Wednesday, December 9, 2015

House Hunting

We bought a house!!!  Before I gush over our first house, I thought I'd recap the house hunting process.  When we moved back to MO we tentatively planned to rent our townhouse for a one year lease and then buy a house.  When we moved in, a church member named Laura helped us some and told us that shes a real estate agent, so we talked a bit about our plans.  We've enjoyed getting to know Laura and her family the last several months, and at the start of October, Laura contacted us and we started talking more about what we were looking for in a house.
  • 3 bed/2 bath
  • South side of town = short commute to work/church
  • Up for a bit of remodeling if it's a good price
  • 1500+ square feet
  • No stairs
We looked at houses multiple days (October 7, 20, 24, 27, and 30).  It felt like we looked at a billion houses.  In reality, it was probably 20-30 houses.  I think we were able to look at that many because some of them we'd walk in and immediately know that it was a no.  Three cheers for Sarah for being the only 2-3 month old I know who could handle so many house tours.  She really did great!  Yes, we did feed bottles and change diapers in other people's houses.  It was...an experience.  Laura did a great job of not making us go way over budget.  After watching HGTV for years and hearing people say they're budget is $200,000, but then their realtor shows them a house for $350,000 and they fall in love, I was afraid that would happen to us.  We definitely learned how deceptive listings can be.  They show you the good stuff that's for sure.  

Funny sights while house hunting: dirty laundry, active ceiling leaks while it was raining outside, watch dogs, nosy neighbors, paneling, saloon doors, wallpaper, and some bizarre smells.

Robert and I each had a house that we loved and the other wasn't sold on.  We tried our hardest to convince each other of why our choice was the best, but in the end we decided to forego both options and trust that when the house is right we will both like it without needing to be convinced.  We were right!  

3 comments:

  1. Well - I'm glad I didn't "make" you go way over budget :) I love the house. You guys are going to do great making it your home!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's difficult to stick to your ideal price when you fall in love with a house, so I wouldn't have blamed you for paying more. I share your feelings about misleading listings though too. Congratulations on finding the right house for you, and I wish you the best of luck in making it your home.

    Elton Rousseau @ Hancock And Partners

    ReplyDelete
  3. Trying to convince each other of a selection is never the right way to go. Kudos for being patient and waiting for something that satisfies you both; it will always pay off in the end! After all, buying a house is a potentially life-long decision and should make you equally happy! Speaking from experience, buying a house is much more enjoyable when it feels right for both of you. Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete

Share

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...