Is this the one?

At the beginning of this summer, I embarked on a new journey. I decided that I wanted to move forward on my dream of owning my own home. I’m actually surprised that I haven’t blogged about it at all.

I’ve gotten extremely tired of my apartment. It’s a one bedroom with a living room that doesn’t allow me to rearrange my furniture (I’ve tried a couple time … just not possible with how it is laid out). Plus my rent went up in August. This apartment isn’t worth what they’re charging me for it. As of the end of this month, I’ll have been living in this apartment for 6 years. It’s time to move on.

I’ve been putting money into 2 savings accounts for quite a while now. I actually started this process back in 2008, but I got laid off in October of that year, so the dream got put on indefinite hold.

I think that I’m at the right point in my life right now to own my own home. I’m 36 years old … I’m not getting any younger. Sure … I’m not making as much money as I was back in 2008 before I got laid off (by quite a bit actually … even after almost 2 years), but I have gotten raises every time I’ve had a review at work. And I have my annual review coming up soon. I’ll have been at my current job for 2 years once November hits. I’m hoping I’ll get another raise … I mean, I did build a custom CMS (both standalone and network) … that’s got to count for something, right? 😉

I’ve looked at 7 houses (before today). I really liked one of them, but it was in extreme NW West Fargo. It was priced right and was the right size, but the location just didn’t work for me. 5 of the houses were in the same neighborhood, but they just didn’t work. One came close, but the seller wasn’t including the washer, dryer, fridge, OR stove … and no dishwasher. I could live without a dishwasher, but having to buy the other 4 appliances over the top of the price of the house … not possible.

Last Friday I found this house. It’s a little outside my price range, but not by much. And it’s in the same neighborhood that 5 of the first 7 houses were (which just so happens to be a street over from a friend of mine).

I met my realtor at the house this morning to take a peek at it. I really liked it. I’m not sure what I’d do with the basement, but I’m sure I could grow into it. I honestly couldn’t find anything wrong with it. It was in good condition, and the layout was pretty similar to Robin’s (which I like). In fact, the upstairs layout is identical to Robin’s house. It’s got a nice little yard too … even areas where I could plant some veggies in the spring (I’d have to dig out the plants that are in there now tho).

I need to do some number crunching this weekend (I was gonna do it tonite, but I’ve gotten distracted). My realtor asked my banker to send me some estimates on a loan for the house. At full asking price, and with the sellers paying closing costs, the monthly payments would be right around my sweet spot … a little higher than I’d hoped, but still manageable.

If the numbers come out in my favor … and if the bank agrees to lend me up to the full purchase price … I’ll probably make an offer on it (yeah … I liked it that much). Obviously there’s no guarantee that the sellers will like my offer or any subsequent offer, but that doesn’t mean I’m not gonna try.

:crossfingers: So … keep your fingers crossed. I’d like to move in before the snow flies (or at least before the holidays). :crossfingers: