Tax Refunds

It took some time, but I finally got our tax returns prepped and submitted.  This year was a bit more complicated than others because we were able to make a claim for moving expenses.

The tricky part though, is that Jordan moved for work in 2015, but the house didn't sell until 2016 - so we have to split the expenses across two tax years.  I'm using TurboTax again this year, but needed to spend some time on the phone with the CRA before I felt comfortable going forward.

I have a sizeable spreadsheet and a pile of receipts that document things as much as possible.  Fingers crossed I did it correctly as I've read that moving expenses often prompt CRA to ask for more information or even to audit.

We're looking at a refund of around $4,000!  Woohoo!

Do you have a refund coming your way?  Have you already received it?

Sale Proceeds

Guess what guys!  The proceeds of sale of the house have been deposited into our account!!

YAY!

Expect a breakdown of what we're doing with the funds soon.

Moving Costs!

Jordan and I finally finished moving everything into storage last week.  Instead of renting a moving truck from u-haul, which I estimated would have cost us around $1,500 including gas, three days rental and kilometres - we made the drive to Alberta back to BC 5 times!  We used my mom's 10 foot utility trailer and her pickup truck and then unloaded into the storage container we bought a couple of months ago.

We spent about $300 more on gas than normal, and spent a few hundred dollars on eating out because of all of the trips - but I estimate we saved at least $1,000 by doing it this way.  We were also able to maximize our trips by visiting my great aunt while we were there, and doing some Costco shopping and stocking up on things like TP, paper towel and other Costco type things.

All-in-all, I'm pretty pleased how it worked out.  It certainly wasn't easy trying to get it all done with Little Man in tow, but a couple of friends and my mom helped out in a variety of ways.

Moving

So begins the process of packing up our old house without a new house to put everything in.  

A while back I mentioned that Jordan and I were preparing for this by purchasing a 20 foot long container.  Fingers crossed that it winds up being large enough to hold everything - but if not, there is some space in my grandmother's home that could work in a pinch.

We'll be going into Alberta every weekend in February until the house is packed up and moved.  The first weekend we'll be just finishing getting everything from the basement up and into the garage and everything from upstairs down to the main floor.  Stairs suck when you're moving so if we can do this before even renting the moving truck, we'll be a lot better off.  Fingers crossed that the work I do with physio will help me be productive when we're moving...that and having Little Man with us will be interesting to see how much we can get done.

It's Official

No, baby's not here yet, it's official that we have listed our house in Alberta for sale.  We were holding on to it for a while because it looked like one or two of my cousins might be interested in renting it for a while - but that fell through.

After many conversations amongst ourselves, and our Real Estate Agent we thought listing now made more sense then taking the risk of unknown tenants for a year and unknown market conditions a year from now.

Selling our first home while staying with my mom will give us the opportunity to pay off a little bit of debt and keep the rest liquid while we continue to save. The intent is that when we're ready to buy again, we'll have that ever elusive 20% down.

That does mean however, that we have a full house full of stuff that we need to deal with when it does sell (and a few small trailer loads of stuff we have to deal with now).  So, we've decided to buy a storage container.  It's 20 feet long and 8 feet wide and will be big enough to keep all of our furniture and belongings safe that we don't have in my mom's house.

The container was $2,200 and delivery is another $800.  So the delivery cost is sunk, but the container itself is an asset as it can be rented or sold afterward.  We thought this made the most sense rather then renting storage space (which is at a premium in the small town we're in right now) and would all be sunk.

Wish us luck in finding a buyer!

New House - Not Yet

So unfortunately, Jordan and I had to let the house go that we had put an offer on.  The list was for $250,000 which was our offer but to get the house where it needed to be would have been about $90,000 in renovations (with a LOT of sweat equity).  After doing an appraisal, we found out that it would only add about $20,000 worth of market value.

 

We didn't think it would be 100% of the reno, but it needed to be at least 50% to make it worthwhile.

So...we move on.

Jordan has two houses lined up for us to look at on Sunday.

It's March?

When did that happen?

It's been a crazy couple of months.  A lot is on the horizon for Jordan and I, and I'm so excited to share it with you.

I have, for...well, for forever, have wanted to move back home.  At the same time, I also thought that it would be impossible, that there is no work for me there, and so it was sort of wishful thinking.  I certainly didn't think that Jordan and I would ever find employment there at the same time.

