Tips on Home Buying

Well, we are moved in! It's been a lot of work and at times I wanted to pull my hair out thinking about all of this junk that we have to organize, but we are slowing chipping away at it. I'm hoping to have some pictures to show you soon! Even if it's not totally "finished" I would love to do a tour of the house here on the blog. I took some "before" photos on my phone the morning before we moved our stuff in, and unfortunately those photos are gone. I accidentally washed my phone in the washing machine (don't ask) and anything after my last backup on iTunes on October 1st was lost. In better news, I think I have a little more knowledge on the iCloud now, so hopefully this won't happen again.

Anyway... back to the point of this post!

While it's still fresh on my mind, I wanted to share some tips we picked up on buying our first home. This is our first go-around with this whole process, and I know we're not experts. And this list is by no means exhaustive. But I thought I'd share some of the experience I've gained during this whole thing!

1. Research first, online and by driving around. Look at location, different price points, different styles of homes, etc. BEFORE you go out and look with a Realtor. Find out if price, location, or size is most important to you. For us, we wanted a very specific area, limited to only a few neighborhoods. Once we figured that out, we were able to see what type of house we could afford in our price range. I wanted a single family home but quickly realized that what we could afford was a townhouse, and that was okay because the location was more important to me. Use the internet and go drive around. It's worth it before you start touring homes!

2. Make a wishlist. I would actually say make two lists - one list of things that your house MUST HAVE, and another list of things that would be nice, but aren't deal-breakers. I gave these lists to our Realtor as well. Some things on our "must have" list were: garage, 3+ bedrooms, price, and the location we wanted. On our "would be nice" list we had: hardwood floors, updated kitchen, outdoor space, neighborhood pool. There is no right or wrong way to do this, it is totally up to you what's important to you (and your spouse or partner!).

3. Save. This might be obvious, but even if you are not doing a full 20% down payment, you will have so much to pay for and it's wise to have a good amount of savings on top of the amount you've saved for a down payment. Things like closing costs, the home inspection, moving costs, installation fees for moving your cable or satellite service, etc. are all extra costs not included in the purchase price and they can add up really fast. You also have no idea what may happen in the first few months (AC unit breaking down, water heater leaking...). Even though buying a home is technically better in the long run, it's expensive beyond just the cost of the house, and it's good to be prepared before jumping in.

We Bought a House!

Yesterday, we closed on our very first home! We signed about a million pieces of paper, handed over a very large check, and just like that, we were homeowners. We drove over to the new place and just walked around in the empty rooms - this place is ours! And it's such a good feeling.

A post about stuff

We have 8 days until we close on our first home.

8 days to pack, declutter, and prep for the move to our new place.

In the past few weeks since we made our initial offer on the house, I've found myself scouring the websites of World Market, Pottery Barn, Target, Ikea, and Joss & Main for things to fill up our new home. It is so easy to get caught up in all of these things I think we need - a sectional couch for the living room, a new bedspread for the master bedroom, Pottery Barn drapes, a large bookshelf. In all honesty, we have all of these things already in one way or another, and we are not going to be "house poor" by any means. The new house is not really any bigger than our current rental, so we don't actually need anything. Yes, we will probably buy that sectional couch because we do actually want more seating in the living room. It would certainly serve a purpose. But we can live without it for a little while.

On the other hand, I find myself rummaging through all of our things and looking for things we can pitch or give away. Does this make any sense? Probably not.

