Beginning the Process

Greetings fair readers! You will not see this post until it is official, but Jeff and I are in the process of house hunting/house buying. After much discussion and consideration, we decided to dip our toe into the Rochester housing market. So far, it has been a process full of ups and downs.

After long discussions with a realtor, we went to the bank to get pre-qualified for a mortgage. It was a nail-biting meeting complete with credit checks, pay stubs, and $ amounts so large your heart tries to jump out of your chest. This is a standard step along the path to poking around people's homes. Once Jeff and I had a dollar amount we were comfortable with, the fun began.

It is a very awkward thing to look through other peoples homes or houses. I think of the "vacant" properties as houses, no furniture, art, or personal items, only empty, echoing rooms. The places that still have people living in them I think of as homes, and I felt a bit like an intruder on people's privacy. Opening cabinets and closets, lifting up rugs to see the floors beneath, I felt like the "clean police" at times rather than a potential home buyer.

From the start, Jeff and I said we would only put an offer on a house if we love it more than the Double Up (our current apartment's nickname). Jeff had some misgivings about giving up the comfort, solitude, and entertaining space provided by the "man cave." We would need a neighborhood we like, 3 bedrooms, off street parking, a good kitchen, hard wood floors, a porch, etc to extract us from the comfort of where we have lived for the past 3.5 years.

We began viewing properties in mid-November, and told no one, in case the first few places quickly informed us that this whole idea had really been a mere flight of fancy, brought on by: the contentment of a happy first year of marriage, annoyance at our landlord's hoarder of a son and his lair in the garage behind the apartment, and too much HGTV. Upon viewing the first house, we knew this was not the case.

Jeff, our realtor Mike, and I started in the Culver-Merchants-Winton neighborhood. A area in the north-east section of the city known for its community feel and modest sized homes. As prices in other popular sections of the city rise, Culver-Merchants-Winton becomes a popular option for young professionals looking to buy. The first house we saw was a 1930 Colonial, and we fell in love. Leaded glass windows, hardwood floors, butlers pantry, front porch, 3 bedrooms, fireplace, walk up attic, 2 car garage, this house was hitting all of the must haves and most of the wish list. The prices was in budget, though at the higher end. But it was our first house, it couldn't be that easy could it? We saw 3 others properties that night, and none could hold a candle to the first. In life, nothing is so simple. Our realtor found out there was already an unaccepted offer on the property, though we could put in a competing offer and hope ours was selected. We planned to go back the next day, to see if it was truly love, when we got the bad news. The sellers had accepted the first offer, without consulting their realtor, and the house was gone.

This was a hard lesson to learn but a great reality check for me and Jeff. We needed to proceed practically, see past some of the grime, and find the right place for us in our hearts and in our minds. The hunt continued...