The knock on the door came the night I was off at a friend’s civil ceremony, standing up as her ‘best man’. My partner, Toshi, was home alone. It was David, our landlord’s son, letting us know that his parents had finally decided to put the condo we’d been renting for the last couple of years up for sale. When I got home from the wedding and saw David’s business card on the table – he’s a real estate agent – I knew before Toshi even opened is mouth what was in store.

Long story short, we took the plunge and bought the condo straight from the owners – no muss, no fuss. A big commitment for us, even after seven years together. Thanks to some decent savings earned from my stint teaching ESL in Japan, and the support of my parents, we came up with a 30% down-payment. Suddenly, all the little things that had annoyed us as renters – the outdated kitchen, the blase wall colour, the inefficient closet – belonged to us, and the handyman in both of us came out of the closet, too!

Nearly two years have passed. The small projects have been attended to. Together, we installed near closets, refinished the window seat, put flooring on the balcony, repainted in vivid greens and oranges. We hired a contractor (Mr. Good – no joke!) to rip up the nasty wall-to-wall, and put down gorgeous laminate flooring. And because most of these projects relied heavily on discount purchases, free labour (our own), internet DIY guides, and a few panicked phone calls to my true handyman father, financial outlay was minimal. These two gay boys were pretty proud of themselves!

Financial meltdown. The housing crisis. The collapse of the Vancouver real estate market. Suddenly, we can’t be sure if our condo is even worth as much as it was when we purchased it, despite the little upgrades we’ve made. So it seems we may be living here in our little one bedroom for awhile. With sales abounding and the likelihood of now finding a contractor who isn’t fully booked for the next six months, we are finally looking at the ‘big’ renovations, the ones we haven’t quite got the expertise or butch-factor to tackle: the bathroom and the kitchen.

Yesterday, while visiting Home Depot, we stumbled upon our ideal toilet – one that, as toilets go, could be described as ‘cute’, and perfect for us: dual-flush, just the right shape and size, and a floor model (i.e. on sale).   In the pouring Vancouver rain, we got the toilet into the trunk of the car, maneuvered it into the elevator and, now, it languishes in the hall closet. My inner plumber is itching to get out!

Next post: Tackling the bathroom and kitchen consultations

Photo credit: stock.xchng.