to remember here is that on closing date, the house belongs to you from 00:00 and therefore the previous owners if your are buying a resale home should be out of the house at 23:59 the previous day. Do make sure that your insurance coverage on the home is effective on this date. Also, ensure that you visit the house you are buying before you go to pick the keys. This will ensure that if the previous owners haven't moved out as yet, you can let your lawyers deal with the incident.
The reason why I say this and again it may not be true in all situations is because it happened to us. We went to pick up the keys of our home in the afternoon and when we went to enter our new home we found out that the previous owners were still in what was now our house. Since this was the first house that we were buying, we were not completely aware of what the rules were and the result was that our closing date was pushed back by a day.
Technically, we had every right to make a scene and ensure that all the stuff that was in our house was thrown out. However, we chose to be civil about it and that was what left us fretting and fuming and ruined what was supposed to be a pleasurable experience. To add to that the previous owners dumped a lot of garbage on the sidewalk and as luck would have it, we were hit by one of the worst snow storms of the year. This meant that we did not know what was under the snow for weeks after we took possession of the home.
Normally a day before closing is when you will visit your lawyer to sign all the papers and ensure that everything is in order. By this time the mortgage money will be the lawyer too and all you need to do is complete the down payment and sign on the several dotted line.
A point to remember here is that on closing date, the house belongs to you from 00:00 and therefore the previous owners if your are buying a resale home should be out of the house at 23:59 the previous day. Do make sure that your insurance coverage on the home is effective on this date. Also, ensure that you visit the house you are buying before you go to pick the keys. This will ensure that if the previous owners haven't moved out as yet, you can let your lawyers deal with the incident.
The reason why I say this and again it may not be true in all situations is because it happened to us. We went to pick up the keys of our home in the afternoon and when we went to enter our new home we found out that the previous owners were still in what was now our house. Since this was the first house that we were buying, we were not completely aware of what the rules were and the result was that our closing date was pushed back by a day.
Technically, we had every right to make a scene and ensure that all the stuff that was in our house was thrown out. However, we chose to be civil about it and that was what left us fretting and fuming and ruined what was supposed to be a pleasurable experience. To add to that the previous owners dumped a lot of garbage on the sidewalk and as luck would have it, we were hit by one of the worst snow storms of the year. This meant that we did not know what was under the snow for weeks after we took possession of the home.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Got Ma G2!
After failing the first attempt at my G2, I got it right the second time. In extremely testing circumstances with freezing rain converting to heavy snow, I managed to pass my test and get the license that allows me to drive under any condition and at any time except with a restriction on blood alcohol content.
It was great feeling for me as I was extremely nervous and committed several mistakes in my trial run before the test. My instructor was certain that I was going to fail as I was making several silly mistakes. However, I was lucky to have a patient examiner who calmed down my nerves and helped me focus on the task at hand. Although, I made some minor mistakes, the examiner gave me some valuable tips to use in tricky driving conditions.
It is extremely important to drive in your country of origin as although people may tell you otherwise, the expertise you gain in handling a car does make the job a lot easier here. I still have a long way to go and the months to come will be a true test and I will need to build on my skills.
It was great feeling for me as I was extremely nervous and committed several mistakes in my trial run before the test. My instructor was certain that I was going to fail as I was making several silly mistakes. However, I was lucky to have a patient examiner who calmed down my nerves and helped me focus on the task at hand. Although, I made some minor mistakes, the examiner gave me some valuable tips to use in tricky driving conditions.
It is extremely important to drive in your country of origin as although people may tell you otherwise, the expertise you gain in handling a car does make the job a lot easier here. I still have a long way to go and the months to come will be a true test and I will need to build on my skills.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Bought a House!
Before we came here, we did a lot of research on the housing choices available here and the locations to live in. However, coming from a country like an India, you cannot really make a true judgement on which area to live in. The distances like I keep mentioning in several pieces in my blog are huge in Canada. To get around you definitely need transportation of your own, so the location you choose will depend on whether you drive or take public transport.
If you rely on public transport, then the choices are extremely few, if you are on a tight budget. Like with everything you buy, you have to pay a premium price for a premium product, however, with a common sense approach you may be in a position to find the right product at the right price. It is a personal choice and often advice in this area is very generic.
Things to factor in when choosing a location is purely convenience, proximity to schools, parks, shopping, recreation facility, friends, family, hospitals, doctors and several other things that you would like to add to the list. We took into account all of these things and made a choice to buy in Brampton, a small city West of Toronto and very close (driving distance) to the people that we stayed with.
While we tried to get everything right from the people that we spoke to and the advice that our real estate agent gave us, you will always make a mistake in some place and overlook something important. For us, which may not be true for you given your personal needs will be the kind of street that you live on. Our street is a cosmopolitan and has easy access to the major routes and all the items that I mentioned above. However, since it is a little lane off a major road, snow removal in our area is extremely delayed.
This is a major factor if you do not drive and have to walk to a bus stop. In the biting cold and this is something most people moving to Canada will never have experienced unless they have lived in areas closer to the North Pole, a street free of snow is very important. This is because as the snow melts and gets converted into ice, landing on your backside can do you serious damage.
Good luck on your home search and if you are like us, do make your choice on an area to live in after considering some of the things that I mentioned above. Therefore, start your home search in the winter rather than fall or spring as it will give you a true picture of how the streets are cleaned during those heavy snow storms.
If you rely on public transport, then the choices are extremely few, if you are on a tight budget. Like with everything you buy, you have to pay a premium price for a premium product, however, with a common sense approach you may be in a position to find the right product at the right price. It is a personal choice and often advice in this area is very generic.
Things to factor in when choosing a location is purely convenience, proximity to schools, parks, shopping, recreation facility, friends, family, hospitals, doctors and several other things that you would like to add to the list. We took into account all of these things and made a choice to buy in Brampton, a small city West of Toronto and very close (driving distance) to the people that we stayed with.
While we tried to get everything right from the people that we spoke to and the advice that our real estate agent gave us, you will always make a mistake in some place and overlook something important. For us, which may not be true for you given your personal needs will be the kind of street that you live on. Our street is a cosmopolitan and has easy access to the major routes and all the items that I mentioned above. However, since it is a little lane off a major road, snow removal in our area is extremely delayed.
This is a major factor if you do not drive and have to walk to a bus stop. In the biting cold and this is something most people moving to Canada will never have experienced unless they have lived in areas closer to the North Pole, a street free of snow is very important. This is because as the snow melts and gets converted into ice, landing on your backside can do you serious damage.
Good luck on your home search and if you are like us, do make your choice on an area to live in after considering some of the things that I mentioned above. Therefore, start your home search in the winter rather than fall or spring as it will give you a true picture of how the streets are cleaned during those heavy snow storms.
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