All of that said, Jordan and I have been thinking about my home town a lot lately.  We would live in the same town as my family, and be that much closer to his grandmother and his aunts/cousins.  So we started to talk about how maybe we could make a five year plan, and actually make it happen instead of just wish it to happen.

Well, long story short, over the Christmas holidays a position was advertised that was exactly suited to Jordan's skills.  He applied on a whim, and interviewed shortly after.  He was offered, and accepted the job.

Guess what?

That means that Jordan lives in my home town now....and I, still live in Alberta!

Hilarious.

Right now, the plan is for Jordan to try it out.  Make sure that he likes small town living.  At the same time, I've been chatting to my employer about telecommuting options, and starting to network just in case. At the same time, I'm also starting to get ready to sell the house.  It's like non-stop spring cleaning.

We're thinking that by the fall, I'll be home....just in time for the holidays.

Negotiations with the Landlord - The Continuation

Yesterday I wrote about finding a new roommate, this will seriously alleviate some of the financial stresses we thought we were about to encounter.  That said, we are still in the middle of a lease/rent negotiation with our landlord.  Further to yesterday's post, this is another reason not to re-do my budget just yet.  We may be faced with a rental decrease, she may try to increase it, any number of different scenarios could play out.

The lease was up on September 1, 2009.  As landlord had to leave the country for a few weeks we agreed to pay the same rate $1,500 for the month of October.  Many e-mails later (check out the 'moving' and 'roommate' categories for more info), she told us we would figure everything out when she got back to Canada on October 12th.

It's October 20th today.

Jordan (and my mom) think we should wait for landlord to come to us.  We need to not look desperate. My fear is what happens if she doesn't get back to us and November 1st comes and we still have no agreement in place.  I'll keep everyone appraised of how this situation develops - hopefully it works out and everything is happy :D

Negotiations with the Landlord Continue...

I just got off of the phone with the landlord's husband, and we agreed that I would drop off a cheque for October's rent of $1,500 sometime after work today.  Apparently they live about five minutes away from where we are.  I told him this would be find and a 'good faith' gesture as we don't have a signed lease.  He agreed that we would 'pretend' that October was a month-to-month scenario until we have the opportunity to sit down and chat next month.

Jordan and I are going to go check out a 'back up' place this weekend, just in case things don't work out - but I am getting the feeling that they will.

Negotiations with the Landlord - Part Two

All I have been thinking about over the last couple of days is this lease negotiation business....I called my mom this morning to work out the first e-mail that I was going to send to her today... I wanted to make sure it had the correct tone.  Here are the e-mails that I exchanged with Landlord this morning:

Good Morning,

I am hoping that you might have had time to review the e-mail correspondence sent a couple of days ago and that you have a response.  It would be in both of our best interests to settle into a new lease agreement.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns that would help expedite this process.  I would be more then happy to provide you with a copy of my tenants insurance if that would ease any latent concerns you have over the fish tanks.

If you haven't had the opportunity to review the e-mail  I sent a couple of days ago, would you kindly let us know when you might have a response?

Thank you, and have a wonderful weekend.

Jessie

So she says... a few seconds later:

I am sorry Jessie but I need more time to review this.  I am leaving the country early tomorrow and will not be able to address your concerns until my return the week of October 12^th. 

 So I say....

Hi landlord's name,

Thank you for this e-mail.  I don't think you have a cheque for October 1st, 2009.  What is the best way to arrange this before you leave.

Thank you,

Jessie

so she says:

We can make those arrangements when I get back.

Thanks Jessie. 

and I'm thinking, I suppose she never has been one to say a lot of words...... and I reply:

Thank you for that, I look forward to chatting when you return.  Have a great trip! 

There you have it!  So, I guess we don't really need to worry too much for a couple of weeks yet.  My mom thinks that she is probably going to give concessions on the fish, and on rent - otherwise she would have just sent an e-mail that said the rent is going up, deal with it - or some such thing.

Landlord's husband just sent me an e-mail heh heh... and HE wants a cheque before they leave.  Interesting.  But we have no lease agreement.  I think the fair and good thing to do would be to try to meet with him after work with a cheque for the standard $1,500.  I think this, in good faith of their efforts, would be reasonable.

I'm going to wait until lunch to see if they send any other e-mails before replying to this one.

I feel pretty good about the direction of this.

Negotiations with the Landlord

Yesterday I told you when we wrote in our e-mail to the Landlord.  This was her reply"

Thank you for your email.  No problem on the notice.  I had just passed the email to my husband last night and we can simply toss it.

