biggish data

Well, so far so good, the sellers agreed to our price which is 13k below asking, they refused the home warranty which i figured they would, but it was worth a shot, and we should be going over to the Realtor Monday Tuesday to hand over the earnest money which David's dad is "Gifting" us.

Now all we have to do is hope the Lender okies the price since its a short sale. we have time to wait for a bit in our apartment. 3 months about. I can only hope since its just a matter of ONLY then accepting and negotiating price that it wont take longer than that, but i know it can. But so far so good eh?

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-04-02 09:06:00

They also just dropped the price a week ago, so make sure your realtor double checks for offers! A lot of people jump on a house when it's been dropped price wise.

Mar 22, 2011 Price Changed $70,000 -- MRED #076101**
Jan 20, 2011 Price Changed $85,000 -- MRED #076101**
Aug 16, 2010 Listed (New) $92,000 -- MRED #076101**

right that's why we looked at it and are making the offer, she said she spoke with the agent yesterday and was told again no offers and that no one has gone to see it recently either.

Great job on doing your research Kimbear!
Have you officially put an offer in?

we are going after work to sign the paperwork. so tonight

i know how to buy a house in Canada lol my uncle was a real estate agent, but the US system is very different especially when it comes to short sales / foreclosures. my hubby thinks I'm nuts for all the research I've been doing LOL

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-03-31 10:36:00

Is your realtor sure there have been no offers? That long on the market there's sure to have been at least one. Do they mean there's been no offers accepted? That seems more likely.

that's what i thought too. but she says no one has put an offer in, which is why the price has been reduced 3 times. i asked her to do some more research, as it sounded a tad ..well..fishy might not be the right word..but i think someone is renting it out...no one was home most of the furniture is gone BUT there was a car with a texas plate parked right in front blocking the stairs, and laundry all over the house and banister.

i did some searching of my own via the assessor site, and deed site, and it shows the lis pending action starting last august 25th. and nothing since then. and no tax info since 2008 which is weird, like i can't find a homeowner exemption or anything. there is no home owner assocation in the subdivision, so there are no amounts owing for that either.

Edited by Kimbear, 31 March 2011 - 10:32 AM.

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-03-31 10:32:00

so the people that own it bought it for 165k back in 2006. and our Realtor did a cma and said its worth 94k now the people that live in it haven't ever cleaned it in a year it looks like and there are a few minor issues with the kids room. door has a hole in it wall has a couple small holes in it. etc. same with the stairs they are in rough condition. and you can tell nothing has had any maintenance done to it like the furnace vents etc. but the furnace and water heater are newer. so is the roof windows etc. all redone since 2008.

so we are going to sign the offer tonight and its for 60k, we have some leeway above that price, but we'll see if it gets a nibble since ours is the first offer. i would think after starting the forclosure process back in August, the bank or whoever would want to get rid of it rather then incur all the extra fees time etc, but i'm a newb at this short sale stuff

That's what I was thinking! What a great property for the price. It doesn't look like it needs any significant work at all. It looks like a cute house and a great deal Kimbear!

Good things come to those who wait, right?

Ya know..that is exactly what David kept telling me during the immigration process too!!! :lol:

I really have a good feeling about this house.

Is it bad that i already looked at some paint colours? :blush:

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-03-31 10:10:00

I think we have a WINNER!!!!!

The only bad thing..its a freaking short sale..BUT we've been told it has not had ANY offers on it. And I think the mortgage company really wants to get rid of it..as the people who own it are still living in it since they defaulted in August of last year...Ya know..i did not know you could do that..just stay in the house like that..and not pay anything..

It needs alot of cleaning, looks like the people living in it..or rather showing up to do their laundry i guess haven't cleaned in 6 months. They even let the little kids draw all over the walls. Nothing a little primer and paint can't fix. and OMG the area is gorgeous! its so nice and pretty and wildlife and birds and just..wow clean air and stuff. I had a very good feeling in the house and when we walked around a few blocks checking the place out. It is quite peaceful there.

here is the link: http://www.redfin.co...3/home/21785775

So worse case if it does not close by July, is that we move back in with Davids parents for a couple months while saving up more money. It may take a while, but I'm looking forward to practically no neighbours and NO ONE NEAR MY BEDROOM OR STOMPING OVER MY FRACKING HEAD!!!!

