HouseHunting...is it finally over?!

We bought a house!

 It has been a long and crazy journey filled with tears, laughter and long talks but we did it! T told me one morning about 2-3 weeks ago (as I was still 3/4^ths asleep and not at all functioning cognitively) that he wanted to buy a house. He thought we were ready, that it would be financially beneficial for us and our future and he wanted to know what I thought about it and if I thought we were ready too. As I nodded and rolled over – a signal to T that he should shut it and not wake me up again- he told me that he was serious and was going to start researching stuff, if I thought that we should do this then told me goodbye for the morning. Once I actually woke up and thought about it, I realized that it was a great step for us to take and why not take it now? It’s a perfect time. So we started the hunt for our house. I had an idea of what I wanted, a two story or bi-level with white trim, a good flow of the rooms and storage space. Oh, not to mention a washer/dryer in the house. Not in a garage, or in a scary creepy basement. T wanted wood trim, a ranch style house, the ability to building equity on the house, a good amount of space in the rooms, and for the house to be under the budget. We looked online for houses a lot. A lot.

We met with our realtor for the first time and saw 4 houses. House #1- We both vetoed. House #2- Not my cup of tea. House #3- we both LOVED. A tri-level with a big backyard and a lot of space. It was in a great neighborhood, under budget and close to where were are now. There was a crack in the foundation that was a little iffy though. Then House #4- too far on the West side for me, but the house was beautiful. This pattern continued on for a whole week where we saw 4-5 houses per night and tried to pull our two style ideas together. On the last day we finally decided to pursue a house that we thought we could make our own. A different tri-level in a different neighborhood, with wood trim and two bedrooms. I was okay with it and Tommy was okay with it. I don’t think either of us really loved it, but it was a compromise between the two of us. We could make it our own, an added bonus it had a bathroom connected to the master bedroom. As soon as we decided to go for that house, our realtor told us that someone had started a contract to buy that house.

So…. Back to the drawing board for us.

We were discouraged, stressed, and we didn’t know where to go from there. We spent a good two hours looking for more houses to go see and started a new list. The next day, we started over. We walked into the first one; a bi-level with white trim, lots of storage space and a massive kitchen with dark wood cabinets. T and I looked at each other and I said, “This is the one.” T nodded and we spent the next two hours (after missing all the other viewing appointments) going through all the financial stuff with our realtor. T made an offer on the house later that night. The owners accepted. And on June 19^th T will officially be a homeowner!

Rosebush in front of our house

Too bad I will be overseas when he moves in and starts unpacking. But that means that I get to surf Pinterest and find decorating ideas. I am so excited to start making this house a home. If you have any decorating tips or DIY projects send 'em my way!