I am sorry but I will not change my view on the pet situation.  All of my units have a “no animal rule” which also now extends to pet fish.  If we discuss a pet further, it will not result in a rental decrease but rather an increase due to wear and tear.

I will consider a rental change.  Will it only be two of you in the unit?  That will impact my decision because the more people living in the unit, the more wear and tear the unit takes.  Please confirm that for me.

Are you freaking kidding me?!  She has seen our three fish tanks at least twice (and the first tank at least 4 or 5 times) and has never said anything.  I've lived in that place for three years and it's never been a problem. Grr.... so, this is what we wrote back:

As you are aware of the fish tanks that we already have in this unit, I don't think it is reasonable for you to include them as part of the new lease agreement at this time. If you were to enforce this, it will un-necessarily force us to find other living arrangements. We would prefer to keep the good rapport that we, as tenants, and you, as our landlord, have had over the last three years.

 There will just be Jordan, myself and Roommate Name in the unit.  We are no longer interested in a house full of roommates. 

We'll just have to wait and see what she says back...

Moving...or not?

So Jordan and I have been doing a tonnne of talking about the whole moving thing, and now we're thinking that we might as well just stay where we are...We figure we'll be going from three roommates to one roommate and that might make a big enough difference.  Our rent will go up to $500/month each and of course utilities will go up some as well, but it's probably only going to be $100-$200/month more then if we found somewhere else.  Plus, this has been my home for three years and I have sooo much stuff (that I want to keep)....

All that said, we're not giving up on what we want... I wrote this e-mail to my landlord tonight:

Good Evening LandLords Name,


Jordan and I have spent the last few days seriously thinking about the implications of moving, and we would like to recind our notice. Given that this is prior to October 1, 2009 I am confident this shouldn't be a problem.

Roommate One and Roommate two will still be leaving on November 1, 2009 and as such Roommate One should be removed as a tenent listed on the lease.

When we negotiate the new terms of the lease, I would like to have Jordan Last Name (my boyfriend) as the secondary lease holder. He has been employeed full time with Company X for the last 12 months, and can provide proof of this if you would like it.

I am wondering if you would consider two points.

One, with the market such that it is - being flooded with new properties - would you be willing to consider a rent decrease? I think that $1,300/month would be reasonable given our history and the market. The second thing I hope you will consider is the 'no pets' rule. One of the biggest reasons Jordan and I were contemplating moving was that we have been in desperate need for a dog as a companion. Given that I have been a consistant tenant for the last three years, I was hoping you would re-consider this point.

Thank you, we hope you have a wonderful evening.
Jessie & Jordan

We figure, what's the worst she can do - say no?  At lease we will have tried... and if it doesn't work out, then we'll consider moving in six months or so, but we would like to give this a good effort...I'm already thinking how nice it will be to turn the spare room into an office/proper spare room :D

Do you know what's hard?

Looking for a new place to live while maintaining sanity is hard.

I fear much of my blog posts will relate to this in some way or another for the next while..

oh also, I accidently put an extra $75 into my RRSP this pay period, which means I have about $75 for the next two weeks...and my grocery budget was $100.  I am anticipating a giant fail.

Do you ever just get tired of thinking about money all the time?

I'm Moving

My household has been in a bit of a tumultuous state and there's going to be some major changes.  My brother and his girlfriend have found a place and our moving out on November 1st.  Jordan and I are going to try to be out by November 1st or December 1st - depending on how things shake down.

Unfortunately for our new roommate she may h ave to move as well.  I'm waiting to hear back from our landlord, however if she want's to she could keep the place, sign a new lease and find new roommates.

It will be hard because I've made this place my home for the last three years; however, I am just so tired of living like a student.  I've had roommates in one form or another since I moved out of my parents place 6 or 7 years ago - it's time for Jordan and I to be on our own.

It's pretty exciting and I'm a little nervous too with all of the changes.  Nobody likes moving, so it will likely be a little stressful - especially if we all try to move at the same time (hence why we might wait until December).

Once we find a place I'll do up new budgets and post them.  In the meantime Jordan and I have put a hold on our house fund b/c our rent will most certainly be going to go up some.  We are going to try to sell a lot of our stuff, so hopefully the move will go easier... (again why it might make more scents to wait until December).

Jordan's getting his review this week (it should actually be today) and I'm going to talk to my boss as well this week because I've been with my company for one year now (officially Oct 6)...so that will also help us make some decisions once we know if our finances are going to change at all.