home sweet home: the making of our dream house (part 4)

Friends, it's been SUCH a long time coming, but yesterday we finally received confirmation from our lawyer that the house we've poured our blood, sweat, and tears into (not to mention, a small fortune!) is officially ours!  

Back in June of 2021, we successfully completed the severance of our home from the rest of the family farm. (In part 3 of this series, I detailed each slow and painful step of our severance process.) 

Photo of the two houses from June 8, 2021 -- the night our severance was approved by council

Despite the fact that we had created our own separate parcel, my mother continued to hold the ownership of the retained, as well as the severed property. Nevertheless, we were thankful that we acted when we did, because in 2023, she passed away suddenly. It's taken nearly two years, but the estate is FINALLY settled (no thanks to our lawyers who dragged their feet and took almost 5 months to draw up, sign, and file a simple transfer of ownership paperwork)! Now, a little over four years after the severance, we are celebrating the end of our squatting (almost 19 years for me!) as we've realized our dream in finally becoming homeowners! 

The other exciting piece of news (and possibly a future "part 5" post of the property saga) is that I now also officially co-own the farm, alongside my brothers!  So while our home renovations are complete, we now have a dilapidated barn to renovate (can you say another money pit?!) and more acreage than we know what to do with. Even though I always said I would NEVER mix business and family, this is (for now), the only way that we could keep the entire farm in the family. At some point in the future, we hope to find a more permanent solution that works for everyone. But until we have a few more ducks in a row, (one of which involves an unopened road allowance running diagonally through the farm), we have to make do with the present arrangement. 

Nothing about acquiring this property seems to have come easily, that's for sure! But after nearly 70 years of being in the family, our house (as well as the farm) will continue to remain in the family for another generation -- hopefully for at least another 70 years!