House Hunting 101

I never knew that there was so many things that you need to look for when you are buying a house. In our house search we have become experts in finding smoke stains,

cracks in siding,

and cracks in concrete,

all of which are important things to look for and can give the house the boot or the privilege of staying on the "maybe this is it" list.

We have learned A LOT about buying a house in the past few weeks!
Some of the things we have learned:
* houses built on a hill will, more than likely, have a drainage problem somewhere
*granite counter tops will raise the cost of the house by at least $2,000
*sellers who say they are committed to selling and are willing to negotiate are not really committed to selling
*the smell of a house leaves a lasting impression, both good and bad
*a house backing up to a busy street is hard to sell
*not everyone can decorate
*Men look at the outside of the house, the structure and the work that needs to be done. Women look at the inside of the house to make sure it is livable and has plenty of storage.
Basically we have learned that we are very picky buyers!!
I hope that being picky will benefit us in the end!

I had always thought, “I cannot wait to buy a house, it will be so much FUN!”. However, in the recent weeks of searching for a house, the FUN has been replaced with stress, anxiety and nervousness.

I have dreamed of the “perfect” house. A house with a front porch, a big fenced in backyard, a nice kitchen, decent sized closets and room for growth. I have always dreamed of the “Father of the Bride” house.

We have searched online for that perfect house. However, when contacting our realtor most of the houses we like are already under contract. The statement, “it’s a buyer’s market” is so true, everyone is buying right now. So we continue to search for our perfect house. I'm sure it is out there somewhere but we have not found it yet.