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-03-30 19:20:00

Well the kicker with homepath is that you require the same credit score as a conventional loan 660, but you don't have to cough up the 20% down payment, and they have usually already done some work and repairs to it.

Apparently i was wrong in thinking we were approved for that..our score falls just below it. so we are still stuck looking at FHA approved condo/ townhomes or buying a single story detached or a duplex etc with no Home owner association fees. so i rethought our finances a bit..and have accepted the fact we'll have to pay a bit more for something we really like. we were preapproved for a set amount but add in utilities etc and no way would we be able to afford all that each month. No matter what the bank says. So i was playing it extremely cautious.

The 3 townhomes we saw last night, to me are not townhomes. and i'd rather 2 floors wide then 3 floors thin with a ton of stairs..and steep ones at that..sorry but i've already fallen down stairs twice and bruised my butt LOL. that was NOT fun.

So tomorrow we have a nice 1/2 duplex they call it, but to me its a townhome like what i'm used to. and it has a nice patio and a big back yard 100 long, already fenced in for the puppers. Taxes are more $$$ in that area but i'm saving myself the 200$ month HOA fees so i figure it all works out even. and its a newer home built in 1984 rather than all the pre 1978 homes i keep finding.

so depending on the viewing and the price, i really have a good feeling about this one. OH and its right next to a forest preserve...not quite the country but far enough out that just maybe I'll see stars for once instead of the planes over my head near O'hare here lol.

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-03-29 11:46:00

We are thinking of starting to look in the next few months but I do not know where to start . I do not have any credit yet, just got my first CC last week, not to mention that I am staying at home till after the baby is born (at least a year or so till I go to work) and My husband has so so credit (he had a bankruptcy 7 years ago) so It will be pretty damn hard.
My head is already hurting just thinking about it.

Kimbear I am sure your house is out there somewhere, hang in there

Well there are programs out there even if you had a bankruptcy. i know for FHA you need at least a 580 score i think. however the amount down will depend. for the 3.5% i believe lowest score is 620. But there are all kinds of options and state programs to help with down payment, closing costs etc.

I just found out we can get also the Fannie May Mortgages called Homepath as well and that our mortgane officer already pre approved us for that as well. With that bit of good news we can now look at places that are not even FHA approved. And the closing costs are lower so are the monthly payments with a Home path, as you do not need mortgage insurance or an appraisal.

Now we have 3 homes to go see tomorrow. YAY.

I believe bankruptcy's drop off your record after 7 years..so dpending on what month it happend or was first recored on his credit rating you may still be able to get something.

Edited by Kimbear, 27 March 2011 - 03:33 PM.

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-03-27 15:30:00

Apparently FHA loans work great for DETACHED homes, unfortunately i wont find one around her for less than 200k, so we are looking at townhomes or duplex's which to me look like townhomes, and half the 2story townhomes are actually condos...and yeahhhhh.. 90% of what is out here including some detached homes have an association or a coop. and you cannot buy those homes unless they get fha approved and pass the owner /occupancy ratio and a bunch of stuff.

from what i'm told fha rules this year are stricter than last year and the fha assessor has to also say its ok for the loan....

the smartmove loan is a secondary govt loan that is to help pay for closing costs..basicially they give me 10 years tax free to pay it back. up to 6k.

Edited by Kimbear, 25 March 2011 - 12:57 PM.

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-03-25 12:56:00

50 houses later...i am still not allowed to buy one...

buyers market my butt...they either want cash, a diff loan, or its not acceptable under my loan, or some other bs #######. sigh.

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-03-24 13:22:00

Moosker, your right, i checked equifax i believe it was, and they said as long as all the credit checks are done same time frame for the same thing it wont affect my credit. But i thik they said 14 days.

Anyways, my issue is that in order to do an FHA and use the govt grant in Illinois i have to chose an approved lender for both. in my area there are only 55 fha lenders and out of those only 3 are approved with the illinois hud for the "SMARTMOVE" loan.

Just waiting on the answer from the third one. I just wish each lender used the same costs and same terminology for them. They really need to simplify that for homebuyers.

