We’re Moving!

We have neither our Building Permit nor secured financing, but we are moving February 1!

Because we are raising our existing house and renovating most of the interior, we have to vacate during construction. Plan A was to move to the end of our block and rent our neighbours’ newly created garden suite for a 10-12 month experiment in tiny house living. We were actually very excited about this idea, as well as the fact that we would be a short walk away from our house during construction. But given that our neighbours are also rebuilding their entire house, they’ve encountered enough of their own roadblocks and schedule extensions that our timing no longer aligns.

Plan B, which is really a bit of a miracle given the 0.7% rental vacancy rate in Victoria right now, is to move back into the house we rented when we first returned to Victoria almost 4 years ago. It’s currently empty because it’s part of a whole-block redevelopment proposal inching its way through the public process. It’s a great little house that will fit all our things and it’s literally around the corner from my mom. We also got a discounted rate on rent in exchange for the risk inherent in only being guaranteed tenancy through May 31. I am pretty certain we’ll be able to stay beyond May, but it is possible that we’ll have to move again before moving back into our completed home. Better to not think too much about the prospect of moving 3 times in one year, though. Willful denial can be a very useful strategy to keep us progressing from one step to the next!

Our Building Permit application is ready to be submitted, save for structural drawings that are now being drafted (our structural engineer was sadly delayed due to a personal emergency). I’ve been down to the city a couple of times to check that we’ve included what they want to see, with the intent that once the application is submitted, it will quickly pass through the various departmental reviews. And since we’ve already been through rezoning, I am confident that the Building Permit is a formality. It will happen, it’s the when that could throw things off. The city aims to respond within 4 weeks to a building permit application, but if there is any back and forth over the details, this could stretch out. There is some prep work we can do on the existing house and site in the meantime, though, so I remain optimistic on that front.

The financing is the last big piece of the puzzle that still has me nervous, as it’s really the last point at which someone outside the project can say No and delay it until we find someone else who says Yes. It’s only coming together now because, in order to get financing, the credit union needed an appraisal of the existing house and proposed project. To do the appraisal, they needed a construction budget. For Russ to give us a reasonably accurate construction budget, we needed close to complete drawings. We have all of those things now, and the appraiser has what she needs. All we can do for the moment is pack up our house and have faith that the stars will align!