We Bought A House!

Well, let me rephrase that, we have started the process of buying a house. Anyone that has bought a house knows that you don't just go out, pick a house, pay some money, and then have the house. It's a long process of making an offer, coming to some agreement on that offer, inspections, appraisals, signing a million pages of paper work, getting the keys and then buying a house. And for us there are a few more steps involved in the buying of our house. You see, right now, our house is an empty lot full of weeds and a picture on a piece of paper. Yes, we went the building route. And while we didn't go buy a nice piece of property to build our custom dream home on, we are going to have a nice house built in a cute subdivision on a perfectly sized lot.

We are very fortunate that we have a lot of time before we need to be out of our rental home that we are currently living in. The home owners (Shad's former boss) are going to be out of the country until sometime next summer and since we agreed to keep up their house until they get home, we have an ample amount of time before we need to be out of their house. On the other hand, we have been looking at houses in our area for the last few months and are finding that if it is a decently priced house, the size we are looking for, and in the school district we are in, you better jump on that bad boy as soon as it hits the market. Holy cow, we found a house that listed on a Friday, and by Monday (when we were going to see the inside of it and possibly make an offer) the house already had 6 offers! And here's the other thing, it was a short sale. Which for people like us with a lot of time, that would be a good thing. But for the people living in that house, a short sale means they HAVE to sell. I just don't know if I would feel right getting in a bidding war over a family's home that better sell or they are going to be foreclosed on. That's just didn't seem right at all.

So we decided that building would be a very good option for us. We did this on our house back home and it turned out really well. Yes, there are several expenses up front (landscaping, fences, window treatments), but in the long run the maintenance is so low (ie: 30 year roof, brand new carpet and floors, energy efficiency). Also, Shad and I are not fans of remodeling or painting, at all. Now we won't have to worry about out dated paint, flooring or appliances for a very long time.

We only just came to an agreement with the builder last night, so we have a very long way to go. But we are both starting to get excited at the prospect of having our own house up here. Don't get me wrong, we live in a beautiful house that has a park-like yard. It will just be nice to get into our own house and really get settled into living up here. Since we have been in a bit of a holding pattern with our temporary renting situation, it hasn't really felt official that we will be up here for the long haul. And on the flip side, since we have been house shopping, Shad and I have both been a little moody because it is making it feel more permanent that we are here for the long haul. It was hard to leave our home down south. But, after some talking and praying, we are feeling much better about being here. Also, we have made some amazing friends through our church (that we love!), great neighbors and lots of moms from the kids' school. God's been really making sure we are settled in and it is finally starting to feel great. So Shad and I are both very thankful that He has provided us with the means and finances to begin this house building process. I am excited to share pics and updates as we move along in this process.

Yay! We bought a house!!