1. Hello World! - A "First Home" Blog

Hello World!

So Megan (My fiancee) and I decided to buy a house before we got married. Prices seemed to be on the rise, and we targeted Hamilton, Ontario as our market - Its where her family lives (my family lives up past Peterborough  which was out of the question for both of us) and the land values have not skyrocketed yet like the rest of the GTA.

The biggest frustration, is I couldn't find a website made by someone who wasn't PAID or directly involved by the real estate industry to:

• Guide my way through the process 
• What I should be looking for
• What to expect
• What costs I'll find along the way
• What I should avoid

Almost ALL material is geared toward you buying a house quickly instead of properly.

I was in no rush, and as a first time home buyer, you will be in no rush either. The market is your oyster, and you have tremendous perks/power when it comes to buying your first home. It's the ONLY time you get this "newb" bonus card from the government, and you need to abuse it as much as you can, in your favor.

The pressure seems to come from the real estate brokers. (Pro Tip: there is more than one you have to deal with... More on this in a later post.)

The mission of this blog (if anyone reads it!) is to first, outline how I bought my house, my successes, frustrations, the overall process, hidden costs. (there were many!) I will also be doing reviews of the positive vendors I used along the way.  Once the "buying" has been covered, I'll be switching over to the trials and tribulations of owning your first home, and the butt-load of unexpected items that seem to crop up.

Just some notes:

1. I am, by NO MEANS, an expert at anything I shall be talking about.
2. I consider myself Savvy, well researched, and fairly "handy".
3. I tend to lean towards the DIY route.
4. I will be writing reviews about the positive experiences with vendors and where to contact them. The negative ones - Just the review, I will not identify them.
5. I will not respond to internet Trolls. I have reasons why I made the choices I made, Some of them aren't right for everyone, but so far, have been great for me. 

About the "author"

• My Name is Alex "Sudz" (my actual last name is pretty much unpronounceable).
• We moved into our house in Hamilton, Ontario Canada, at the end of July, 2012.
• My fiancee and I have been living together since Februray 2011, when we started Renting an apartment together in Burlington, in a really nice area, for too much money ($1500-$1600 a month).
• I am an I.T. Guy by Trade. The most handiwork I do is mounting server equipment and shelves. 
• I've helped my dad build decks and docks in the past, but that's mostly just a bunch of hammering nails.
• Growing up, my dad was always giving "lessons" on how to fix cars, build motorcycles, and repair various things around the house. I'd "help" by keeping him company and watching, and occasionally holding the shop light when we were crawling around under cars or the house, etc.
• I do have a bit of a knack for figuring out how things tick, just by looking at them and/or Breaking them and putting them back together. (my parents LOVED me when I disassembled all my toys... and their appliances...) 

So Now that the introduction is done, my first real post will be how we decided we wanted to buy a house, and prioritizing our "wish list". A huge step!

Alex Sudz