When it rains...

We thought we had everything under control, until last weekend. That's when our landlords came downstairs and told us that we had to be out by March 1, 2009 because they had decided to sell the house. Now our landlords are friends of the family. So we had assumed that if something like this was going to happen that they would have given us some sort of notice first rather than, 'oh by the way, you're out'.

I immediately started to stress because not only are we not made of money, but we have a little pile of debt in the bank (although from what I'm learning, a hell of a lot less than most people), money in savings that was originally earmarked for the over $3000 of dental work that I need to have done in the New Year, and a plan in place that foolishly included staying where we were for another year. Now everything was shot to shit. I was not a happy camper.

So after dissolving into tears on the couch and talking to my mom and sister I calmed down enough to talk to Andre about what we were going to do. We decided that we would just look for another apartment, and my dental work was just going to have to wait. So the next day I told my friends at work what had happened that weekend. One of my friends reminded me about a program in our city that helps moderate income families buy their first home. Another one suggested that with the falling prices of homes, now might not be a bad time to purchase if we could find a way.

So that night I went home and with the help of google and MLS.ca I figured out that with our bills and a mortgage, the cost was very close to what we were already paying out. So we started on the roller coaster of visiting with a mortgage broker and applying for the Municipal program to have the 5% down payment given to us. Now we're just waiting to find out from the broker what our pre-approval will be for a mortgage. That will be the ultimate factor for deciding if we can purchase. If we're not approved for enough, then we will rent and try and save, but if we are approved for enough, our dream of possibly owning our own home will be a reality.

Fingers crossed everyone. We need all the help we can get.