We bought our first home in the summer of 2010. I had been "looking" for houses since we got married in 2008. I felt morally obligated to be prepared and knowledgeable about the real estate market, after all, for that magical moment when Hubby finally said that it was time to get a place of our own. After he graduated with his Masters Degree in May of 2010, the perfect time to shop for houses officially began!
We looked at about thirty homes in person before finding the perfect one. I found it the morning that it was listed and drove past to make sure the neighborhood was nice before visiting with John and the realtor that evening. I'm pretty sure that we were the only ones to even walk-through since we made an offer that same evening. It had some cosmetic surgery by the sellers prior to our purchase. It was nice to not have to worry about getting new carpet and paint, because they took care of that for us! They even picked calm, neutral colors that I would have chosen myself. I'm a fan of keeping it simple with the big, harder-to-change items (likes walls and sofas), then livening up the space with bright accessories. In green and blue, of course, because those are my favorite colors.
After about forty-five days of arrangements with banks, home inspectors, assessors, and more banks, we were handed the keys in late July. My hand was shaking so badly that it was hard to turn the handle to let us inside! It's a magical home, and I've been in love with it since we very first saw it back in May.
That being said, we are having a ton of fun making it our own. We stained all of the kitchen cabinets before moving in, a project that took me almost two weeks because I selected the most humid month of the year to wait for the paint to dry. Literally. Our first night in the home was on August 5th, after the polyurethane smell had died down enough to make the home habitable. It was killing me to be so patient, believe me! I couldn't wait to get settled into our own space after almost two years of some very close neighbors. Having our own home is such an incredible feeling.
I often post projects that John and I accomplish on our home. It's fun to compare what was to what is and smile at the results. We work hard to make it look nice, and I am tickled to say that it looks that way most of the time! Hubby's patience really shines through when we both realized how Type-A I really am. Yes, the towels DO need to be folded a certain way. I bet you're sorry for asking!
Slowly but surely, it is becoming our dream home. I am so in love with this house and am very happy that we have it. Come see it!