I'm just worried that the closing costs are going to be way more than what i'm seeing on these. So far they already differ about 2.5 - 3k between the two estimates i got.

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-03-22 20:16:00

ok little update..

finally after a week i got something from my bank called a "closing cost worksheet" which looks to me like a GFE although they insist it is not a GFE, but whatever, it has amounts on it and the interest rate she verbally gave us 4.5 is not on it. in fact the APR (which i believe is what i should pay attention to right?? ) is 5.611.

after waiting for realtors to get back to me which they didn't (cough century 21, and remax), i went on the redfin site and browsed the forums. Well, i found a realtor who is in my area and works the areas i'm intrested in posting quite a bit there. so i got in touch with her and within an hour i had not only a phone call from her but also an email!

This realtor is from Coldwell Bankers, and that very night after our phone call, she sent me 24 listings to look at which we narrowed down to about 6 or 7. She also suggested i call her mortgage lender and as it turns out he seems great as well. so i emailed all my docs to him to see what his figures are, and he is a fountain of information, in fact both he and the realtor are!

i have been having no issue in bouncing questions off on both of them and getting quick timely replies and explanations to things i did not understand. both of these people have made me feel much more at ease and confident in their abilities to help me find my house.

Now i'm just waiting for my realtor to get back to me on all these subdivision rules regarding my two dogs, so i can make appointments to see these houses.

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-03-21 13:44:00

Ok i gotta say after a week waiting for pre approval paperwork, realtors to call me back etc..i'm kinda annoyed.

so far no one has gotten in touch with me..and after 3 emails to my bank all i get is a generic letter ??

does America not give you a pre-approval letter with estimated closing costs, a locked in rate for 60 days with a ton of details based on the amount you want to borrow for a mortgage loan?

back in canada i would bounce these between banks like scotia td and Bank of Montreal to get the best rates.

how the EFFFFFF am i supposed to negotiate this?

America..your banking system SUCKS!!!!

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-03-18 12:16:00

yes, hoa's can be awesome if management is responsible and the scope of duties does not get whittled down as time goes by. what happened in our neighborhood is they started off doing a lot - and then mismanaged things so bad that there were service cuts every year with accompanying cost hikes.

i used to pay 125 a month back in 2003. today it is up to 210 and they do less than they used to. the playground for kids is gone (its a muddy pit now). they are no longer patching potholes in a timely manner. they no longer clean snow unless its 6 inches or more over a 24 hour period. and a few other things.

well so far the biggest issue i'm running into..my dogs. most of these so called HOA fees have pet limits and some even have weight restrictions..k umm #######. and after looking at so many houses only to see these rules...i'm a tad depressed. i mean we were looking at getting a new apartment but everywhere we looked it was over 1k for a 1 bedroom and again..issues with my dogs.

I really miss Canada right now..i miss my old house..in the country on 8 acres of land...in fact lately i'm missing alot of stuff about Canada.. :crying:

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-03-17 15:59:00

You know.... it didn't end there. Two or three weeks ago I heard a noise outside. I looked in the driveway and there was a Sheriff's Office vehicle. I went to the front door and there was no one there. I opened it and saw a bag hanging on the door handle. Inside was an eviction letter and a notice to appear in court. It was addressed to the former owners and/or current occupants. *sigh* I walked to the driveway to tell the officer that they didn't live here anymore but he/she was gone. I contacted our realtor who said he'd take care of it. My husband came home, picked up the documents, and took them over. Our realtor called the lawyer representing the bank. The same bank we had purchased the property from. He then followed up that conversation with an email. Days went by and we still hadn't heard back from the law firm. I sent a document to them with a copy of our deed showing we were the new, legal, owners. We just heard back from our realtor yesterday saying they had withdrawn the eviction and we should receive confirmation in the mail. It all boils down to the asset department not informing the legal department of the sale. Whatever. I just didn't want to come home to my belongings out on the curb and/or my house sealed against entry one day. And the fact that I wasn't getting a response from the law office was making me uneasy.

OMG ARE YOU SERIOUS??? i think i would just have a freakout after all you've been through. Don't think i could deal with that at all lol

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-03-17 15:56:00

HOA would come in handy to prevent this lol: http://www.dailymail...htmares-of.html

oh god that would give me nightmares!!!