The last couple weeks in instagram

1  The rental truck for 1/2 of the move (we did it in two parts on different days. totally a great idea). Note the "rent me" sign - no, you cannot rent my husband, just the truck.
2  These terrible toes have sadly gotten worse since this picture. They just haven't been a priority I guess. Definitely need to fix them this weekend.
3  A sunset from our back patio - not edited! Isn't it amazing?
4  Found this guy in our kitchen... went to sweep him out and found out he was still alive! (when the hubby wasn't home of course) Let's just say I won the battle and I'm pretty darn proud of myself.
5  Homemade iced coffee - mm mm good!
6  A quick trip to the beach in SC last weekend. It was so fun to see my family and this little cutie!
7  Michael finally picked out a grill and got it put together. We had friends over last night and grilled kabobs out on the patio. It was perfect!
8  I love that we now live in an older neighborhood and actually see some wildlife - this little bunny was hopping around in my neighbor's front yard.
9  A sneak peek of something in the house that actually looks put together! Once I have some more areas of the house ready I'll have some great before + afters coming up!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

We've moved! (mostly)

 

Last weekend we moved our bed to the townhouse we're now renting, so it's official - we have moved! I have been trying to find the time to get some pictures of the new place (boxes and all!), but clearly I haven't yet. Things have just been so busy! Since we didn't take off any time from work, we are doing our best to make the most of the weekends and weeknights, amidst all our other "life" stuff. The kitchen cabinets are organized, and our bedroom closet is at least functional, so that's a start! There is still so much to do, but so far we are LOVING being in a townhouse. It really is just so different from living in an apartment! We have a little walkway to the front door, a brick patio out back, and a window over the kitchen sink. I'm in love with it all! Unfortunately there is still a few odds and ends we have to pick up from the apartment, and we also need to clean the place before we turn over the keys - ugh. Our lease ends Saturday so at least I know it will all be over by then! I'll be working my butt off the next few weeks to get everything in order, and hopefully posting some along the way, so keep an eye out for updates!

Fun things

Here are some fun things I've run across in perusing for home ideas amidst our move...

Jane Austen iPhone charger

in love!

Baguettes, Paris print

would be oh so perfect in my kitchen,

considering my deep affection for fresh bread

Gray rug from Urban Outfitters

not so sure this would work well in my living room but I like it

Marimekko Unikko duvet covers from Crate & Barrel

guest bedroom bedspreads?

recovering a box spring in fabric
I so want to do this for our bedroom. thanks Pinterest!

Frosted globe lights from Target

for our little brick patio

Can you tell I'm excited to decorate? I'm also just excited to experiment with the things we already own - arranging them in a new space, trying different combinations, and maybe a little DIY to freshen up some things. We have been cleaning and taking loads of stuff over all week, and Saturday is official moving day! You might expect me to say I'm exhausted, but I really love this sort of thing! Moving to somewhere different, finding new ways to organize things, and making brand new memories in a new (to us) home - this all excites me and actually gives me energy! I'll start with the updates as soon as we're not living in two different places :)

Happy Thursday, friends!

Where have I been??

So there hasn't been much activity on the blog lately. I blame that on a few things:

1. Summer - something about the weather makes me just want to relax, have fun, read, and spend time with people. Hence, no time sitting at the computer!

2. Long days, short evenings - it stays lighter later, so I think it's still "day time" at 7 pm. It's usually already 9:30 by the time I actually start being productive with my evening.

3. Oh yeah, we're MOVING in the next couple weeks! Official moving day is next Saturday, but we will start bringing stuff over starting this weekend. Eeek! It is seriously stressing me out. I'm just ready for everything the be moved and have a place in our new home! And I can't wait to share everything with you! I may be a bit absent in the next couple weeks as the craziness commences, but I'm going to do my best to take before and after pictures to share here. I have also already had some luck with finding some items from Goodwill and Craigslist, which I'll have to post about soon. Love me some majorly discounted second-hand furniture!

Of course my living room is starting to accumulate boxes...

That's just the dining room/china cabinet. Yikes.

Oh but I did find a nice packing tip to share with you. I had a red candle that I didn't want to stain whatever it was next to in the box I was shoving it in, so I wrapped it in cling wrap! Worked like a charm.

Only one room down and I'm already wishing the packing part was over. Unpacking is so much easier in my opinion. Any packing tips you'd like to share with me? I'd love to hear!