07/11/2026
My first-time buyer just bought a house!
It was not easy. There were more frustrations, high emotions and more plot twists than anyone needed.
He originally planned to buy after university, but the COVID price surge pushed homeownership out of reach. Renting followed, and so did watching hard-earned savings disappear into someone else’s mortgage.
Fast-forward to today. Prices are more manageable, competition is generally less aggressive, and buyers finally have choices again.
We saw 12 houses.
House 1 was perfect. We thought we’d get in early and instead, we triggered multiple offers. We lost it by $31,000. S**t.
House 2 was a no. Just no.
House 3 was terrifying. Mom would not even go downstairs.
Houses 4 and 5 had potential. Then 4 sold in multiples, 5 turned into an insurance issue, 6 was over budget, 7 and 8 came with too much work, too little space, funky issues, you get it. Just nos.
Back to House 6. Put in an offer. Waited. Waited. Signed back. No problem, we sign back their back sign. Waited. Waited. Nothing! It expires. S**t.
House 9. No.
House 10. Maybe.
House 11 and 12 came with neighbours that ended the conversation quickly.
Back to 6. We submitted the same offer we did after the last round of sign backs, when things went dark. This time we heard back! ‘Bring your best and final’ we were told. Ok, back to the mortgage broker, this time to input this specific property and not just his personal details, and he was approved for more. Great, but does it make sense for him to pay more? After the financing, down payment, monthly costs, insurance, utilities, commute, neighbours, shopping, restaurants and even the dog park at the end of the street, that was a YES! So we put our best foot forward this time and it was accepted!
That was one of the best “Hey, you just bought a house!” calls I have ever made, and one I won’t forget. After weeks of back-and-forth on this property, we all assumed the sellers would take every minute available and drag the decision well into next week. But nope, they were celebrating with tacos and margaritas last night and buying a new dishwasher this weekend.
