After I sent my most recent information video, this arrived in my inbox.
Hi Duncan — I was just watching your 4th video — you come across as very knowledgeable and comforting in these crazy times — and I could really identify with this whole crazy consumer confidence thing, from a very personal level.
As ridiculous as I know this is, all three of our kids, as well as my husband and I, have bought or sold properties in the last four weeks in the midst of a global pandemic. After an unexpected job transfer to Vancouver a year ago, our eldest daughter and her husband realized they’d found their new home and sold the lovely house in Hamilton they’ve been renting out for the last year. Our son sold his condo in Toronto, which closed last week. He and his girlfriend continue their search for a house in the Beach. Our youngest daughter and her partner just bought a lovely townhouse in BC that closes Sept. 2. As if that isn’t crazy enough in these crazy times, last week my husband and I bought a two bedroom condo in a truly lovely townhouse complex in a West-coast skiing village. It closes Nov. 30, to give the owners and their two young kids time to pack up their lives and move to Australia.
While most people would consider it complete insanity to take on a mortgage again at this stage of life (63), we’re beside ourselves with excitement at the chance to keep skiing — and be close to our two daughters and eventual grand kids — for as long as we can.
The place we bought has to be one of the best examples I’ve seen so far of a realtor who did such a disservice to their clients, with photos that were shockingly bad and did not do the property justice at all. Thankfully my husband and I had gone to an open house in the complex back in March, the day before open houses were shut down due to COVID. So we’ve spent the last four months researching all the unit layouts, getting a sense of pricing etc. Plus, our daughter and her partner have kindly taken us on Face Time tours through two other units that hit the market recently.
So we were ready, and could see beyond the really bad photos, when this unit hit the market last week. Nothing moves quickly in this town — it can often take four or five days to get a viewing booked — but our daughter and her partner pressed to get in the next day to do a FaceTime tour and we put in an offer right away, conditional for two weeks.
So two days before the conditions expire, my husband and I will land in Vancouver and drive to see the place we’ve bought for the first time!! It all feels especially insane — but so right — given such uncertain times. But the knees won’t hold up forever! We’re not giving up on Toronto — although downtown living is not what it was right now — and aren’t ready to sell our place quite yet. But we’ll see how things go down the road.