My husband and I luckily agree on most things. Our criteria for our dream house was this: a nice yard for the kids to play in; a large kitchen; and decent sized rooms. We were realistic though; we knew at our price range that this would be close to impossible to get everything in our first home and agreed that the concession was giving up a large kitchen for a nice yard. The yard would be for the kids and that was the most important thing.
Saturday was a disaster of a day. It should be illegal how awful our first day of house hunting went. The first one was incredibly tiny, so tiny that my 6 ft tall husband had to crouch while walking around. The second house was even worse, causing me to doubt how well this process would even go. Defeated, we went back to the realtor’s office to plan our next day. We chose 3 houses. One house was a 2 story house that was very dark on a main street. The second house was huge on an even busier street. The last house was a house that needed unfinished projects finished, only had a picture of the front of the house, and well under our budget. We later received a call informing us we would see the fixer upper first and the dingy 2 story second. Our other choice had just received an offer, so that one was gone.
I was scared going into this unknown house. I didn’t know what we were going to walk into. We didn’t know if it was a spray painted drug den. What does “having many projects” even mean? We braced ourselves and entered, I soon saw my jaw drop: I loved it. I didn’t see that part in the kitchen that needed new sheet rock. I saw the newly done cabinets and dining room. I saw the amazing antiquated wood work and stairs. I saw how every room was large. I saw a room with French doors that would be an amazing office. I saw all the work that needed to be done and realized this place would be gorgeous when it was. I realized that even with the work, this house would still be under budget. Then I saw the yard and I said “this is it”. The second house never even stood a chance.
This sets us up for a dilemma, however. Now we need to get a rehab loan rather than a mortgage. Luckily today we have an appointment with a loan specialist, who hopefully can help us out. If that works out, we have to hope the other people who saw the house didn’t want it and draw up a “good faith” contact. Then we’ll get it inspected and hope that nothing is structurally wrong. Then we have to meet with contractors to get a quote one what needs to be done to move in. This will be a nerve wrecking week. I really hope this works out. I really do. I hope so, I think we’re due some good luck. If this does become a reality, I am toying around the idea of vlogging this process of turning this house into our home.
Courage Brianne, and best wishes for the (often long) home buying haul!
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Thanks! I think I’ll need all the help I can get.
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You’ll get there! If you’re interested, you may find some good resources and ideas at my Pinterest board, http://www.pinterest.com/gotchaguide/home-buying-tips-gotchas-psychology/ . Regards, Earl
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