How I'm spending the money!

Back again this morning for an update on how I'm intending to spend these condo profits!

Amounts with a strikethrough are payments that I've already made.

Starting Balance	$36,817
Remainder of Condo Deposit*	$6,995
Remainder of Condo Down payment	$9,645
Estimated Purchasing Legal Fees	$1,300
Estimated Purchasing Disbursements	$1,100
Estimated Land Transfer Tax	$1,639
Estimated HST (On CMHC Fees)	$461
Estimated Utilities Setup Fees	$250
Legal Fees – Title Search Fee	$250
Condo Upgrade**	$678
Emergency Fund	$2,500
Travel Fund	$500
Kenya Trip – Vaccinations	$278
Furniture/Home Decor	$3,000
Vehicle	$6,200
Vehicle Registration/Taxes	$955
Winter Tires	$350
Vehicle Tune-Up	$150
Bank Fees/Certified Cheque Fees	$20
Just-in-case	$546

* I’ve already paid a $2,500 deposit to the builder – it is a new condo and a tiered payment structure has been established.

** I opted to upgrade only one item separately (although about 8 others I’d have loved to....top of my list was travertine tiles instead of the standard porcelaine, but I wasn't willing to spend the $750 on top of the upgrade I selected) – I selected to have the microwave mounted above the stove instead of having it sit on the counter.

Have you ever purchased a new home and got sucked in by the upgrades available??



Too many changes to count!

Well, after a 6+ month absence from the blog, I'm back!

A lot of changes happened in the since April, when I last posted....I've sold my condo, moved to Ottawa, started a new job, bought a car, and bought a new construction condo which closes in January. 

Over the next few posts I'll detail what that means for each of these changes.  Let's start with selling my condo.  Last time I posted in April I was contemplating selling my condo.  In July I took the plunge.  I knew that I wasn't entirely happy with my job and that I wanted to look for a permanent position, instead of going for another contract, which could potentially see me living in a new city. 

I sold through Comfree, which I mentioned in the previous post. I settled on the Classic Package for $199+tax with the option to have a realtor post my property on MLS (1 photo and a link to my Comfree listing) for another $199+tax. Here's a link to my listing...http://comfree.com/274343

After 4 open houses, two weekends back-to-back and another 2 private showings, I accepted a full price offer, minus a $5,000 flat fee commission to the buyer's realtor.  I diligently returned phone calls, emails, and updated my property on all of the free sales sites (Kijiji, Craigslist) each day -- selling privately is hard work, but I loved it.  I printed out feature sheets, and provided potential buyers with as much informaiton as I could.  I ended up with 2 offers which would have netted me $195,000 and took the one whose buyer I felt would appreciate the condo as much as I did.  By not using a realtor to sell, I saved myself approximately $5,000.

So, financially how did I fare in the sale?

Condo sales price + Furniture Sale	$200,840
Mortgage + fees	$157,843
Buyer’s Realtor	$5,000
Cost to advertise property	$450
Legal Fees + Disbursements	$659
Registration Fee	$71
Total	$36,817

If you recall, I initially put down $17,500, plus closing/legal fees.  Minimal renovations were done by my Dad, the largest cost being the new floors (a gift from Mom), so all in all, I walked away with a very good profit after only 10 months of ownership -- the condo closed only last week. 

So, where is this sizeable chunk of money going?? I've broken it down into a list, which I'll share next post.