House Buying // Part 8 Finale

In my last update, we were waiting for everything to go through (appraisal, inspection, loan, etc...). After that, it was simply a waiting game until our close date. We had a couple small ticket items come back from the inspection that we asked the current owners to fix, which they did.  So let me explain what happened in closing and the weeks prior:

PART 8: Closing time.

Since we had a flexible close date, we let the current owners decide on some dates. They gave us two options and we chose the one that gave everyone involved the most time to pack and get out. I think that was also their preference, so it was perfect. In those weeks before, there was very little going on. We would get an update on where our loan was in the approval process, or the time and place of our closing meeting. So when the afternoon finally arrived, we were soooo ready. Our apartment was all packed and cleaned, and I had a "weekend box" of an air mattress and cleaning supplies that I was going to bring to the house immediately afterwards. We would be in the house a couple of days before moving, so I wanted to spend that time deep cleaning.

In some states, Georgia included, the final closing meeting includes several people: The buyers, the sellers, each side's Realtor, the buyer's loan officer, and a closing attorney. Everyone all together at one table. I had asked my Realtor if these meetings were ever awkward. She told me they can be.. usually everyone is just kinda quiet, or if there had been disagreements between buyer/seller it could get uncomfortable. Thankfully, we already liked the sellers (based on what we knew of them, and the way they took care of their house). We hoped they'd be just as excited to meet us..... and guys?... they were. They were a younger couple, but older than us (they have young children). They were the age of my older siblings, so I felt comfortable with them. The four of us were the first ones to the law office - we greeted each other right away and everyone was all smiles! Remember that heartfelt letter I had written them while they were deciding on multiple offers? They reiterated SEVERAL times to us and the Realtors that that was the overarching reason they chose our offer. They said it was an answered prayer, and after reading our letter, there was no question our offer was "the one." What a sweet thing to hear!! Usually in these situations you expect that people would choose whatever benefits them the most financially... but these kind, caring, genuine people wanted something greater than that. They wanted someone to love their home the way they loved it. It was their first home, and the one they started their family in. It held so many memories for them, that they didn't want it to go to someone who had no heart to care about that fact. They wanted their beloved neighbors to have a new little couple to love and see them start a family there too. I know I'm beginning to ramble, but these two were seriously the sweetest people!!! Our closing meeting was SO positive! Not to mention, our Realtor was such a sweetheart and brought us a housewarming gift - a chime for the porch!

Throughout the couple hours we were all there, signing papers, etc... we kept talking and getting to know each other. Everyone was laughing and sharing memories and she was telling us about all the neighbors. We asked questions about the house, they told us about things nearby, as well as good trails behind the house. They were actually building their next home, but admitted they were almost more excited for us to have this one - so sweet! We weren't even paying attention to the papers we were signing! When everything was over, we all hugged. It felt like we had made honest-to-goodness friends who were simply passing the torch down to us (the wife and I almost cried as she handed me the house keys and garage openers across the table).

Seriously guys, the whole experience was so endearing. Saying goodbye was very bittersweet!

At one point during closing, I had asked where they got a certain piece of carpet that had been in the living room. They explained someone had given it to them, and I mentioned I would probably do something similar. When we all got off the elevator in the lobby, we said goodbye once more and Tom and I lingered to speak with our loan officer (who, by the way, we LOVE). We had some questions as to why our loan offered us so many grants, etc.. Then I made a comment about how wonderful the sellers had been and we all agreed. She told us that whole situation was so unusual and such a beautiful thing to see... she said we all seemed like old friends! Suddenly, the wife came running back in the doors. She asked Tom and I if we'd like to have the carpet that had been in the house. We didn't want to make her feel obligated, but she insisted.. she said they had gotten in the car and she and her husband decided they just wanted us to have it. At this point, I couldn't handle their kindness anymore and started crying. I hugged her again, and we said we'd figure it out over email. I shoo-ed her out the door because I was starting to cry and she said, "Me too...! Okay, bye!!" and ran out to the car. My jaw was just dropped and my eyes were welled-up when I looked at my loan officer... WHO WAS ALSO CRYING!

Tom had to go back to work, but we chatted for a minute in the parking lot about how blown away we were. We agreed that when the time came for us to sell this house, we would treat it the same: we would pray for another sweet couple looking for their first home, and take an offer not just based on financial implications.

