private sale, bidding war avoided

We debated buying a house for well over a year and our patience finally paid off. We bought a house via a private sale, hallelujah!

We are beyond excited to move our little mini-wheats into this house and to finally build our family home. For the first time, Thomas and Zoe have an actual backyard of their very own, bedrooms that they can grow into, a pool to make memories in and one of their best friends as a next door neighbour. Could life get any better? It can and it has, but that’s a surprise for another day.

We feel so blessed to have avoided the brutal bidding wars that Toronto is known for. We feel very lucky to have landed such a grand place. We first toured the house back in March, we instantly fell in love with it and, the woman who owned it.

Marcia is a born and bred Virginian, so we instantly hit it off and bonded over our love for the lovers state. The bones are good but the decor is very dated, closed off and not super functional for a young family, but we see the potential. I was shocked and elated to learn that the hubs actually loved the house as much me, as he typically dislikes anything pre-internet.

We spent 2hrs touring the house with Marcia, having proper tea and listening to her memories of raising her family in this house. Marcia’s 78, feisty, smart and full of stories. The more time we spent with Marcia the more we learned how important it was for her to spend one last summer in the house, with her memories of her late husband and her precious gardens. So while we missed a summer in our new pool, we delivered peace and closure and a slow transition to a person who spent the last 30 years inside these walls.

We closed October 4th and renovations began October 5th. We snagged some before pictures and made a toast to our next chapter with the kids! We are so so excited to move in, but we are even more excited about the journey we’re on to get there. It may or may not include some cameras.

So much is happening over here, we’re running non-stop but we know it’s gonna be worth it.

Miss Marcia even gifted Zoe with her antique brass bed from Italy, and I know she’s going to love it.

T-minus 6 weeks to moving day. Anyone need some cedar paneling?

Originally published at Mini Wheat Mama.