As of last week, we have officially started looking for a new house to accommodate our growing family. When I say growing, I mean as in two little boys, who are quickly outgrowing the space we have in our current house.
We actually put a bid on a house last week in a neighboring town. We started our offer on the lower side of the acceptable range, but we were pretty sure we would be able to come to a “happy medium” with the sellers regarding a price. The house was nice, but it did need some work. However, the sellers didn’t budge at all in their price. Evidently they don’t have to move and are holding out for their asking price.
We were pretty surprised at this. Everything you read says it says it is a buyer’s market, and sellers are willing to move mountains to sell their properties. I guess these sellers didn’t get the memo. :-)
We are being picky. We don’t have to move right away. We don’t have to sell the house we are in now before we can move, (we are going to rent it), so we can take our time and keep looking.
It has been years since we have bought a house- I had forgotten all the emotional feelings that come up when trying to decide on a house you want to raise your family in. But, I guess you have to go through that in order to find the right place.
I have already decided for us, there is not that elusive “perfect house.” Since we aren’t selling our current place, we will have two mortgages, so we don’t have an unlimited budget to work with. There is a big difference in looking at properties, and then realizing what you can actually afford. We also don’t want to have every last dime tied up in a house payment.
So, we will just have to see what comes our way. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find something that is almost perfect. If not, that’s okay- we have done countless home improvement projects over the years, so we can fix, paint, remodel a space, etc. if we have to.
Moving forward even from this one attempt to buy, I have already learned that there isn’t a “perfect” house- there is always something that you don’t like, or want to change, and don’t count your chickens before they hatch. A deal isn’t a done deal until you actually close on the property.
While I am not really excited at the prospect of going through all this again, it is nice to be moving in that direction and hopefully we’ll find a place, sooner than later. We’ll appreciate any good house hunting thoughts you can send our way, and if you have any tips you’d like to share, I’d love to hear them.
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crunchy domestic goddess says:
good luck. i know this can’t be easy, but the right house (with sane sellers) will come along.
btw, is that a pic of the house you bid on? it’s beautiful!
July 8th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Mamasphere says:
I love house hunting! I’ve been keeping my eye on the MLS for a while now, in the hopes that we can find something and then rent out our current place.
Unless you build from scratch, there isn’t ever a ‘perfect’ place. And even then, things will pop up. Sounds like you have the best attitude to have when house hunting.
Can’t wait to read more about your search!
July 8th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
A Mama's Blog says:
I wish this was a picture of what we bid on- we did bid on a house w/ three car garage, but it wasn’t as pretty as this- this is just a basic house picture I found.
July 8th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Julie Artz says:
You know, even if the house you end up buying needs a lot of work, it can still be the “perfect” house for you and your family.
Our first house needed a lot of work, had a funky layout, and wasn’t in the best area for schools. Yet, for us at that time, it ended up being the perfect house.
I learned to garden working on that beautiful yard, and Matt learned to be a dab hand with the tools because of all the fixes he had to do to the inside. Our neighbors became good friends for life, and we learned a ton about what we’d want out of our next house.
So enjoy the process, and also know that the “perfect” house may not be cosmetically perfect, cost a million dollars, or be 8000 square feet, but it will be just right for you guys!!!
July 8th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
Jess says:
Good luck on the house hunting. I hope you find your dream house soon.
July 13th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
Amy says:
This sounds so like what we’ll be going through soon. We too are keeping our current house and renting it. We sure did learn A LOT after buying our first house! Luckily this time we won’t be a time line like we were the first time.
July 16th, 2008 at 8:34 am