The First Time Home Buyer Series: Part 1

If you are thinking about buying your first home… this is the blog for you!

Let me start by introducing myself. I am Alyssa and I live with my parents, my 3 siblings and two cats. Life is crazy and I never seem to have a minute for myself! I graduated from college almost 4 years ago and like most college grads found myself living back with my parents. After experiencing what it’s like to be on my own, I have known for a long time that I had no long terms plans for continuing to live with my parents. However, as the money cautious person that I am, renting seemed to be the worst idea in the world. I just couldn’t imagine giving my hard earned money away to a landlord when I could be saving it to get myself further ahead. This is where I landed on the idea of buying a house!

I have been saving for probably about three years and said that I wouldn’t start looking until I had reached my set goal. I had almost reached that goal this past fall and decided it was time to start looking to see what I could afford and start thinking about what I wanted in my first home.

As a single girl looking to buy her first home, I knew I wouldn’t be very handy. I knew I didn’t want to be spending every waking hour working on my house, not to mention I wanted to know that I had a few dollars to eat or maybe go out once and awhile. The more I thought about it, an older home just wasn’t really going to work for me. Here are the conclusions I came to:

·      I didn’t want to be changing my roof in two years

·      I didn’t want to update my windows in three years

·      I didn’t want to run the risk of bad electrical

·      I didn’t want to have questionable plumbing

·      I didn’t want to be living with someone else’s version of a DIY home renovation

·      I DEFINITELY didn’t want to be living a life of constant renovations

So after really thinking about want I really didn’t want in my first home, I landed on the idea of a new townhome. I don’t have a lot of money to play with but I was willing to push my budget by a very minimal amount to get what I wanted.

This is where I must reveal that I have the advantage of knowing more about new homes than most; I have been working for Parkview Homes for the past two years. I know A LOT about new homes, I know many plans inside and out, the advantages and disadvantages of buying new and I have the knowledge of the new home industry that a regular first time homebuyer wouldn’t normally be exposed to.

Even though I know a lot about new homes I still did a lot of research and thinking to make sure that it was the best choice for me. Here are some of the conclusions I came to as to why I was leaning towards a new townhome:

·      Personalized floorplan – I will explain more about this in a later blog.

·      Long closing date – I wanted extra time to save!

·      Little to no updating

·      Great community/location – I get to be in the West End of Peterborough without paying West End prices or being in an older home

·      I get to choose my own interior selections – I don’t have to live with anyone else’s taste, until I have the money to change them

·      Everything was new! – new electrical, new plumbing, new flooring, new windows, new roof, new appliances, new kitchen, new toilets NEW EVERYTHING!

·      Fantastic resale value

After comparing my list of what I didn’t want in an older home to what I could get in a new townhome it was a no brainer for me, I had to go with the new home. It is what made the most sense for me.

So on November 17, 2013, after many, many, many loooong nights of estimating all my possible costs, budgeting every cent I have and many conversations and discussions with family and friends about what they thought of my plan, I signed an agreement to purchase my new townhome in Jackson Creek Meadows!

My house won’t be ready until Fall of 2014, but that is exactly how I wanted it. It gives me plenty of extra time to save, stock up on all the necessities and really get excited!

My plan is to make this blog a series so that you can follow along the new home buying process with me! In my next blogs I will talk about the fun process of personalizing my floorplan, my Design Studio Selection Process and anything else exciting that happens!

Talk to you soon,

Alyssa

Here are a few resources if you are thinking about buying your first home or a new home:

Jackson Creek Meadows – Townhomes

Jackson Creek Meadows – Community

Why has everything gone grey?

As I look out my window on this stormy winter’s day, I ask the question “why has everything gone grey”? And I don’t just mean the skies! What I am most curious about is what’s happening in the home décor world.

As you may already be aware the trend in decorating has shifted from what once was clearly beige/brown to grey. I personally really like the use of this colour in interiors, but I know that it is quite a controversial colour as some people find it quite depressing. Some refer to grey as the “drabbest colour in the pallette”. Grey is often associated with industrial environments which are typically utilitarian and functional.

 If we look at grey, we see a colour that is neither black nor white. Given it is virtually absent of colour, it draws no attention to itself, neither good nor bad, in my opinion. The flip side to this coin is that some colour enthusiasts believe it is the new beige and feels as neutral and pleasing to the eye as can be.

In recent months we have seen a significant shift in the use of the colour grey; not just in paint, cabinets, and accessories but also in clothing, and even car manufacturers have caught on to this hot trend! I recently purchased a new vehicle in what I would call a mid grey tone (they call it graphite) which is not too light (silver) and not too dark (charcoal) but in my opinion just right. Up until a few years ago I could never see myself liking a grey car, but have to admit I have fully embraced the “grey” world!

There could be a number of reasons why grey is the new colour of choice by many. It could be seen as a trendy/fashionable statement by those who follow design shows and read up on the latest magazines. This gives a sense of belonging, inclusion, even acceptance.

Your New Home… Personalized Just For You!

In our careers there are always aspects of our jobs that we find interesting and fulfilling. One of the aspects that I enjoy is helping my customers find practical solutions to personalizing their floor plan, to meet their lifestyle requirements or special needs. Often my clients will be looking at a floor plan on our website and contact me and wondering if they can make changes. The answer is that at Parkview Homes, we love to work with our purchasers to make the changes they desire to personalize their home to suit their lifestyle and needs.

I enjoy listening to my client's suggestions and I love to offer my own suggestions. Often I will make practical and low cost suggestions that my clients have not even considered. I find making suggestions that will enhance my clients home in terms of “their wishes” very satisfying.
 
For example:

“How about we increase the width of your front door? This will make it easier for delivery of large appliances or furniture.”

“Why don’t we upgrade your regular ensuite door in your master bathroom, to a pocket door that way the door will not be hiding your new elegant glass shower door?”

Normally when I’m working with a client, I review and examine the floor plan after I understand my client's lifestyle needs and budget and offer helpful suggestions. Reviewing and/or changing floor plans is something I thoroughly enjoy doing. I often receive feedback from my customers on how helpful the process was and they really were appreciative of my suggestions.
 
I have re-designed master ensuite bathrooms, created dream kitchen suggestions, helped re-design lower levels and I even had the pleasure of designing a wheelchair accessible home.

I also receive feedback from my customers that many of the other builders would not spend as much time with them and I often hear that other local builders were not interested in making floor plan changes.

Looking for a new home? Let’s Chat!  I’m available 5 days a week, where we can sit down in a nice relaxed environment, share design thoughts & ideas and together design a home which is “PERSONALIZED JUST FOR YOU.”
 
For more information, contact Rick Phillips – Director of sales and Marketing – Parkview Homes
rphillips@parkviewhomes.ca   705-741-1004 (office)