PART 3 Meanwhile back in Banff….
Back home it was business as usual. Winter was in full swing, kids in virtual school and decisions to be made. It was the height of the Pandemic which meant our work load was ten fold for our respective businesses and some of our income was substantially reduced, all for the greater good of the community. The most important factor being our family was safe and healthy enjoying our new surroundings.
The clock was ticking and time was of the essence. Our choices were a. find a home asap on Vancouver Island, b. purchase the home we had just moved into or c. move into our lakehouse. Thee latter sounded romantic but not an option for any long term living solution.
And then the phone rang! It was Mr. J. with some news.
“I’m showing a property today that is just in the process of being listed. My buyers are friends of the sellers and it does not sound like they will write an offer on this home and so I thought of you. Intrigued to say the least, we requested a video preview of the property. Could this be the universe speaking?
Armed with the latest cell phone technology, Mr.J. gave us a tour of the home. It checked a great number of boxes; # of bedrooms-check, # of bathrooms-check, square footage-check. Knowing the current market conditions we took a huge leap of faith and submitted an offer putting our best foot forward. Aside from one minor implication, the Sellers accepted our full ask offer and it was crunch time.
We called our mortgage specialist and let them know we had two weeks to get our ducks in a row. We then loaded the kids in the family sized vehicle and drove back to Vancouver Island. I don’t think either of us slept as we were electric trying to imagine the house and surrounding neighbourhood!
It was a typical drive through Alberta and BC with winter conditions slowly subsiding the further west we drove. Once we arrived on the coast it was the typical ferry ride to Nanaimo and we looked forward to seeing the property with our own eyes.
The property had incredible potential but had seen some neglect on the exterior landscaping. It also had a very outdated kitchen and master en-suite bath to say the least. These were not big concerns as the home was sizeable enough for our family, had ample space inside for our respective working spaces and incredible ocean views!
It all seemed to good to be true indeed and we were anxious to make it all happen. Time to sell the lake house and put the wheels in motion. Back in Banff, It all came down to the wire, and due to some miscommunication we met the lawyer halfway to Calgary during a snow storm to deliver the down payment required to close the deal.
Time to pack!! We made the decision to have the kids finish off the school year in Alberta which gave us about 3 months to make the move. Still under the watchful eye of the Covid world, we or should I say I made the decision to make several trips with our cargo trailer and move our home over time. I do not recommend this course of action to anyone unless you enjoy driving as much as I do. It also gave me time to create my personal studio from scratch which brought me great joy! The anticipation of the final move seemed to last forever but that day finally came-Happy Canada Day!
