A House to make Home

Chads job has shown us some stability this past year and with our lease coming to end and rent rates and home prices going up up up, we decided early in the year to start looking for a home! We spent months looking and second guessing it since it's undoubtedly the biggest purchase we will have made, we decided in May, it's time to buckle down and go all in. We knew we'd be here at least another 2-3 years, rent rates have risen by $300-500 a month since we moved here 2 years ago and being a one income family, we recognized than among many many other reasons, a mortgage and a rent rate would be almost exactly the same but one would build equity and offer an opportunity to invest in real estate, and at that, a piece of real estate that could potential be very lucrative in years to come.

We've been blessed with lots of advice and guidance from knowledgeable friends, family and new contacts in the field and we're nervous, and excited but we're doing it!

We found a beautiful home with good bones, in a reputable neighborhood and room to grow and we're so excited to make it our own. We're excited to be in an area with exciting growth happening and so closed to such a fun, young community.

Its a fixer upper folks. The previous owners were smokers with lots of pets, that's kind of all you need to know....but I'll go on. They also didn't keep up on anything and lots of stuff that normally last upwards of 10 years is falling apart or has already been replaced because it wasn't maintained well but we're confident we're getting it at such a competitive price that we'll be able to turn things around. Honestly, we've always wanted a project to pour our passion into, it's how Chad and I work best together and we can.not.wait. to make something beautiful together.

The process has been long and grueling. Lots of ups and downs and lots of learning about what realtors really mean when they say one thing and what loans are really on your side and I'm confident in only one thing, and that's that I do not know enough about what we're doing to be doing it on my own! However, we've been guided to a few saving graces that have helped us learn more and watch out for traps and dishonest business people who want a quick buck. Chad and I have really loved going through this process together though, we've really had to communicate so well because we both have so many questions, so many priorities (that don't always match up) and so many daily decisions. It given us something great to work towards together.

 We've had to sacrifice a lot these past two years to make it happen and we'll have to sacrifice a lot in the next two years to make it happen but we've both caught the vision of this home and we're so invested in creating something beautiful together that the sacrifices will and has already just fused us together as we've worked for such a unifying passion.

All the sacrifice is not to say we haven't had help, I'm grateful for friends and siblings who have recently purchased in this housing market and have been so willing to give us references and advice. I learned the most from you. And my parents who have also seen the vision of our home and at times have been even more excited about our journey than us! They want to help, they want to watch and they want us to succeed and its so comforting to have their support and guidance as they've been in our shoes more than once. Down payments are no joke and they helped provide us and clue us into opportunities over the past few years to earn the money we need. They understand and support us when we have to say no to a double date or expensive restaurant. We hope to end up owing them nothing at the end of this but who am I kidding, we owe them everything. They have been such a support to Chad and I and to say we did this on our own would be sanctimonious and false.

   All that being said, we've been graced with dark clouds of disappointment and we have learned a few lessons the hard way. We'll just say, not everyone is to be trusted and there's no room for feelings or loyalties in business. We learned that if we don't have a strong opinion on something, someone who can make money off of our passiveness will have an opinion to push on us. It's made us more decisive and confident in our needs vs. wants. Traits that we've both needed polishing to say the least!

   The next few weeks we are dotting all the I's and crossing all the T's but by the 21st of September, we should have some keys! Liam keeps saying, "when are moving to our new house with the cool stairs?" and "can we please take my bunk bed to the new house?" those are his major concerns. our concerns are a little more 'big picture" like carpet costs, cleaning, inspection and appraisal fees, getting new locks earning the last few hundred of our down payment and cleaning and painting the entire home. It's going to be a crazy month for the Merrells!