You're going to do WHAT???

I’ve been a bit preoccupied lately…as I’m sure you’ve noticed.

In my defense, we are in the process of buying a house.

This is a doubly big step for me, as I have never actually owned a home yet. And, I technically still won’t for thirty years, but I will be PAYING on a mortgage for a home rather than renting. This is somewhat new territory.

I’ve been waiting for several years now to think about buying. I knew the housing market was due for a “correction.” Just wasn’t prepared for how big a correction it took! But, I’m sure there are very few out there that would deny that now is a very good time to buy, if you are in a position to do so. We are, interestingly enough. Wouldn't have expected to hear myself say that ten years ago. However, it would not have been possible without a lot of hard work, and the great care that my Everlasting SoulMate has taken with our finances. She's done a lot for us. Thank you hon!

We’re doing the whole FHA, first-time-buyer thing, which makes down payments and such easier. We’ve also got the sellers to agree to pay closing costs, which cuts down on the cash we have to bring to closing. Don’t get me wrong…we’ll be bringing a substantial amount of money to the deal; however it won’t break our bank or our budget.

As you can surmise, we had an offer accepted. That’s a big step, and wasn’t without a few days of drama. We lost one house to a better offer, and almost lost this one to a cash offer. But, with hard work, perseverance, and an insane amount of luck, we won out!

Our victory dance was short lived, as we began to realize how long the journey through the minefield of inspections, paperwork, etc. leading up to closing was.

We just did the inspection, which went about as well as expected on a thirty-plus year old house. There are some issues, but none of them are show-stoppers yet. We’ll see how the negotiating goes with the seller on fixing the issues that need attention.

I cannot say enough about how important our agent and our lender have been through this process. If I could offer one piece of advice to another first-timer, it would be this: Find yourself a great agent and a great lender before you find a great house. They have helped us SO much I can’t even begin to put a price on it.

We’re hoping to close sometime in late August, get moved and be in place before September 1^st. We’ll see how close we get to that goal.