The 123s of House Hunting

Why hello there family and friends! Here's a little update on our house hunt....in the form of numbers.

With our lives currently rotating around our search, numbers have become our primary form of communication. Okay, I'm exagerating a little, but Taylor and I have it down pat when we walk into a new place - we very quickly run through a slew of numbers as soon as we walk in the door:

asking price

number of bedrooms

number of bathrooms

square footage

hoa dues

percentage down

approximate monthly expense

distance to work

number of parking spots

amount of outdoor space

After we've toured the place, we spend the subsequent days discussing the numbers - how much we'd need to put down, how much we'd need for closing, how long it would take to pay it off, etc.

And so, since numbers are playing such a large role in our lives right now, here's a numerical snapshot and summary of where we are in our house hunt:

2 - The number of apartments we've rented together.

 

3 - The number of places we've lived since we got married.

 

1 year - The longest each of us have lived in a place since starting at Pepperdine (I cannot wait to stop moving every year!).

 

2 and 1/2 months - The amount of time we've been saving for a house. We know we're a little crazy.

150+ - The number of homes we've looked at online. We are incredible familiar with just about every property listed online in our price range and in our desired location. We also have a good handle on what's available in our desired location...outside of our price range!

4 - The number of apps/websites we frequent to do our searching (Redfin, Trulia, Zillow, and Realtor.com). Redfin is the best.

35 - The number of homes we've done a "drive by" past. We drive by places alllll the time.

1 - The number of times we submitted an application to be on HGTV's House Hunters.
{Side note - we got an email back from the show's producer and have been debating if we should take the next step, which is to do a 5-minute video about us and why we should be on the show. The only thing stopping us right now is that you need to commit to taking 5 days off of work for shooting - sadly it's a little too much time for our very busy work schedules! Maybe next time!}

22 - The number of homes we've toured with a realtor.

6 - The number of open houses we've been to.

4 - The number of open houses we've been to where we could actually afford the place.

2 - The number of open houses we attempted to go to but never ended up seeing because we couldn't find the unit within the complex. Baloons, people. Baloons.

$200 (or less) - HOA amount that we're comfortable with.

21 - The number of spreadsheets we've Taylor has put together to organize data, calculate our mortgage, monthly payments, etc.

5-8 years - The amount of time we're hoping to pay off our house.

15 year - The length of the loan we're hoping to go with (Dave Ramsey would be proud!).

1 - The number of places we've put an offer in on.

2 - The number of offers we submitted on the above mentioned place.

1 - The number of times that we were outbid.

And there you have it. Lots of looking. Lots of visiting. Lots of not-sleeping. Lots of fun!

We're bummed that we didn't get the place that we put an offer in on. The property was bank-owned and someone else put in an offer at the same time we did, and it sent us into a "best and highest offer" situation (typical for bank-owned properties when there are two intersted parties). Sadly, we were outbid. We haven't given up though, and the search continues!

Stuff First Time Home Buyers Say

• Let's do a drive by!
• We could totally re-do that kitchen!
• We could totally re-do that bathroom.
• Imagine what we could do to that living room!
• Wait - so the HOA is on TOP of our mortgage payment!?
• Hold on, you have to add insurance on to the monthly payment too??
• What are bank fees?
• How much would taxes be on this place?
• What's an escrow account?
• Let's put the numbers into a spreadsheet.
• Let's see what our monthly payment would look like with this place.
• Ooooh! Open House sign! Let's go in.
• We could still go look even if it's totally over our budget, right?
• I could totally see myself living here.
• Imagine if we lived here!
• We definitely need to stick to our budget.
• Oooh! This one is only a little over our budget!
• We could totally make this work....right?
• We're never going to find a house.
• Did you see that new listing on Trulia?
• We definitely need to find a place with covered parking.
• Did you see that new listing on Zillow?
• Who cares if the place doesn't have covered parking!
• Did you see that new listing on Refin?
• WeA 15-year mortgage vs. a 30-year mortgage would save us how much?
• We have to pay how much for an inspection?
• We could make this space work, right?
• A bank owned place would be okay, right?
• A bank owned place is totally a deal!
• Let's go drive by the place.
• Are missing appliances normal?
• What do you mean it doesn't come with a fridge?

Happy hunting!
{Inspired by a post on this real estate blog!}

Condo vs. House

I've had a hard time calling our recent search "house hunting."

There is a major emphasis on the house part of "house hunting" to me. And, as you've probably deduced by now, we're not looking for a house!

Here's how my friend Wiki defines a house:

A single-family house means that the building is typically occupied by just one family, and consists of just one dwelling unit. The building does not share an inside wall with any other house or dwelling. Most single-family homes are built on lots larger than the structure itself, adding an area surrounding the house, which is commonly called a yard. Garages can also be found on most lots.

Source Wiki

Hehe.
Isn't the definition just a little funny?
Yes, I would agree, the area around the structure is commonly called a yard!

Right now the top priority of our search, besides price, is location. We both want to be close to our jobs and we want to be in the heart of Dallas. We're looking along the Katy Trail, near the West Village. It's an adorable little area with cute tree-lined streets and tons of condos and townhomes. The "single-family house" structures are few and far between, hence our desire for a condo.

I also have to admit that we really, really, really don't want to deal with a yard right now.
I'm very pro having an HOA maintain the exterior of a place!

So, in light of all that, this is more of what we're looking for right now:

A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned, while use of and access to common facilities (such as elevators and exterior areas) is shared. Colloquially, the term is often used to refer to the unit itself in place of the word "apartment". Source Wiki

I think I just need to get over the terminology.
We're looking for a house.
It just happens to be a condo,
Either way, it'll be our home.

For Sale

We have a little bit of news to share. We're beginning the search for a condo! The lease on our apartment is up in May and we recently decided that it might be worth looking for a place to buy instead of leasing again for another year.

There are a plethora of uncertainties about our search but we wanted to share the news and ask for prayers! We know that it's incredibly possible that this won't work out and we might end up leasing another apartment after all, but we're confident that God has a plan for us....and we can't wait to find out what it is! Until then, we're exploring all of our options and learning as much as we can about buying a home. There is so much to know and learn!

It's funny how your neighborhood and the buildings around you look totally different when you start thinking about buying a home! Now whenever we're driving around and see a "for sale" sign, we immediately jump onto one of the real estate apps on our phones and look into the details of the place.

We'll keep you updated on our search!

Image/Via