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-03-17 15:52:00

http://www.visajourn...super-fun-time/

There's a lot of good information in that thread. I don't wanna repeat myself, so I'd say that thread is a great place for info.

Congrats!

awsome info in there..some a bit confusing but great none the less..i think i'm gonna stay away from short sales lol. although forclosures kinda scare me too.

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-03-17 09:25:00

I would have a sugestion for you that has not been brought up yet- since you are complaining about noise i would not recomend buying a townhouse(no offense for those owning one).

I'm not sure what you are looking to buy but a townhouse it's just not worth the money. They are expensive and on one hand you still have to deal with noise from your neighbours....and on the other hand maybe you want to turn your music up cause it's you b-day or something and you can not because of the neighbours. So what's the point of owning a house if you can not enjoy the freedom?

We are in the process of buying a home right now, we had several issues with the real estate agent, so be carefull who you chose to represent you, always double check everything, make sure their info is acurate.
We met several realtors and unfortunately we had some bad experiences. One realtor lied to us big time, one brought us to this home that was almost falling apart and she told us for the money we were looking for(175k) we will not find anything better than that. Well...so it happens we did found something for the same price, that was 10 times better than what she showed us. So just because a realtor says something doesn't mean it's a general rule.

So my thoughts to you is you have to LOVE THE HOME YOU BUY, as once you buy it, it will be very hard to sell it, so don't let any realtor manipulating you into buying something you are not 100%sure.

We have a contract with a short sale now...we have been waiting to hear back for 4 weeks and a half now, thing is we are in no hurry so we don't mind waiting BUT IF we DO get this house we get an AMAZING deal. Not all short sales take a long time but If you want to be out of your apt by july i would not recomend risking putting a contract on a short sale. Foreclosures yes, we put a contract on a forclosure and we heard back from the bank in 2 days..so they are fast.
Banks usually take 30-60 days to close so if you start loking now you have a month and a half to find your dream home!

Good luck in your search and may your experience with realtors be nothing like mine!

thanks for the advice, i did read your thread in the other forum and just wow and the stuff you went through with the realtor! hopefully we can find a good one..atm i have good vibes about our loan officer we got..she seems to have our best intrest in mind and even went out of her way to see if there were any programs to help us with our downpayement and closing costs to make it easier for us!

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-03-17 09:23:00

Great tips so far! We just bought a house 2 months ago and it was a crazy process. We were approved and decided to start looking. Within a week we had put an offer in on a house, closed in 30 days. It was a totally nutty process, but so worth it!

A few things we learned along the way....
- Banks should provide you with a "Good Faith Estimate" for you to start house shopping with. Bank of America refused (from what I've heard, they have crazy fees) and that right there sent me to another company.
- Find a good realtor, and watch out for the 'contracts' they try to get you to sign. If you test them out and really aren't happy, tell them.
- Shop around on www.redfin.com (that's how we found our home) and sign up for an account. You get a lot of information about how long on the market, taxes, HOA, what it sold for previously, etc.
- Don't do anything "extra" credit wise from now until after you have purchased a house. They typically re-run your credit a day or two before your close on a house to make sure everything is still the same.
- Have you considered FHA? Great for first time home buyers.
- HOME INSPECTION. I have friends who figured they knew what they were talking doing, refused to pay the $450 fee and their house is a complete money pit. We had a company called U.S. Inspect and they were great.
- Home Warranty. Our house came with one, but anyone we've talked to say if you have appliances (furnace, etc) older than 10 years, pay the $150-$300/year for the warranty! Our water heater actually started leaking, we called the warranty company, paid our $100 deductible and got a brand new one (it wasn't fixable). That would have been a $3,000 job. We will renew the warranty in a heartbeat since we have older appliances.
- Short sales are almost an oxymoron! Our real estate agents daughter bought a short sale and finally got the house 2 years later, crazy!
- You could buy a house tomorrow, or a year from now. Don't feel pressured because of your lease, buy the house you love and will be happy with.
- Like everyone has said, visit the neighbourhood during the day, and at night. You want to see the traffic/noise levels/etc.
- Don't be afraid of offering low! We got our house for $20k lower than asking, turns out the owners had already bought another house and just wanted to cut their ties!
- Once you buy a house, you can usually "fight" your taxes (or at least try to) within 60 days of purchasing. Take the home appraisal to your government office and fill out the appropriate form. We were paying taxes on a house that they were saying was worth $100k more than it was (out of date, the market was low).

