A Home to Retire to!

Kelly’s dream has always been to retire at 55. We never really thought it could happen, but we used to talk about it a lot.  We’d talk about where we would live, what we would do. It was a fun subject to fantasize over. Then one day a couple of months ago we stopped dreaming and decided to take action. We needed information, so we started by investigating house prices in some of the areas we were interested in living, getting a real estate appraisal on our house and cabin, and making an appointment with our financial advisor. 

I started window shopping for homes in Penticton, Kelowna,  Vernon and Salmon Arm. We were shocked at the low prices in the Okanagan and Shuswap compared to Whitehorse. It suddenly seemed like it might be possible! Next stop was the financial information.  Things were definitely looking up! It looked tight, but we might be able to make it. Next was the meeting with the real estate appraiser. Again, happy news.  Our house shows well, especially with all the renovations we have done over the last couple of years, and  it shouldn’t be difficult to sell.

Next step: visit the area. We did that last month. We were in touch with a real estate agent, and picked out 3 homes to look at in Salmon Arm and 3 in Vernon.  We wanted to see what the places in our price range looked like. We weren’t determined to buy anything – it was more of a research trip. However, the moment I walked into the very first house on Sunnybrae Canoe Point Road (what a magical address!) I knew that this was The One. We looked at the others, too, but this home was definitely IT. Our retirement home!

Of course, I’m sure you can guess what happened next, right? Right! We spent the rest of the trip negotiating a sale, which will close in November. A property manager will look after leasing it until we move down.

And look at the view! 5 minutes walk down the street to the lake and there you are!

If everything continues to go our way, we’ll be taking early retirement and moving at the end of 2013. Kelly will see his dream of freedom 55 come true.  Cross your fingers that serendipity continues to smile on us!

I know this is supposed to be WIP Wednesday, but I consider this to definately be a creative work in progress, don’t you? LOL! Hop on over to Freshly Pieced to see what everyone else is up to this week. Thanks for visiting!