This month marks 5 months since we bought our first home together. It seems as if we have blinked our eyes and the time has flown right past. At this time last year a home of our own was only a dream. And now it is a blissful reality that we praise God for daily.
One of our goals during our engagement was to buy our own home sooner than later. We really want to start a family at some point in the future and we set some goals for ourselves as a part of our pre-marital counseling. Some of those goals included finishing school, buying a home, having dependable vehicles, paying off some debts, and having a secure financial foundation to build our family on.
So we began to save our money. We saved most of our wedding present money for a down payment. We saved most of our leftover paychecks for a down payment. We saved and saved for nearly two years. And while we saved we planned. We watched way too much HGTV. We looked at what seemed like hundreds of houses online to narrow down what styles and areas of our city we wanted to live in. We talked to different professionals to figure out what our budget for our income and lifestyle would be. And we prayed like crazy for everything to fall into place.
About six months before we ended up buying our home we got in touch with our realtor. She was fabulous (and thankfully one of our friends that we knew already). She knew our personalities and she was honest with us from day one. What a blessing to our home buying process she was. We slowly began the steps of narrowing down houses even more!
And then one day, about 2 months before we purchased our home we gave her a list of around 12 homes that we were seriously interested in. The following week we set aside a day and went and saw 10 of them (two of them had already sold). Yes, it sounds unconventional. Ten houses in one day. But for us it worked. We were able to compare and contrast and talk through pros and cons of the homes. And it was all fresh in our mind. Some of the houses were great! Others were not as they seemed online. But none of them really called out to us.
By the time we drove to our last house, the sun was sinking and it had just begun to rain. This house was far way from all of the other homes we had looked at. And by that time we were beginning to grow tired. But then we pulled into the drive way. The house was lit up in the setting sun. Cows were speaking their hellos to us from the pasture behind the house. Our hearts jumped in our chests.
Then we walked inside. I knew from the moment I laid eyes on the butlers pantry and the view from the back deck that I was in love. We decided to sleep on it and drove away. We didn't even make it through dinner that night before we called our realtor back and told her we were ready to make an offer. After some negotiating with the sellers, the house was ours!
Everything seemed to happen so slowly for two years, and then everything went into lightening speed. In 8 weeks after we submitted our first offer the keys were in our hands. Our hard work had finally paid off. We were home owners.
We are in love with our home sweet home. It is quiet and so different than living in a loud apartment in the middle of the city. It reminds us a little bit of where we are from. It is just the right size to build a family in for years to come. It keeps us busy (there is always a project going on). But more than anything it gives us a home base. After so many years of moving around we both finally have a permanent place to come home to. And for that we are so thankful to God.
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| The day we became home owners. What a happy day! |
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| Moving day! |
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| The view from our back deck. Cow pastures and sunsets. |
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| Guest Room #1 (come visit us!) |
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| Guest Room #2 (really, come visit us!) |
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| Master Suite. One of our favorite quotes. |
What suggestions do you have for us as new home owners? Any funny stories of your first time home buying experience? Please share. We would love to hear what you have to say.
Much love
S&C
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