A couple months ago, we decided to dip our toes in to test out the real estate waters. Originally, we hadn't planned on buying a house until next year when we (hopefully) sell our other house, which currently has a renter in it. But when we realized that we could potentially find a deal where our monthly payment would be the same or less than our rent payment, we decided, what the heck, let's just see what's out there and start now. Maybe we'll find something, maybe we'll end up waiting another year.
The trick, however, is that we will very likely have to bring money to closing when we sell our Colorado house, which limits the amount of down payment we can use for a new house. Especially when we have no idea how much that amount will be. But if we found a house at the right price, it would be doable, so it was worth checking out.
When we first started perusing the listings, I felt uninterested and unmotivated. Nothing was really grabbing us or seeming like it was worth the trouble. However, after a few weeks, we did see a few that were interesting, and a couple of showings later, our interest was definitely piqued. There was even a house that we fell in love with and considered making an offer on, but it was a little pricier than we wanted.
I am pretty specific about what I want, especially since we have all the time in the world to find a house right now. And then last Friday, we saw a house that looked to be like everything we wanted and for an amazing price. We had a showing, and we really liked it a lot (for Eric, it was love at first sight). Open, spacious floor plan. Granite counter tops, gorgeous tile, and all the bedrooms together. Move-in ready with beautiful landscaping and mountain views. And the price was beyond perfect.
Eric was ready to make an offer on the spot. I said, let's wait and think about it. Of course, the thing is that when you find an amazing house like this for a great price, you have to act quickly because they go very fast, sometimes within a day. But I didn't want to be pressured and make the wrong decision. Something just wasn't making me jump up and down, and I couldn't figure out why.
That night, we talked about it over dinner, and Eric was really excited about it and thought we should act fast. I caught his excitement, and that combined with a margarita (I always make the best decisions with a little alcohol....not) made me say, "Let's do it!" We called our agent and told him to start the offer process. We called our loan officer to see if we could get a pre-qualification on a Friday night to include with the offer.
And then my reservations returned full-force (probably had a little to do with the margarita wearing off). I just didn't feel right about it. I had a choice - go along with the ball we already got rolling that involved people giving up their weekend for us (and also make Eric happy) - or speak up and say hold on a minute and deal with the repercussions. I tried to analyze what was bothering me. I came up with a) the location was further out than I wanted to be and felt just really far and remote and/or b) for some unknown reason my gut was just telling me this wasn't right.
The last time I felt this way was back in 2007 when we bought our first house. I had many, many strong reservations. I did voice them but wasn't really heard. Once again, Eric (and myself to an extent) was caught up in all of it, and I went along for the ride. That house has cost us (and continues to cost us) a pretty penny and many regrets, and I didn't want to make a mistake again.
We spoke with our agent on Friday night and said we wanted to think about it some more. On Saturday morning, we decided to pass, and Eric was fully on board and felt we were doing the right thing. I felt bad after the work had already been done, but that's the way it happened, and I'm glad we made that decision. I think our realtor was shocked and didn't really understand, but that's okay because it was our decision to make.
And it was the right one. No regrets.
When we find the right house, we will know it is right. We will do our due diligence and make sure everything about it (including location) will work for us, but most of all, my gut will be saying it's a good decision. We have time and patience and no need to rush things. It will all work out the way it's supposed to, and I have even more faith in this after this experience.
And the day we sell our other house, I am drinking two margaritas!
The trick, however, is that we will very likely have to bring money to closing when we sell our Colorado house, which limits the amount of down payment we can use for a new house. Especially when we have no idea how much that amount will be. But if we found a house at the right price, it would be doable, so it was worth checking out.
When we first started perusing the listings, I felt uninterested and unmotivated. Nothing was really grabbing us or seeming like it was worth the trouble. However, after a few weeks, we did see a few that were interesting, and a couple of showings later, our interest was definitely piqued. There was even a house that we fell in love with and considered making an offer on, but it was a little pricier than we wanted.
I am pretty specific about what I want, especially since we have all the time in the world to find a house right now. And then last Friday, we saw a house that looked to be like everything we wanted and for an amazing price. We had a showing, and we really liked it a lot (for Eric, it was love at first sight). Open, spacious floor plan. Granite counter tops, gorgeous tile, and all the bedrooms together. Move-in ready with beautiful landscaping and mountain views. And the price was beyond perfect.
Eric was ready to make an offer on the spot. I said, let's wait and think about it. Of course, the thing is that when you find an amazing house like this for a great price, you have to act quickly because they go very fast, sometimes within a day. But I didn't want to be pressured and make the wrong decision. Something just wasn't making me jump up and down, and I couldn't figure out why.
That night, we talked about it over dinner, and Eric was really excited about it and thought we should act fast. I caught his excitement, and that combined with a margarita (I always make the best decisions with a little alcohol....not) made me say, "Let's do it!" We called our agent and told him to start the offer process. We called our loan officer to see if we could get a pre-qualification on a Friday night to include with the offer.
And then my reservations returned full-force (probably had a little to do with the margarita wearing off). I just didn't feel right about it. I had a choice - go along with the ball we already got rolling that involved people giving up their weekend for us (and also make Eric happy) - or speak up and say hold on a minute and deal with the repercussions. I tried to analyze what was bothering me. I came up with a) the location was further out than I wanted to be and felt just really far and remote and/or b) for some unknown reason my gut was just telling me this wasn't right.
The last time I felt this way was back in 2007 when we bought our first house. I had many, many strong reservations. I did voice them but wasn't really heard. Once again, Eric (and myself to an extent) was caught up in all of it, and I went along for the ride. That house has cost us (and continues to cost us) a pretty penny and many regrets, and I didn't want to make a mistake again.
So, I told Eric how I felt. He was pretty upset and didn't understand where I was coming from. The funny thing that I have learned is that of the two of us, Eric is the one who gets more emotionally attached and gungho when it comes to home buying and wants to go full speed ahead when he finds something he likes. Because of this, I need to be the detached, reserved, logical one. And that's what I had to do in this instance. I had to listen to my gut and act on it, and over the course of thinking about it, Eric ended up coming to the same conclusion I did.
We spoke with our agent on Friday night and said we wanted to think about it some more. On Saturday morning, we decided to pass, and Eric was fully on board and felt we were doing the right thing. I felt bad after the work had already been done, but that's the way it happened, and I'm glad we made that decision. I think our realtor was shocked and didn't really understand, but that's okay because it was our decision to make.
And it was the right one. No regrets.
When we find the right house, we will know it is right. We will do our due diligence and make sure everything about it (including location) will work for us, but most of all, my gut will be saying it's a good decision. We have time and patience and no need to rush things. It will all work out the way it's supposed to, and I have even more faith in this after this experience.
And the day we sell our other house, I am drinking two margaritas!
1 comment:
You have to listen to your gut. Often you'll have these feelings and you'll ignore them and later regret not listening.
And like you said, the right how will come along and when it does you'll just know! xx
http://shermsinthemiddle.blogspot.com
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