I drove straight to the house after that, crying all the way there out of gratefulness and a full heart. Who says buying a house is stressful?? This was amazing! God answered their prayers, and ours... what an awesome God we have! Truly, this whole journey was part of His incredible plan for our life and we feel overwhelmingly blessed. 

We have remained in touch with the previous owners and they have truly become new friends. How cool is that?? In fact, the first full day there, I spent the day cleaning while Tom was at work. All day I had been thinking "Gosh, I wish they hadn't moved and we somehow lived in this cul-de-sac too.." When Tom got home, he said out loud the exact same thing!

Anyways, when your closing date comes up, don't be nervous about it. Maybe you'll have an experience as incredible as ours. I really hope you do, actually. On that note, though, have any of my readers had a positive or negative experience with house closing? I love hearing your stories - tell me in the comments! I hope you enjoyed this long-winded finale to this series! 

Now, I hope you're all ready for a load of before and afters and decorating posts! Looks like I'll be adding a new category to my menu, huh? Stay tuned for sneak peeks of the place :)

House Buying // Part 7

Part 7: Moving Right Along

In my last update, I told you that our offer was accepted (out of multiple offers) and we would start our due diligence immediately. Now we are at the end of our due diligence and the financial side is falling into place. The appraisal and inspection have both been done and now we're getting down to the nitty-gritty.

Here's what happened:

• The day our due diligence started, I had to turn in our earnest money check to be held in an account by my Realtor.
• Then, I had to schedule an inspection of the home ASAP. Two days later, I met the inspector at the house and we walked through the exterior and interior and he pointed out anything that wasn't up to code or would be in need of replacement. He showed me areas where improper drainage could cause future damage, where an extra rail should be placed for safety, and he even discovered that the doorbell doesn't work! This was about 3 hours long, and my realtor showed up for the last part so we could all go over the items we would ask the sellers to fix before they go. This was honestly a really good learning experience and I'm really glad I went along to see everything he assessed. Overall, there wasn't much to report and the house was truly in amazing shape! The next day we received the inspection report that broke down every minor issue.. complete with pictures. There was a wiggly toilet and a couple small electrical issues that we ended up asking them to fix, and we'll have to wait and see if they'll take care of those or decide to leave them on us. 
• Next we met with our loan officer to get our loan to an underwriter. Basically we just had to provide a bunch of legal documents (paystubs, tax forms, etc...) and sign a stack of papers. She wrote up our loan based on the price we offered, but it would depend on the appraisal outcome. 
• The final piece was the appraisal. This was very stressful because we were CERTAIN it would appraise for $10,000 less than what we offered, based on the prices of the neighborhood. This would be bad, because your loan is based on the appraisal and they won't loan you more than what the house is actually worth. In the case that it appraised too low, we would have to negotiate with the sellers to bring the price closer to the appraisal, but if they didn't bring it down low enough, we would have to bring more cash to the table... which we probably wouldn't have been able to. Then, we'd lose the house and the costs of inspections, etc.. that we had already put into it. So the wait for the appraisal was very nerve-wracking. 
  While I was gone this last week on vacation, our loan officer called to let me know the results of the appraisal........ and it came back at the list price! This means that our offer was right on the money and our loan is being written up for the exact right amount. This couldn't have been more perfect! Praise the Lord!

Now, our due diligence is over and we are really, actually buying this house. It seems like a dream! Our close date is in June and until then, we basically just sit back, wait on our loan to be processed, and decide on paint colors ;) Thank you all for your prayers and continued support! Tom asked me what I'll write about once this is all over, and then quickly injected "House Decorating Journey?!" So maybe I'll have to try my hand at DIY again, afterall (even though I swore it off because I'm terrible at it). But again, until the keys are in hand, this house isn't ours! 

Those of you with homes, what did you do during this wait? Should I start packing?! I'm thinking it's time to purge some of our things or sell them online.  

House Buying // Part 6

Part 6: Offer Accepted! Lay on the Stress!

In my last update, we were dealing with a denied offer, a day full of disappointing showings, and our begrudging return to the hunt. But people, I am a story-teller and I refuse to disappoint.

So here's what's happened:

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• We picked ourselves up from the day of terrible, disappointing showings and kept checking every single listing that popped on the market... within MINUTES of it coming on the market. I mean it when I say this is a part-time job. It has been detrimental to be one of the first showings on a good house.
• A house came up on the market on Tuesday afternoon. Tom and I looked it over and got pretty obsessed. In fact the texting convo to the right was our reaction. So I emailed our Realtor twice in 3 minutes and told her we wanted to see it ASAP... and then I also texted her to make sure she REALLY knew the extent of our craziness.
• She got us a showing the following day (Wednesday) and it was exactly as we'd hoped. Perfection. However, we knew others had SOMEHOW seen it before us. So we put in a really strong offer before the day was out, to which they had 24 hours to accept or deny.
• Thursday, we waited and waited and WAITED. Somewhere after 24 hours had passed, we FINALLY got word that they had received multiple offers and they wanted everyone's highest and best by Friday at 5pm. We decided our first offer was truly the strongest we could do, so we left it the same, not knowing how many others we were against. People, we offered their list price, and we assumed others went over. This is actually really common in the market here and in other cities.
• Thinking they would get the offers and choose the highest one, we expected to hear something before the end of the day or in the morning on Saturday. Nada. Fearing we would lose this beautiful house, I wrote the owners a heartfelt letter praising them for taking such immaculate care of their home and property. I complimented them and then explained that we were looking for our first home and yada yada yada. Guys, I went ULTRA cheesy and talked about our future children and how I really want to raise them in this home. I put my heart on my sleeve, but admitted that I understood it has to come down to their best financial choice. I had my Realtor pass on the letter and let it be. 
  Late that night, our Realtor called and asked if I was with Tom. She told me to put her on speakerphone because OUR OFFER WAS ACCEPTED! Another offer would have netted them more money, but we have a flexible closing date (and I wrote the world's sweetest letter), so we won! We are over the moon excited and grateful!!!

So now the clock starts ticking. Our due diligence starts tomorrow. This means we have to officially put down our earnest money, meet with our loan officer and see what they can officially work out for a loan, and get an appraisal and home inspection done (which, for the sake of transparency adds up to 1K or more that the buyer pays out of pocket... and if you end up deciding the property needs too much work, won't appraise near enough to your offer and the sellers won't negotiate down, you just lose that money and never see it again... just FYI). Once you find out its actual worth or any issues it has, you negotiate that the seller needs to fix this or that, or they need to bring down the price to come closer to appraisal. All this happens in only TWO weeks or less.

This is all very exciting and we definitely spent Saturday night talking about how we'd decorate it and where we can put our furniture... but anything could happen and we or they could choose to back out. If we end up needing to renegotiate and one side or another doesn't budge, that could cause this train to leave the station. Hopefully that doesn't happen, but we need to keep it in mind. The house isn't ours until the keys are in hand!

Thanks so much for reading along (this was super wordy, sorry) and please send us your prayers that all goes smooth and without a hitch!

Any advice for this point? Something we should remember to look for while walking through with an inspector? Something we shouldn't forget to do? Breathe perhaps??

House Buying // Part 5

Part 5: Are we going backwards?

In my last update, we started showings and were trying to decide what's worth making a fuss about and what is easy to "deal with" after buying a home. Well, after another weekend filled with showings, that question has yet to answer itself. Haha! As I say every time, a LOT has happened in the last couple weeks... this time more-so!

Here's what happened:

• After our first weekend of showings and nothing too impressive, a house popped up on the market and we rushed to see it. Our showing was splendid and we loved the house (huge kitchen, screened-in porch, large fenced in yard, super well-maintained, and loads of character). That evening, we thought long and hard and talked about it for hours. The market here (and apparently everywhere, so it seems) is a fast one. There is no time to look at a house, decide you like it, and then compare it to another home a week later. A good house is listed, then gone by week-end. We put down an offer over Easter weekend... and so did someone else. They took the other offer and we were put back on the hunt. A good rule of thumb is to keep emotion out. Yes, you need to like it, but this is really just a major business transaction, so we're keeping that in mind. Makes the break less painful when your offer is denied... we were bummed, but there's always more. Also, take note that Tom and I are not looking for our "dream home," but instead something to start off with and grow out of.
• Right away after that, we sent our Realtor nine listings and had her see which ones were still available (she had told us in the past that we should expect that out of a group of listings, half of them will probably be spoken for). We ended up with five lined up to see that weekend following our denied offer. We don't mess around, people. Haha. We were in the car for over two hours, driving from one house to the next. Overall, it was overwhelming and mostly disappointing. Here is how I described each home to our Realtor in an email afterwards:

  1. Loved the updates, hated the distance and neighborhood.
  2. Loved the backyard and neighborhood, didn't care for the space itself, the price, or distance.
  3. Hated hahaha.
  4. Loved the land, potential, and location, hated the underlying problems, poor maintenance and smells.
  5. Loved the potential, price, and well maintained space, hated the neighborhood, crime rates, and mismatched taste.

So here we are, still on the hunt and time dwindling down. Of course, in our disappointment we started wondering if we should raise our budget or settle and get a townhome instead. We really do like the interiors of townhomes, but it would mean giving up on a yard and continuing to share walls with neighbors... so many downsides (in our opinion). Our Realtor replied to my email, though, and offered encouraging words and confidence that we'll be able to find what we want in time... I so appreciate her saying that! We'll keep our chins up and continue scanning listings online (the bane of our existence).

This experience has been a great opportunity to learn. One thing in particular, I have learned in the overload of homes we've seen, is the need for a checklist. I made a rough one this last Saturday, so after each showing, we'd talk about the good and bad of each home in the car before reaching the next one.

House Buying // Part 4

Part 4: The Fun Part... Kind of

In my last update, we were hoping to start showings with our Realtor soon. This past weekend, we did in fact manage to catch an awesome open house and the following day, walked through a couple homes with just our Realtor. As much as this makes the process feel "real" now, it brought with it a new string of stresses.

Here's what happened:

1. We went to an open house on Saturday (Side note: we got there an hour after it was supposed to be going on and no one was there. So we called the number on the sign, and this cute old lady, who was selling it as an owner, but is also a Realtor IRL, answered and started cracking up because she totally forgot about the open house. So she came right over in her little sweatpants and gave us a tour) and the house was clearly well cared for. She had all new flooring put in, fresh paint, new siding, new water heater, was re-sealing the garage, etc... It really was cute and had 3 bedrooms and 2 baths just like we wanted. However, after more consideration, we realized there was no room for growth in it. There was no basement, no "bonus" room, and no extra storage. The kitchen was tiny. We had never thought about this before, but what about in a couple years when we maybe have a baby and there's no special space for them to play? We couldn't add a fourth room anywhere for guests in a basement or something. We felt that after 3 years, we'd be itching for more space.
2. On Sunday, we met our Realtor at a house we requested to see. Guys? It was horrendous. The flooring was put in incorrectly and in terrible shape, the rooms had bizarre sloping, the exterior and roof were in need of repair, and the electrical was exposed and looked like a total mess. Their asking price was higher than homes we had seen that were in far better condition. Basically, the main floor of the house was just the upstairs of a garage/basement... as if the actual living area of the house was an afterthought. Soooo it was an immediate "no."
3. The next house was adorable. It was on a half acre lot, had been recently painted on the exterior, and had a finished basement and tons of storage. The flooring was newer, the kitchen was open to the eat-in area and living room, and the bedrooms were generous sizes. But... the master bathroom was teeeennnyyy-tiny, there was no hood vent above the stove, the cabinets were in disarray, and the neighborhood wasn't exactly the right demographic for us. The house itself was in decent shape and their asking price seemed fair, but it did need a little work to fix a couple chop-jobs Tom found in the basement.

So here is what we can't figure out: What is worth buying and fixing up or replacing, and what isn't? How important is room for growth? When are you being "too picky" when buying a house? Here's an overview of the pros and cons of the first and last homes I mentioned:

Small Open House
Pros:

• Move-in ready
• Pristine condition
• Great neighborhood and location

Cons:

• No room for growth (it's only bigger than our current apartment by one bedroom)
• Tiny kitchen with no options for better utilizing the space
• The flooring in the kitchen and living/dining rooms, though new, was not good quality and not our taste, so we would change it.
• The backyard was a steep upward slope. Curious to know if rain would cause an issue as it would run directly down towards the house.

Adorable Family Home
Pros:

• Good flooring
• Room to grow (in basement)
• Slightly open concept
• Large lot

Cons:

• No hood vent or easy way to add one
• Small fixer-upper projects
• Iffy neighborhood
• Poor cabinetry
• Tiny master bathroom (like, we couldn't both stand in it at the same time)

So again, what is worth buying and then fixing up and what isn't? Is a bathroom remodel less of a headache than redoing the flooring throughout... or changing every light fixture? Is room to grow more important than a small home that's been better cared for? I feel like having a hood vent is important in a smaller kitchen, is that silly to think? It just seems crazy that so many pieces have to fit together in order to "make-it-work!" What if the house is perfect, but you hate the neighborhood? Should you just deal with it? It's so hard because we find a house we think we could make work, but if we wait to compare it to a home we see a week later, it'll probably be off the market! This is tough, guys! Any words of advice or encouragement?!

House Buying // Part 3

Part 3: Leaps & Bounds... All of a sudden!

In my last update, we were looking at being in a house by year-end.

That idea has been tossed to the wind, and we are now hoping to buckle down and push this process to LEASE end. Like be in a house by the end or middle of June. At the very least, we are hoping to close on a house by then. Are we crazy? Yes. Probably. 

Here's what happened:

1. We met with a mortgage loan officer (who was the nicest lady ever), and she got us pre-qualified for a mortgage. We discovered that the price-range we had been looking in was exactly the right range to be in, so that was great news. She showed us two options for loans, and both were similar, so choosing between them won't be rocket science.
2. While meeting with the loan officer, a buying agent was also present at the office. She seemed near in age to us and our loan officer recommended her, pointing out that as a less experienced Realtor, she would take the time to show us homes in our range. Older, more established Realtors may find us a bit pithy. So only a few days later, after some discussion we decided she would better understand our needs (as a fellow young person) and be more open to our lack of knowledge as first time home buyers. So we signed an agreement to designate her as our Realtor and so far we are very happy! She never makes me feel like I'm asking a stupid question and told me that our short time frame is perfectly doable. Her confidence is calming to me!
3. We can start house showings in a couple of weeks. She said that showing us homes that are on the market now would be useless because most probably already have offers on them and we wouldn't have much of a chance at putting an offer down. The housing market is INSANE right now!

So that's the latest. I cannot believe how fast this all happened, but am glad that our months of super-stress will now be compacted into a few short months instead of almost a year! (Again, are we crazy? Probably)

Like I said, the goal is to be in, or closing, on a house by the end of June. However, if that doesn't happen we have a little back-up plan: 
If, by May 20th we have no prospects and the market doesn't seem to be in our favor, we're going to start a new lease somewhere else and spend a few months gathering our thoughts and creating a new time-frame. If it's May 20th and we haven't found something, but the prospects are promising and we have a good chance of finding something in a month or two, we have some awesome friends who offered some space in their home for any overlapping of time between our lease ending and getting into a house (so awesome of them, right?!).

So now, I will be spending lots of time with our Realtor, weeding out bad homes before Tom can jump in on showings. I'm actually really excited to hang out with her because she's really honest and fun! Hopefully my next post will be some ramblings on the houses we've looked at and how awful and/or great they are and what it's like putting an offer down! Stay tuned and say a little prayer that there aren't too many bumps along the way and I don't become a crying, emotional, train wreck... haha!

Any new advice for this stage? Do you think we're crazy? As a point of reference for how quickly things change, in my first post I mentioned that we met with a Realtor and would use them going forward... WRONG! 

House Buying // Part 2

Part 2: Baby Steps

Since my last post, we have made significant strides towards buying a house. We have put together a time frame in high hopes that we can hold to it, and we are making baby steps towards that goal.

Here's what has changed in the last month:

• Tom got a bonus that has really kickstarted our down payment savings.

• Going to open houses every Sunday has deepened our drive to get a house. We know that by waiting a lot longer, we’ll miss out on some ideal neighborhoods or have to pay more for those neighborhoods the longer we wait. Atlanta and its suburbs grow so rapidly and time is really of the essence. The seller’s market is only going to get worse, and we want to start putting our money into equity rather than throw it away on rent.

• We have come to the realization that if we re-lease with our current apartment, we'll have to fork out another $200+ per month (as they have jacked up rent since we moved here because of improvements across the property). As stated previously, we are already paying rent equivalent to the mortgage of a $300,000+ home, and we are not about to pay beyond that. Not to mention utilities are entirely separate.

• Our current lease will end in the middle of a 10-day trip to Wisconsin. Horrible timing. So we need  to move out in the month prior to our trip to a cheaper, possibly smaller apartment, and sign a six month lease instead of one year.

