Homeowning 101

Overwhelming one could say, flat out frightening is maybe more appropriate. HGTV makes buying your first house look so easy.....

Don't be naive people, the television show Property Virgins, should be called, We will only show you 2 of the 1,298,435 steps of owning your first home.

I mean who would of thought that saving up money in your underwear drawer cannot be used for a down payment! They, (they as in the knowers of owning a house people) call this mattress money. And apparently since you technically cannot "track" this money, it cannot be used for your house down payment because it could be considered mortgage fraud..(apparently, the seller could actually give money to the buyer so the seller could get the house sold!) I know right..wish I would of thought of that! hehe, just kidding....

And again you don't just look at 3 houses, like on the show, you look at as many as it takes for you to either a)give up b)find one you like. For us, we looked at 10. At first it was so exciting...looking online for houses, thinking about how you would arrange your furniture....All too good to be true..

Note to self: Pictures are deceiving.....

One house we looked at was most likely used as a meth house at one time. I got a headache in the 3 minutes we were there and my first red flag should have been the leather jacket hanging from the electrical wire...not even joking..

And the approval process----First you get pre-approved..Yes this is basically saying you may or not be able to actually get the house you finally choose, but we will give you this letter to get your hopes up either way.... On the up side it really wasn't alot of paperwork, pay stubs, length of employment, bank statements.....not too bad...

So then when you do decide what house you want you sign something called a, "Purchase Agreement." This is basically saying, you now chose this house, we will cash your earnest money check if you and the seller agree on a price, you will pay more money for an inspection and appraisal, and maybe after that you will actually get the house...

Offering: Not when you give money at church, but the offer and counteroffer process...It can take weeks, back and forth, back and forth...I was so glad to finally, somewhat agree on a price, of course I would of always been okay with something lower.....

Inspection: First, it will always be worth the money you spend on it. Our purchase agreement was contingent on the inspection, basically saying we can walk away if anything is wrong and the seller won't fix it....okay not a bad deal, we would still be out the inspection, but not buying a money pit!

Back to overwhelming...Our inspector was great, very very educational especially when I'm someone who walks in to the house and starts thinking of paint colors and furniture......

I learned....
A) Caulk will be our best friend
B) St.Peter's ground is mostly sand, good for old foundations
C) To check a leaky toilet put food coloring in it...(could be kinda fun, see what colors we can make)
D) It is good if snow is still on the roof, meaning it is properly insulated.....
E) There is a right and wrong way to put in a furnance filter (what?!?! there are furnace filters!?)
And F) Toliets flush a certain amount of gallons, get the most energy efficent one..

Overall, the inspection went well, and now we are on the final stretch.

Closing date is supposed to be 12/10...and I can't wait. I'm scared and most likely will be broke.... However, I can't wait to do things my way and put stuff where I want...or I guess what we agree on anyways...many first times lie ahead and I couldn't be happier!