Good luck!!!

Ohhh home warranty..Davids father just told us about that..i thought it was on new built homes only. turns out his sump pump blew when they had a flood and he just paid the deductable and got it replaced..

Ya when it comes to barganing i dont know how much to say lol. i mean i can look at the values of other houses in area, etc..but alot of the numbers i see are based on 2 years ago..i'm not sure how to work that stuff. worse case i offer too low and we go back and forth and find a happy medium price?

That tax tidbit is awesome..so i should not be too afraid when i see the price of taxes !

i have been using Realtor.com, redfin.com and trulia.com so far. and then taking addresses and copy past into goodle to see maps google earth views etc too. i dont remember having to sign up for a million sites up in canada ..course it was like 2003 when i bought my house and we just used mls.com lol.

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-03-17 09:16:00

1. Check around with various banks/credit Union to get the best rate and closing costs--they can differ greatly. Get 1 of them to run ur credit check and ASK for ur score. With the others tell them ur score, BUT tell them not to run ur credit rating, and get their offer based on those #'s--of course if you go with them, they will have to verify them. But you do not a whole bunch of people checking ur score!! You should also make sure al ur credit cards are paid off, balance kept low for a few months prior, not something you can do now,lol

I managed to write down two of our scores but did not quite catch the third one.

2. Interview a few realtors and go with the one you feel comfortable with and is going to work for you! We usually give our Realtor a list of what we MUST have, LIke to have, CAN't have,lol Its my $$ so I make sure I get what I want and run the show if you know what I mean! Some Realtors forget whats in your best interest and whats in their best interest! If I feel they are not working in my best interest, i thank them for their time and interview process starts again. Communicating what you need and expect is huge to make it as less stressful as possible

I don't have to pay the realtor anything correct? its the same in Canada where the Seller pays all the commision?

3. If your in a hurry, stay away from foreclosures/short sales. They can drag on for months and months and even never close

4. The right house can be found in a day or a year, ya just never know.

5. Watch out for Home owners Associations (HOA's). Some like them, some do not!! 1 area could have a HOA, while the next street over does not.

Whats is up with those? In Canada i'm used to those being for condo's..which for me are just glorified apartments..here they call anything a freaking condo. if you have HOA's is it truly your own place? or does that mean there are seconday rules and regulations to deal with which would mean to me more hassle i think?

6. Find a competent Home inspector. They say you should never go with one that the realtor recommends!! Make sure your offer has an out based on home inspection etc etc. This i know we followed the one we had in canada around and asked him questions during the inspection.

7. Walk the neighborhood!! talk to neighbors//people in that neighborhood!! yes that includes knocking on the door. You will be surprised what people wil say! Drive by the neighborhoods at various times of the day/week. Big difference at 10 am, vice 5 pm, 8pm traffic wise. Never thought about that..very good idea!

8. Google the area. check out crime statistics. there are web sites-and call the local police. hubby just told me about that..another good tidbit!

Good luck, it can be a fun process. But take your time and do your research, Houses can be money pitts, so yes your noisy neighbors suck, but a house sucking $$ out of ur wallet is no fun either!! See if you can go month to month on ur apartment. or find another apartment and keep looking for the right house. Lot of horror stories of homeowners too that bought in the wrong neighborhood---BUT now you just can't walk away until you sell that house!! Best of luck

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-03-17 09:10:00

Ok so we got approved for an FHA loan. Now i've done alot of researching and just want to ask (because i have information overload here lol), When it comes to closing costs, since its an FHA loan, can the amounts vary wildly from bank to bank or is it regulated not to exceed a certain amount? i guess i'm a little confused as to whether its the FHA giving me the loan or the bank, and if shopping around for an FHA loan makes a difference compared to a conventional loan. The interest rate we got was 4.5%. Is that the only thing that will change from lender to lender?