Here are our goals and next steps in this process:

• During those six months or so, we'll put aside extra money saved on rent, cut expenses wherever we can, continue "paying off" credit cards that we've already paid off (pretend we're still paying credit cards, and instead push those "bills" into savings), and live as frugal as possible. Our end goal is that when six or so months have passed, we'll have a significant lump sum that can be used for a down payment and other expenses in buying a home, without running us completely dry.

• Our end goal is to be in a house around the end of the year. It’s going to take a lot of consistency, sacrifice, and more times of saying “no”, but I know it will be so worth it in the end.

As you can see, there is still a long way to go. When we moved here, talk of buying a house was a far off venture, but because of recent circumstances I’m excited that it’s closer than we thought! Currently, our big challenge is finding an apartment/home for rent that is equal or less than the rent we pay currently. Safety is always an issue in such a metropolis, so that makes it hard to find something doable. Gated communities are prevalent to lessen crime rates, so living in a complex without gated access scares me a little. The phrase “you get what you pay for” keeps ringing in my head, but sorry, $1,350+ a month for rent is highway robbery to this Midwest soul… it’s so hard to stomach that. So, if you need me, I’ll be scouring the area for good rentals and touring every one I can. I've even gotten quite good at checking a place for mold, bugs, poor ventilation, iffy neighbors, and low quality carpet in the first three minutes of walking in the door (impressive, right?? I think so..). You need an inspector? Look no further.

So. Any advice for us at this point? A next step you think would be good?
People in the area: Know of any reputable rentals near to Alpharetta or at least access to 400?

House Buying // Part 1

Part 1: Ugh.

Well everyone, we’re house hunting.

As we are starting this process, I have discovered there is little information on the internet about other people’s house buying journeys. Or even just a play-by-play of exactly how buying a house works. So I’ve decided to document our own journey in the hopes that others might find our experience helpful, or at the least something to be nosy about.

Here’s the thing, though… this is going to be a pretty long process and here are some reasons why:

1. We don’t have money saved specifically for a down payment (but it’s in the works).
2. We don’t particularly know what price range of houses we should be looking at (but we have a ballpark)
3. We are dealing with a seller’s market (meaning: houses are being bought quickly)
4. We aren’t in a terrible rush… but wish we were in a terrible rush.
5. We have no idea how to buy a house.

Soooo we have a few bits that need to be ironed out, obviously. You’re probably reading that list thinking “why the heck are you even starting this process if you have no money saved for a down payment, you idiots?”... we’ve asked ourselves the same question, trust me. There are a couple answers though. First of all, there are sometimes breaks offered to first-time homebuyers that can land you a home with little to no down payment required. Secondly, simply put… why not? It doesn’t hurt to start thinking about it, and frankly, I prefer to take things slow in situations like this because it helps me be sure I understand exactly what I’m getting myself into.

The other reason we’re seriously looking at buying a home is this: The amount we currently pay for the rental of our apartment is about equal to the mortgage of a $300,000 home. So why keep wasting our money something that builds no equity? The only problem, again, is that down payment. That’s really the only thing holding us back. However, with a few tweaks to our budget, we’re hoping to start building on that.

As of yet, we have met with a Realtor, who we will probably use going forward. We have searched out a handful of open houses and discovered certain areas that we must have in a home, and some things we can probably bend on. So far, here are some things we’ve learned overall:

• Having a yard in this area of Georgia is a precious commodity, and we need one for a dog.
• There is no such thing as “starter homes” meant for young, first-time, home buyers. You can either have a townhome mashed up against your neighbors with no yard and a road filled with parked cars, or a $300K+ house that two youngins couldn’t afford, or would be able to fill with furniture.
• If you don’t want a giant, expensive house, or a semi-expensive, tiny townhome, you must live in the boonies and settle for a fixer-upper.
• Neighborhoods matter. I honestly did not put much thought into this one. When you see a house in online listings, and it has a sub-par exterior, with a beautiful, updated interior, do not assume it’s your dream home. We drove a long way to what we thought was a promising open house, only to take one look at the meth-lab-esque neighborhood and high-tail it out of there. Neighborhoods REALLY matter.

There you have it. Part one of our gazillion part series on buying a house. Again, as you can tell, it’s going to be quite the process, and we’ve barely scratched the surface… but we are crazy-excited nevertheless!

In this series, I really want my readers’ feedback. What experiences have you had in buying a home? Do you have any advice for this first stage? Did you manage to snag a home with a small down payment, or no down payment at all? I really want to know!