What I'm Doing

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Buying a House, Part I

With the wedding, honeymoon, and being sick out of the way, Kristen and I are ready for our next big adventure: buying a house.

Currently, we're living in the apartment I moved into back in November. At the time, I was already planning on getting a house as soon as possible (at least partly to take advantage of the current "buyer's market"), so I only signed for a 6-month lease. This means that I need to have a house by May (I could, of course, renew my lease for another 6 months, or pay an extra $100 monthly, but I don't want to do either of those). So, with less than 3 months to go, Kristen and I decided to call up a friend of mine from our old church who happens to be a realtor, and get started looking for a house.

We met with Eric (our realtor friend) at a local Chick-Fil-A this past Saturday, and he went over a "first-home buyer's" brochure he had put together with us. We also caught up with each other a little, since I hadn't seen him in some time.

After the meeting, both of us were very excited. I can't wait to get out looking, and I know that Eric is a realtor that not only has the experience to be able to help us, but is also trustworthy.

Of course, before we can get out looking at homes, we have to figure out what we can afford. To that end, Eric gave us a card for a lender that he knows, so that we can get pre-approved for a loan. I gave him a call yesterday, but I got an answering machine. Of course, if I'm enjoying a holiday, the banks are, too. So, hopefully, we'll hear back from him today, or I'll try calling him again this afternoon.

I really want to get this show on the road. God-willing, by May, I will own a home. Which means I'll be able to vote! Wait...

3 comments:

KTP said...

Dude house buying is nuts!!

JW said...

Buying a house is so exciting- hope you have wonderful luck with the process! We just refinanced our house using Mark at church as he gave us the best rates- I'd highly recommend shopping around and I'm sure he could quickly give you a ballpark figure. Anyway, see you at church on Sunday!

Anonymous said...

Good luck on the house buying! I don't know what your financials are like (and not asking), but what worked great for us was renting for 2 years and banking her entire income. We then had a substantial down payment on the house, could get approved for any mortgage, and could avoid PMI. (We did the same after we got our house so that we would have a good cushion once she was at home with the children.) Since housing prices will probably be stable or perhaps falling in the next couple years, this may be a good time to rent.