The Search is On

First of all, I cannot wait to share this experience with you! This has been the most challenging, yet rewarding, past few months of my life. We'll start with a bit of background about my interest in real estate and buying a home...

I have always been intrigued by online real estate sites, and often spent hours looking looking at homes on realtor.com-- comparing prices, approximating livable square feet, critiquing interior design, and building a wish list of my own. In January 2010, I started looking for a home to purchase, and believe me, I became much more selective. I searched through dozens of homes online, and walked through about ten of them.

I kept looking and I found the house I had been looking for. It was in a beautiful neighborhood, needed just enough TLC to make it personal, and it had charm beyond belief. I needed updated, yes.. which made me leery, but I tossed the reservations aside.

One challenge that presented itself was that of receiving a home loan. The first bank that I applied to required a co-signer on the loan (due to not having had my current position for at least two years). I remember feeling defeated, and the initial fear of not being able to achieve my goals began to eat away at my ambition.

But, oh.. doesn't failure always prove to be the strongest motivator?

I did some research and visited with another bank (a local, and more personable one!). They were happy to work with me... me, myself and I. No co-signer!

Once I had the bank approval, I was ready to make my offer on this dream home. Yes, it needed quite a bit of updating, but I was ready for the challenge.

Womp, womp, womp. As it turned out, the home was a short-sale, and it could be up to 8 months before I heard anything back on the offer. I waited for about a month, and did not hear anything. I was frustrated and wanted to give up on the whole process. However, with the support of my wonderful agent, I kept searching. She encouraged me to think outside of my tiny, pre-programmed box.

So, I kept looking. I went back to searching online, and saw a home that had been listed for only a few days. I had immediate interest--Could this house be the reason God did not allow movement on my other offer? I called my agent up that night and asked her take me -- and she did! I pulled up to the house, and fell in love. It was a strange feeling of peace, and I had instant confidence in my choice to look at this house. As I walked through, it just got better and better...

Within 2 weeks, I withdrew my offer from the other house, put one down on this home, negotiated, and set a closing date. God knew what he was doing! Once I found this house, it was like a giant green light flashing "GO!". Absolute peace with the decision.

So, in June 2010, I closed on my first home. And THIS is where the fun begins..