When i bought my house in Canada, i had home inspector fees, my Layers fees, and title transfer / deed fees, some taxes, repay back the oil tank fillup, umm not sure what else. i know i had to give a deposit at first also while we negotiated terms on the paperwork. i guess i'm just wondering if i should stay with my bank or look at others, since i'm not 100% comfortable shopping around for rates etc.

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-03-17 09:04:00

hehe ya i have a thread in the "moving here ..." forum about my issues with the neighbours and management. Not to mention i've had the extirminator here multiple times since january to get rid of ants etc to no avail. figured its time to move and get our own place since houses are hella cheaper then paying rent here in Chicago. its just the damn county taxes which bloody suck the life out of ya almost..

i'm amazed at how a house can be so darn cheap but have 3-4k taxes..apparently the land here is what its all about. And i dont want the hubby to have a super long drive to work especially with the price of gas being 4$ now..UGH lol.

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-03-16 13:21:00

So David and I decided to go see the bank and figure out what our options are. We are paying 835/month for a one bedroom apartment which is noisy and well..yeah...i hate most of our neighbours lol.

Anyways we got some good news and were given a pre approval from our bank. We also found out as first time home buyers that we qualify for a state grant type thing that is bascially a 0% interest loan that we have 10 years to payback, which will pay contribute to our downpayment, as long as we can come up with 1% , as well as a program from our bank for 2500$ closing costs.

Also compared to last year Davids credit score jumped almost 20 points! Now i'm not sure how that works. but i've been told that that is a very good thing to see. We are just waiting for the paperwork to be emailed to us today to confirm all of this.

I guess my question is whether we have enough time to find a place and close for when our lease ends July 1st. I know forclosures and some short sales can take forever, but i'm wondering if 3 months is enough time for all this to happen..i guess it depends on how fast we find a place we are happy with.

Buying a house in the u.s. is far more complicated than i'm used to. I had a home that i bought up in Canada, and aside from a few hiccups (seller had a vendor take back from the original owner) which we had to wait for first, it was pretty quick, and our closing costs weren't that expensive or time consuming.

But i guess one step at a time. lol.

Anyone have any recent home buying experience? I already know poor Krikits horror stories and i hope we don't have anything similar..no offence Krikit!

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-03-16 12:38:00

Lloyd Robertson Tribute...

i thik he was the ONLY news person i ever liked..I have yet to find a newscast in the states that i can watch..they all suck so do the ppl on them. I miss canadian newscasts sometimes..they just seemed more..newsy..lol

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-08-31 13:11:00

Hurricane Irene

you can do anything on a BBQ... thats the one thing i like about a good ol power outtage... we take out the BBQ and that is my FAV!!

pfft..you dont needa power ottage for that..hell in winter i used to cook every day one mine..i just couldn't stand pan fried meat or the taste of it..blech..meat can only be cooked over fire for me

I've been out of power for 32 hours as of now here in north NJ..(Mahwah Township)

thank god its not winter eh. downside is that food spoils easier..at least in winter you can throw it outside and it will keep.

Hope you are staying safe and get your power back soon!

Edited by Kimbear, 29 August 2011 - 01:49 PM.

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-08-29 13:50:00

Hurricane Irene

well i live in chicago..well actually i'm with the inlaws...again...up near the wisconsin illinois border..again..(but i digress)

anyway all we see on tv here is news about the storm..and we're no where near it. but i know alot of you are near there and i have family in nova scotia which always always gets bloody nailed by every storm every time..

i just hope everyone stays safe during it.

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-08-26 19:07:00

If you went back to Canada, would you live in the same place?

Thanks for all the replies so far. I've been debating myself whether to stay and get naturalized or go back sooner. I still have no job, having one car is hard so is living with the in-laws for the 2nd time. House hunting has been pitiful, and i'm just getting mroe and more depressed as it drags on.

No way will i ever ever ever ever go back to Montreal. Toronto, well i just hate the congestion and omg..the price of houses. Even if David got trasnfered to the Toronto Headquarters, no way in hell we'd be able to afford a place anywhere in mississauga. I just looked at the realtor.ca site and the cheapest house was 300k..

