House: The Continuing Stooooory of a Real Estate Deal Gone Raw I’m trying to sell my apartment so I can buy a house. But my house hasn’t sold and there is much ongoing drama. My friend C. has suggested it would make a good reality show. →[More:]The house deal closes next week, and the house seller has refused to do an extension although she originally offered one back in September. So, first it looked like I was going to lose the house and my deposit, then with some help from my parents I managed to figure out a way to swing the financing, though it would be quite expensive and a huge hassle. So it really does look like it’s going to be okay, but it’s all been quite the ride.

The deal’s off! The deal’s on! The realtors are confused! The buyer has a panic attack! The seller has a fit! The buyer’s friend C. sends her chocolates from JS Bonbons to help her feel better, and the courier can’t figure out how to get into the apartment building! The buyer makes a dramatic call to her parents from her mortgage specialist’s office. Can they help? They can and will, but the buyer’s mother gets the giggles because the mortgage specialist’s name is “Deena Canteena”! (Not her real name, but the real one is along those lines.) The realtors suggest yet another price reduction on the buyer’s apartment! The buyer snarls at them! The realtor’s printer breaks down and they have a hard time getting her new feature sheets! There was a showing last night! Will the people make an offer? The buyer is frantically painting over the turquoise walls in her apartment! The buyer rants to her karate instructor about the whole mess while working on her throat punch!

And I’m sure much more will happen before the dust settles….

But I do believe the house is worth it. It’s in the Junction, near Dundas West station, and only a mile from High Park. It’s three bedrooms, with an attic workroom, a rooftop terrace, a basement apartment I can rent out, an enclosed backyard, a big front verandah, front rose garden, nine-foot ceilings, and original trim and moldings that probably date from 1912 when the house was built. There’s a fake fireplace that I normally wouldn’t want, but it has a mahogany mantelpiece and set-in mirror and everyone is agreed that it’s too nice to rip out, and since I’ll need another heating source anyway I’m just going to work with it. It’s run down cosmetically but is in excellent shape structurally and has the potential to look very lovely and be the perfect house for me. The Junction has been on an economic upswing since they got rid of Prohibition in 2000 (!), so it will probably become a very nice neighbourhood within five years or so. Oh, and there’s a pub nearby called The Swan & Firkin. In short, nobody is getting me out of there once I move in.