A Couple of Newbs Go House Hunting

Well, we have some news, and you've probably guessed it from the title of this post: We are shopping for our first home. 

The even bigger news is it turns out house hunting is exactly like the TV show. We get to look at three houses with cameras following us and then weigh the pros and cons over coffee. In our next post we'll announce which one is our dream home.

OK, really, though, we've looked at what feels like a million houses (though it's probably like 10-15) and all we've been talking about over coffee is how in the world that show actually works. Well, not ALL we've been talking about but you get it.

This whole process is really exciting but also a little overwhelming and terrifying. The picture above displays our feelings best. 

Since we don't actually have a house to announce or anything just yet, I thought I'd just sort of give an overview of what led us to this point and what we're hoping our final outcome will be (um, besides the obvious, a house).

Talking About Buying a House

We have been discussing buying a house on and off for a couple years now, but it hadn't felt like the right decision until now. Honestly, it's kind of a surprise even to us that now is (potentially) the right time because our conversations always ended with home buying being a much more long-term goal.

We've been in Columbus for about 3 years now, and in our specific 2-bedroom duplex for a year and a half. This house definitely isn't our favorite home we've ever lived in, but it's the perfect amount of space for us and we love a lot of things about it. However, it suddenly feels really small when we have people come visit, and the thing is we WANT people to visit. We want our parents, in particular, to feel like they can come stay comfortably because we want them to be a big part of Gabe's life.

So, several months ago I started looking for a three-bedroom to rent. I looked daily-obsessively-for four months to no avail. (Not that there aren't plenty of places to rent, but we didn't really want to add too much to our current payments. It just didn't feel like the right choice).

At that point, we just decided to let it go for a while. We rearranged our house and did some things to make it a little more roomy in here, and we do feel comfy and happy in our home for sure. Could we stay here longer and be happy? Of course. 

But somehow, in the last couple months, in all our on and off discussion of buying a house, staying in Columbus, raising little man here despite our family being elsewhere, something just clicked for us that maybe we should start exploring the option more seriously. We love this city, love our jobs, the friendships we have made. Doors have been opening for us in crazy ways since we've gotten here. 

And when we asked ourselves if we would be here at least 5-10 more years, we couldn't come up with any reason why not. (Of course, life can lead in all kinds of directions, and we are open to that, too).  I've always said we'd just leave when the doors stopped opening, and I think buying a house doesn't change that answer.

So We're Doing This?

We met with my dear friends at NeighborWorks Columbus and talked about our options before we went through the official pre-approval process. They gave us a little more confidence with that, so we went onto the lender and got all set up to go. 

We've looked at several houses with a realtor and do have at least one we are head-over-heels for but are being really cautious about choosing and about falling in love with a house too quickly or for the wrong reasons.

Anyway, I think I've rambled long enough. We are just taking it all one step at a time, and trying not to get overwhelmed by the 30-year mortgage commitment or the fact that we are NOT handymen in the slightest and just trust that we'll make the right decision for our family.

Clearly, we'll have more updates on this. In the meantime, here's Gabe being really cute.