Vancouver although warmer, well all that rain..UGH it would be depressing as hell for me. And i've heard that area or even some other places in B.C are expensive. course i've been told the same thing about Calgary.

David spent most of his time in Chicago, but he did live a stint in new jersey and in norfolk va when his parents were stationed there. Hes pretty much used to city life, which i can deal with provided i have a house a yard no bad areas i guess. part o f my issue is that i guess i dont deal well with big cities..just driving in them stresses me out. like i have never even gone to visit downtown chicago or the navy pier or any of the museums or zoo's. Smaller subburbs would be better for me. with that semi country feeling i guess.

Also taxes, price of living etc..i can compare Chicago to Ontario all i want, but it doesn't help lol. The real decision i have to make is leaving here by myself and starting over up north if i were to go back, then wait until I can support David's process to get up there.

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-08-30 12:18:00

If you went back to Canada, would you live in the same place?

If you had to move back, would you go back to the same area your from or start off fresh?

I know alot of you have family / friends and would proably stay in the same area, but if any of you don't, would you still go back where you came from? Would it be out of familiarity? Would you move somewhere knew to check out different weather or culture?

I have been thinking of this alot myself lately, and to be honest, i have no immediate family and i had no real friends that i kept in touch with even when i was in Canada. Since I've been in Chicago, my family has not even emailed me or anything either. ( granted we didn't like each other much when i was in Canada

)

I grew up in Quebec, I lived the last 10 years in Ontario, near Ottawa, and i was thinking of any other places that i might want to live in If we were to go back. I'm not sure what the employment is like up there or housing etc anymore, and I'm not even sure if David could get xfered up there. However i do know i'd want the process to be easier on him than it was for me moving to the U.S.

So what are you thoughts? If you had no issues with going back, and just wanted to pack up and do it..would you and where would you go?

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-08-29 13:35:00

Sometimes I relate to those chauvinists in the other forums

You know the ones who say they couldn't find a good woman in America?

Because when it comes to Canadian men? It's hard. Couldn't find one who wasn't a lumberjack, who didn't have a beard and have a closet full of plaid bush coats.

Do you ever notice much Canadian men just let themselves go? I mean would it kill to them to shave!? Would it!?

People often ask me why I came to America to find a husband. They just don't understand what we had to deal with in terms of men back home. If you had a choice between Brad Pitt and the Brawny man who would you pick? I am sure some women appreciate a man with soda crackers from last weeks lunch lingering in his beard but I like a clean man - with a bit of a rustic twaaaang...or in my case a bit of a Philly accent (PS: yes they have an accent).

Most of all I just like a man who doesn't shout "timber" in bed when...... it's all over.

Don't act like you don't know what I am talking about ladies.

oh my god...i've been away from you for far too long.. This needs to be on a tshirt..to match my "i am canadian" tshirt..lol.

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-08-26 19:11:00

Questions about preparing interview items

Yes you will need to have it translated. Make sure it is the long form of the birth certificate with your parents names on it. Also make a copy of it and the translation, Montreal will want a copy of both and give you back the originals.

My quebec bc came with a separate page that had all the explanations on the back, I also printed it out from the website. the translation and they were fine with that. but they may actually require and english one, or you can just have the english translation copy notarized.

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-09-17 15:12:00

Questions about preparing interview items

Hey, so, I am the beneficiary for a K visa and I am still working on scheduling an appointment at Montreal at the moment. I just had some questions about the documents that I need to take with me to the interview. I am asking this because the "Checklist" states that I need to bring "the original and one photocopy of each of the following documents (as applicable)" and I just want to make sure that these documents are applicable to my case because I worry too much lol and am panicking about things a bit. I just don't want to miss out anything I need to take.

1) Evidence of Domicile
I was under the impression that this was only required if your U.S. citizen fiance was not living in the U.S. currently, but is it required even if he is living there already?

2) Affidavit of Support/Evidence of Support
On the checklist both Affidavit of Support (I-134) and Evidence of Support (I-864) are listed as documents to bring, but I was under the impression that as a K visa applicant I only need the Affidavit of Support (I-134). Is this correct or do I need both forms?

