House Hunt

I owe everyone an update on the house hunt, as promised. Our first venture out into the world of for sale signs was February 26. We didn't expect to find and fall in love with a house our first time out...or did we?

We had our eye on a particular old, charming ranch in one of our favorite areas. Its curb appeal and huge yard really caught our eye. Not to mention, it was walking distane to the park in which we take the dogs every weekend. The inside was updated nicely, and from pictures we really thought it might be THE house. It was on the top of our list to see the first time out, and I was so anxious about it. Walking around inside the house and trying to imagine ourselves there was a complettely different experience than I expected...it didn't feel right. It was sort of sad in a way because we had this built up expectation for that cute little house. To say it failed our expectations might be an understatement. In the end, we were relieved to scratch that one off the list and move on with the hunt. The three others we looked at that day aren't even worth mentioning.



This is the Wills Rd. house that we thought we would love. Although it's off the list, I thought I'd share it with you.

Our second time out was another flop. Just more houses to cross off the list. I didn't expect this process to be wasy, but I did expect we would like more than we do. I guess you could say we're picky, but buying a house is a BIG deal. We want what we want, and we won't settle for less. Yes, we realize there will be some compromises along the way, but we certainly won't make any huge sacrifices.

Last Sunday we went out on our third venture. We only went to see one house that Ryan and I have been eying for a couple weeks now. I felt the same anxious anticipation that I had when we went to see the Wills Rd. house. Everyone knows the saying "the third time is the charm." Would that hold true for us int his situation?... It just might!

We went to look at this big (to us), beautiful, charming, white Victorian looking house on Dover Ave. It's in a neighborhood and area that we LOVE. It's one of those older, well established neighborhoods. You know, the ones with houses that have huge yards, with kids that ride their bikes through the streets and play games in each others' front yards, and couples that walk their dog(s) together hand in hand and wave to everyone they pass. It's even more than we were looking for in our first home, but that's the best part... We could grow into the house, and potentially be there for a very long time!

There are several pros to the house, but we've also made a list of cons, which every house is going to have. We originally hoped to find a house that was a bit more "move-in ready" than Dover Ave is. However, the more we think about that fact, the more we like the idea of not buying a house that's already "perfect." Dover Ave needs some TLC, which would allow us to really make it our own. It's got a lot of character as is, but it's somewhat of a blank slate. Ryan and I like the idea of making it our own and growing into it. We're both pretty handy, and we enjoy weekend projects, so it may be fun for us to take on this project.

Our real estate agent is working to get more details on the house this week. He's working to find out how much negotiation room there is because they're asking too much, especially considering the amount of work that needs to be done. Based on his research, we'll decide if we want to make an offer! In the mean time, we're trying not to get too excited about it because we have to be prepared to walk away if they won't budge on their asking price. Some things just aren't meant to be, and we have to keep that in mind.

I'll end on a positive note... a picture of what COULD be our first home. It's certainly too early to tell, but it's a definite contender for now!