Hi!! I'm back (I think). Things have been a whirlwind for sometime now. I have LOTS of things to update and albeit delayed they are coming!
Let me pick up with something I've learned lately...
buying a house is not as entertaining as it's perceived on House Hunters.
Travis and I are in the process of finding our perfect first home.
I have dreamed of being a homeowner for as long as I can remember. For more years than I can count I have resisted the urge
and not resisted the urge, collecting quite a stockpile to purchase every cutesey home accessory, kitchen ware, decor, etc. I lay my eyes on. I've even blogged about being a homeowner
here,
here, and
here.
I have watched House Hunters for ages and dreamed of being that giddy, engaged couple walking through homes and agreeing on "the perfect one". That my friends, is not real life, not for us anyway.
{and also not for the couples on House Hunters either according to the website that clearly states it is semi scripted and to be a part of the show you must already have a contract on one of the houses featured... - sadly for some reason this crushed my little heart, I've been in love with a lie.}
Let me preface all this by saying that the town we are moving to is a major boom town right now. The oil has brought people from literally everywhere and Uvalde is the hot place to live. This is amazing for several reason, mainly because it has given Travis a great opportunity but also because it has brought many, many young couple just like T and I to the town. I am ecstatic to get settled and begin life in a new town with a new husband and new friendships.
This oil boom however has made purchasing our first home very, very hard.
It is absolutely a sellers market. Houses are listed at the highest prices the town has ever seen and many are listed and sold with in days. DAYS people! If you see something you like you have to jump on it, like yesterday.
Neither one of us living in Uvalde hasn't made this process any easier. When we see something we're interested in we have literally hours to decide if it's worth me making the trip and logically it just doesn't always work out. Luckily, we have a great realtor who we really like and trust to guide us on the one's worth a look.
Let me give you a little run down on what's been happening on the house front, even though it makes me oh, so sad.
First we pinned down an area. We're sticking to the "downtown historic" area, very similar to the area of the Heights for all you Houston peeps. Most of the houses are the original charmers built anywhere from the late 1800s to the mid 1970s but there a newer builds being thrown in the mix as well. We love this location, the younger families, the big lots, the restaurants and cute shops in close proximity, and we were told that "all the cool neighbors" take evening strolls to each others homes on golf carts - because obviously walking is just too difficult when you have wine in tow. Sold.
We really loved one house.
The Pecos St House
This house was great. Open floor plan, charming features like built ins, huge wood pane windows, adorable shutters in the rooms, great patio, separate office space outside, huge corner lot, AND chickens. Yes, chickens! The most adorable chicken coop you ever did see. Add bees and it'd be made for me. My wheels were immediately spinning with ideas of how to make this already precious house our home. We "slept" on it for a couple days. We weren't worried because unlike most houses we'd liked, this house had been on the market for like 187 days. Well, when we called to officially work up a contract we were informed that literally hours before an offer had been made and accepted on the house. Damn. We put in a back up offer, prayed the first offer would fall through, and kept looking. First offer has not fallen through yet. Big fat bummer.
SO...onward with the house search.
Last Monday I got an automatic listing in my inbox. I just happened to get the email right when it came in, read it over, checked out the pics and was just about to email our realtor when she called to tell me we shouldn't waste anytime on this house. We arranged to see the house (and a few others, including an ah-mazing but surely haunted house that I've just got to share with you later).
Enter Black St House
Like the Pecos house, the curb appeal leaves a little to be desired but the inside is just as charming! We fell in love with the cozy feel, the windows, the sunroom, covered patio, brick wood burning fireplace, the great price which would allow for some immediate TLC, and the converted garage which would lend itself perfectly to Saturday football game watching parties. This house was truly a "perfect first home". We found out there were already 4 other offers on the table (and this house had been on the market just about 48 hours) We didn't want to be second best again. We put in an offer and waited excitedly. I had every square inch of this house mentally decorated - and let me tell y'all...it was CA-UTE!
When we got the call informing us we didn't get the house I fought back serious tears. How could this happen?! Well, I'll tell you. It blew our realtors mind too. We presented the best offer but the sellers went with a lower offer from a "more established couple" (which I for some reason took offense to) who are getting financed through a local lender. Small town for ya. We later found out that we never really had a chance anyway, the seller's mother was their realtor who sold this house to her friends, the more "est. couple". BS if you ask me.
{why does blogger randomly change your layout sometimes? grr.}
And now here's
another screwball . When putting the contract in on the Black St house we were informed that Travis already owns a house! SAY WHA!? Yep, he had completely forgotten that his name is on the house he lived in in college. A house his parents are paying for. A house they still own. So the bank sees that we would now own two homes on one income, which means we were approved for much less than we had originally assumed.
Hopefully we can get this all sorted out very soon but until then we've decided to put things on hold for about a week or so.
(and darling houses are being scooped off the market as we unpatiently wait)
The good news is, the second home we put a contract on, I think was more perfect than the first one so that only means the next will be even more perfect for us, right?
And Travis' silver lining? "Well babe, this is actually a good thing, now we know what we have to spend on a bayhouse on one income!" (newsflash T, a bayhouse is just about the last thing we will be purchasing! got two of those between us already bud.)
My moms (mine and T's) keep reminding me that everything happens for a reason.
Obviously, I know this and 100% believe it's truth, I preach it all the time in fact, but when all we want (and need) right now is to be together and settled, understanding this has proven to be extremely difficult.
Third times a charm!
I hope and pray it is, anyway!
We don't need it all, just something.
After all, what's a home anyway? I suppose as long as I'm with the ginger bear, I'll always be home.
{but a 3+ bedroom, 2+ bath, 2 living spaces, dining room, great outdoor living space, wood floor, charming, high ceiling-ed roof over our heads sure would be nice}
or....maybe we should move into the house T already owns in Lubbock! Couldn't be more perfect, Tech football starts in just about 60 days! WRECK 'EM!
be back soon! lots of updating to do!
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