Today I want to share a little bit about our house hunting experience so far but first lets just talk about our current situation. My husband Tim and I live in a two bedroom apartment which we have been in for almost three years. It's been a pretty good place to live because we are very close to pretty much anything we could need. We have quite a bit of space for two people and honestly most of the time we are hanging out in the living room together so it works out fine. You can see a full view of where we live here.
We started off super excited to be in our own space and have our first apartment together but over the last three years we have created quite a list of reasons why we want to buy a house. Last year we started seriously looking for a house but quickly put it on the back burner when our wedding became our top priority. Our main priority is to find a house in Washington County, RI close to the area where we both grew up. We both work in that area and don't want to be too far from work but also want to make sure we are in a nice area where we can raise a family.
That being said since we are first time home buyers our budget is quite small. We have a down payment saved up from our wedding gifts and have been pre-approved by the bank but we have a pretty small budget to work with. Unfortunately the area we want to be in is very pricey because the tax rate is very low. The housing market is currently a sellers market meaning that there are more buyers then sellers and not a ton of houses on the market to choose from.
Now here is what we are looking for in our first home:
- Preferably 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms but we are considering houses that don't meet that.
- Washer and dryer or area in which we can put a washer and dryer (yes my standards are low after sharing with nine other apartments the last three years).
- Dishwasher or an area where we can install one.
- Kitchen that is somewhat open, not a galley kitchen.
- A yard! At least a small outdoor space that we can call our own.
- Clean. I have what I think are normal standards of cleanliness and would like the house to be somewhat kept up.
Honestly, I don't feel like we are asking for all that much but it's been quite a road so far. We have been to see dozens of houses, made an offer, almost made another, and been disappointed far too many times for my little heart to handle. I know that everything happens for a reason and eventually we will find the house we are meant to be in but it is definitely a tough journey!
We originally found a house we really liked a little out of the area we want to be in. We decided to put an offer on it which was a cape with a big backyard. Our poor realtor went through the trouble of putting an offer in for us just for the other realtor to announce the owners had already accepted another offer.
A second house we were about to offer on had a problem with the land surrounding it. Thank god our realtor is great at researching and figured out the problem before we were stuck with a house we could never resell.
We have been to see a ton of houses and wanted to see houses that were off the market before anyone even looked at the house. The area we are looking in is very popular with tourists and often people from NY and CT buy summer houses here without even seeing them in person.
We even went as far as talking with someone who builds houses to see if that would be an option but unfortunately we think that will be out of our price range.
So, that's where we are at. Still looking and hoping to be in a house sometime this year. I will definitely keep you updated as we continue to look and hopefully buy our own place!
As frustrating as this journey has been so far I am hopeful and excited for what's to come.
I would love to hear about your house buying journey and if it took a long time for you or if you found your house quickly. Please share!
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