Happy Holidays! (and re-evaluating what we need in home)

Happy Holidays to all of you! There is nothing like this time of year to remind you of what is most important - family, friends, and of course time spent together breaking bread. I find that hosting a dinner party to be one of the most intimate things that you can do for the people you love. I really truly believe that everything from the setting, to the dishes, and meal itself all play a part. Many people think I am crazy, but I love hosting dinner parties, and grew up around some pretty epic ones hosted by my mother (the quintessential hostess always). I would much rather host friends and family in my home then go out to a restaurant any time. Love is always the secret ingredient!

My husband J and I hosted Christmas Eve this year, and had both sets of parents and siblings over for a great meal. However, it is difficult to have 8 people in an 823 sq. ft, apartment and have all of them sit at on table. We did the best we could, and had our parents sit at our round dining room table, while the four  "kids" sat on the couch. Less than ideal, but you have to make do with what you have. Our new house definitely needs to have a dinging room big enough to accommodate a table of 8-10 people so our parties can be a little more intimate.

Again, we were spoiled this year and got some great new pieces of furniture: a new desk for the office, and a fantastic coffee table size storage ottoman which can be used as seating or a small table with trays. We are heading to Ikea tomorrow to get some items to spruce up the apartment and make it a little more functional. My to-do lists for the next few days before heading back to work is to set up and clean out the office, and de-cluttering the living area (especially the bookshelf).

I have had a few restful days after the busyness of the holidays, so I think I need to get my hands a little dirty to feel more productive. I am definitely looking forward to all 2012 has to offer, especially the beginning of our house search!!! Happy New Year to all of you!!!

Location, Location, Location!!

How priorities change in a matter of months!!! Just a few months ago I was deep in wedding planning TV shows, blogs, and websites and lo and behold, now I can't seem to get enough information about real estate! HGTV is on constant rotation on our TV at home. My husband J, was not surprised by this of course and has said to me as long as I am not watching shows about babies, I can watch whatever I want.

Choosing a neighbourhood in Toronto wasn't all that hard really. J works in a suburb in the west end of the GTA whereas I work in the heart of downtown. His commute is an hour and a half one way, whereas mine is 12 minutes. Not exactly equitable! Obviously, our decision is to move west - but where and how far west?  Things that are important to us are access to public transit, easy access to highways, while still having easy access to the city  - I don't think we're being too demanding are we?

We have settled on south Etobicoke (Mimico, New Toronto, Long Branch, and Alderwood) as these were close to the GO train, with access to the TTC and Gardiner.

I have been on the Realtor website on a daily basis (they even have a fabulous app for Blackberry and iPhone users) going through houses in our price range, and seeing what we can get in our target neighbourhoods. We have decided to wait until the new year to start actively searching, but I have to say that it is pretty fun to look and make changes in our heads to things to make it our own. I cannot wait to start going to open houses and actually seeing the houses, but the app will have to do in the meantime!

What is it worth?

There I was, furiously cleaning our condo, making sure the bed was made with all the sheets tucked in with none hanging out from under the duvet, sweeping the floor for dust bunnies, vacuuming, and making our kitchen sparkle. No, my mother was not coming over (that would also involve dusting the top of every shelf) but we were having a real estate agent appraise our condo.

It is the most unnerving thing to watch someone walk around your house, and write little notes on a pad secretly judging that avocado green accent wall, furniture placement, and the little details that make your house a home. I realized while he was walking around that I forgot to do a sink full of dishes wondering if that was going to affect the condo's list price. (I know, crazy right?) We finally sat down at our dining room table, and my husband J and I were holding our breath like we were about to get some really bad news. 

Finally, the agent said that we are in a pretty high demand area and told us what he thought our condo is worth based on recent sales and the general value of the neighbourhood. Thankfully, it was more than we were anticipating which made us relieved. Given the insanity of the Toronto housing market, you can never really know until you see some comparable properties - we were pleasantly surprised. 

This was a pretty important meeting for us, as the price of the condo would help us dictate the price of a house that we could afford, and subsequently the down payment on a new home. Thankfully, we got a second opinion from another real estate agent, and it was a similar quote on list price. 

Now with the price on the table, the agent mentions the little things that are on our to do list before the condo goes on the market in the spring. It's a long one.....

1) De-clutter - go through everything and pare down to only the essentials

2) Paint the bathrooms (we painted the rest of the condo ourselves (with the help of some amazing friends!) and when it came time to the bathrooms, we decided they could wait. Well, it's been 2 years and they are still builder's white.

3) Paint touch ups - another thing that has been on our to-do list

4) Make the 2nd bedroom seem more like a bedroom and less like a storage room, this probably ties into the first point

5) Replace all personal photos with "non-threatening art" - What exactly is threatening art?

We have not signed a listing agreement quite yet as it is still early, but this gives us a chance to "shop around" for realtors until we find someone we click with. We have met with two so far, and they have both gone well and both have their pros and cons. Maybe I should start a speed dating session for realtors and homebuyers/sellers? Any takers?