Thanks so much

Since you are on a k1 the evidence of domicile just means a copy of your hubbys passport and state id / drivers licence. it should be called something else on the checklist for k1.

for evidence of support you dont need the i-864 until you move and do adjustment of status. just bring the i-134 with tax transcripts, t4 paystubs etc.

Edited by Kimbear, 17 September 2011 - 03:10 PM.

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-09-17 15:09:00

Does Montreal extends the validity of NOA2 (I 129F) automatically?

Mine was 4 months expired by the time i got my interview. They automatically extend it.

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-09-19 13:19:00

Montreal medical and interview?

Back when I did my medical DR Seiden was charging more than Medisys. That was in 09, not sure if they have changed though. Only payed about $200 for the medical (no extra shots)

i did my medical last year ant it went up alot from that ..i paid 350$ at dr. Seiden. and it was not even on a cd or anything.I called the one in toronto in december and got a january appointment my interview was for march.

Edited by Kimbear, 23 September 2011 - 07:26 AM.

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-09-23 07:25:00

I Made It To the USA!

Awwww, that was sooo cute and sweet!! Sounds like you really got a keeper there

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-09-27 14:30:00

Transcribing your medical...

Mine was marked as incomplete as well. due to just having the booster shots for MMR and Tetnus. But thats only becuase you cannot have shots back to back in a certain amount of time. I still just sent in the sheet with the checkboxes and it was ok. I would not worry about it.

quick edit..mine was done at the TO office as well.

Edited by Kimbear, 05 October 2011 - 02:48 PM.

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-10-05 14:47:00

Ok, so here's my plan. When we get an interview scheduled (who knows when that will be) I will get a place down in WA, not at my parents and move our stuff down. I think that my wife can live with her parents for a bit and visit me while I'm down there with the kids. This would probably work better for the proof of domicile, eh?

If your going through Montreal, that could be a while. I definately think getting a place of your own would be much better. For my fiance visa it wasn't an issue, most people like me had to move in and stay with inlaws to prepare for the wedding as we were only given 90 days after poe to get married.

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-10-07 15:00:00

Both of us went to the interview. I think it's probably more important in the cases of Fiancee visa's where they are trying to prove a real relationship, but in my case, DH is the better one at explaining things than I.

Actually you dont have to prove a relationship much for the fiance k1 visa...its for the aos interview that you more or less have to prove you didn't just marry for a green card, the co-mingling of life and finances. Plenty of k1's went alone to the interview and had no issue. All we had to prove is that we "physiically met in person" in the 2years preceding the visa application.

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-10-07 14:57:00

You could get a letter maybe from the school, not sure, and the business licence etc. to transfer the business to WA would be perfect i think along with any other things like tax numbers registered to the new business etc. Never owned a business so i'm not sure what else is required. Will you be leasing a space for this business or will it be run out of your home?

The only thing that looks odd to me is that you will be moving in with your family. Hmm, come to think of it...will you be having any utilities like 2nd phone lines etc. that will also be registered to the business? That might help.

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-10-07 12:03:00

There are quite a few guides on this subject, and quite a few heartache posts regarding this subject as well.

Joe, I would suggest that you read those guides.I think one is pinned at the top of the Canada forum if I'm not mistaken. The only understanding I have is that you must prove you are "reestablinshing" your life in the usa on a permanent basis. Also there have been some discussions on the rules they go by and the terminology, between the "manual" and the actual person doing the check to see if you meet the criteria. Usually a house purchase / apartment lease, job contract, voter registration cards etc help. However, in your case, it looks more temporary than permanent to me. Do you have any children that will be enrolling in a school? Thats another good indicator i would imagine.

Edited by Kimbear, 07 October 2011 - 11:10 AM.

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-10-07 11:08:00

Typo in DS-260, case with consulate already

At my interview in Montreal they handed me the original packet 3 I had sent in and told me to review it an make any necessary corrections with a pen. So if you bring a correct copy of the form and correct it when they hand back packet 3 you should be fine. They understand that we're human and make mistakes

Same thing here, they asked me to review all the papers for correct addresses etc as well. Just bring a fixed copy and correct the ones there with them.

Kimbear

Female

Canada

2011-10-12 06:06:00