Pages

Why buying a home was right for us

Tuesday, September 03, 2013




Sometimes life happens so quickly that it's hard to get a hold on what's going on.  It can be overwhelming, exhausting, and scary.  And when this happens...  this is when your significant other, family, friends, and God step in.  Mostly God, though.

Let's rewind to 2012...  Nick and I had been living together for a year and had already seen a jump in our rental rates.  Not having a rent controlled apartment in an area where our apartment was going for welllllll over $1400/month made me sick.  Sick to my stomach.  However sick I was, though, I was willing to comply with the fact that this was just life and there was nothing we could do about it.  Nick; however, wasn't willing to settle.  With a wedding on the horizon and our teacher salary, he was ready to fight and come out on top.  He started researching homes for sale in the area and ran the idea past me a time or two.  Although he'd come up with great options, I wasn't willing to comply.  Something about change and finances made me too nervous to even entertain the idea.


Spring, 2013 rolled around and I finally decided to humor Nick and contact a real estate agent.  I still wasn't convinced the timing was right, but wanted to appease Nick and went along with it.  Our agent took into account what our wants vs. needs were and gave us access to listings that fit the bill.  We decided to arrange to meet with him at a few properties and got the official hunt started.

While underway, we saw properties from all walks of life.  Old, new, split level, single family, town home, within a neighborhood, on the side of the street, brick, short sale, regular sale, foreclosed upon...  and the list goes on and on.  None really spoke to Nick and I, and we quickly determined that we needed to modify the wants vs. needs and reassess.  This brought us to two beautiful homes, both within budget.  One was much more spacious (muuuuuch much), but a significant drive away from work, while the other was a little more cozy within a reasonable distance.  We knew things were getting serious and decided to have our parents come into town to pass their judgements on our prospects and offer their input.  

After going back and forth Nick and I determined the one that was closer was the better fit for us.  Was it perfect?  No.  But was it just right?  Absolutely.  All that was left was to put in the offer and bada-bing-bada-boom...  Or so we thought.


We had calculated very intricately our potential interest rates and our maximum payment option.  We knew we didn't want to spend our entire savings on a down payment and were lucky enough to finance with our credit union.  They offered the option to do 0% down with 0 PMI and we were set to lock in a rate under 4%.  Although we could've afforded to put a down payment in on the house, this option worked best for us for now.  We were set to go, then all of a sudden, rates climbed from around 3.75 clear up to 5.2% in the matter of a week.

A WEEK.

We had no idea what we were going to do.  Lots of tears were shed on my part.  Confusion, stress, and anxiety set in hard.  Not to mention, we had already told our apartment complex we'd be out by August 15 and were still planning the wedding on the side.  

We thought, prayed, and talked for what seemed like an eternity.  We went back and forth with the responsibility that we would be undertaking as well as the financial position we'd put ourselves in, and were so anxious about making the wrong decision.  Finally, we decided to let the chips fall as they were intended and determined that yes, we were ready.

I have to honestly say, aside from the restless nights leading up to the decision to make an offer, we had the smoothest home buying process on the books.  There were just so many signs that allowed me to feel at ease with our choice; the previous owner was a newlywed, she was also a teacher, and the irony of a next door neighbor with a golden retriever was not lost on me.  Our papers were drawn up and ready - all while we were preparing for the wedding/out of the country in Mexico - and the closing happened just. like. that.


We've had our share of kinks since move-in, and know life won't always work out as smoothly as it has, but hindsight being what it is; I wouldn't have it any other way.

If you're in the market to purchase a new home, do your research.  Educate yourself on what your wants vs. needs are, what's available, and how it'll impact your life 5, 10, even 15 years from now.  When you feel lost (which I think is only natural), trust that everything will work out the way it's meant to :)

And if you're ever traveling through, we now have plenty of room to accommodate, and it's slowly (but surely) starting to look like "home"!!

 photo Signature_zpsbda4491c.png

4 comments:

#mommylife said...

can't wait to see pics!!

Laura said...

Loved this post! You are so right - it has to feel right before making such a big decision. Honestly the recent rise in interest rates and house prices is kind of stressing me out... I'm trying to stay calm and trust that it will all be okay when the time is right for us!

Amie said...

Exciting, glad to hear everything worked out and thanks for the tips, I can't wait to buy a house of our own! And I look forward to some pics of your house, I love seeing how everyone decorates!

Unknown said...

Exactly. Do what you feel is apt and even necessary. The only thing that makes buying a house daunting is the financial pressures, though this shouldn't get in the way. There are ways to mitigate this; funding mechanisms around the corner.

Memphis.ChurchillMortgage.com

All views expressed in this blog are my own. Powered by Blogger.
 
FREE BLOGGER TEMPLATE BY DESIGNER BLOGS