One thing about buying a fixer-upper is that you can make it your own and make it better than you found it. There’s still a lot more to do here. Weeds are popping up in driveway cracks and most of the basement still looks like an episode of Hoarders: the Tool Edition. But we’re getting to it all in due time.Â
However the allure of moving is always in the back of our minds. Our street is quite busy and that’s really my only complaint. It’s actually not quite as clogged as it used to be but sometimes pulling out of or backing into the driveway can take a few minutes and test our patience. We don’t hear traffic in the house and it’s really nice to not have neighbours on two sides. Our very deep lot backs onto a school yard and the non-business sides of some townhouses. The plaza next door has its back to us, again, quiet. Â Hugh and Mrs. Hugh next door are quiet and full of great advice about the lawn and garden. We’re very lucky.
A couple of weeks ago we noticed a unique home had gone on the market again. It was up for sale last fall at a much higher price and it’s almost impossible to value because there’s nothing else like it. It’s a former cottage built in the early 1800s and fully, beautifully restored and kept up, including an addition that’s exactly appropriate to the original building. It’s on a little side road off a main thoroughfare with four other houses and it’s right beside the river.
Along with our agent and longtime friend Murray Armstrong we took a tour. Derek was entranced by the pine beams and beautiful wide-plank floors. Everything was done with great care and all of the important stuff such and plumbing and electrical, had been upgraded. It has a huge, bright workshop and a gorgeous view. It’s a heritage property meaning it can’t ever be torn down. It’s a stunning home done in southwest style and without cutting any corners. The kitchen is huge and I could go on and on.
But even though I could appreciate its charms I knew from the minute we got out of the truck that I would exercise my veto. Why? The traffic noise was unbearable. The road has an 80 km/hr speed limit and trucks zip along it en route to Komoka or Delaware. Even on the beautiful, big back deck it was overwhelmingly loud – and my hearing isn’t up to snuff so you can imagine what it must really sound like.
The place is rich in history and truly one of a kind but it’s just not selling despite its obvious qualities. And for me, seeing it gave me a gift: it’s not so bad on this street of ours after all. Sure, the owners of that special property may technically be in a rural setting but they’re tolerating more of an unappealing atmosphere than we ever will. It’s like they say: location, location, location. We haven’t fully committed to ending our casual home search but it’s looking more likely now that we will stay here in the hive, where the Bs live.