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They say patience is a virtue, but it's certainly not easy. We started house hunting earlier this year, hoping to find a house that we could realistically afford and see ourselves living in for the long haul. We came close a couple of times (with this house in particular), but every house that seemed like a "maybe?!" turned into a "nope, never mind," for various reasons. So for now, it seems, we are in the season of waiting. Waiting patiently (or not-so-patiently) for that Goldilocks house that is juuuust right in price, size, and location. Luckily, the house we're renting is big enough for now. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed to put the dream on hold for a bit longer! As much as I'm grateful for our rental, I'm sooo ready to have a place of our own, a home that we can invest in and make changes to. Anyone who knows me, knows that I love houses...so I've been itching to jump into homeownership for years. And I admit, getting pregnant totally accelerated that. But I have faith that the right house will come along, and when it does we'll be so glad that we didn't desperately rush into something that was too small or too expensive for us. Good things take time, right?
That's not to say we've suspended the house hunt altogether. We're still looking and keeping an eye out for our house to come on the market. But we did renew our lease for another year, and we decided that we're ok with renting for as long as it takes. We definitely don't want to get into a crazy bidding war and overpay for a house that we don't even love, just because of emotions and fear of missing out. And I've never liked the concept of "starter houses." I'm not saying our first house has to be my dream house, but it's gotta be something we're excited about, and big enough that we won't outgrow it in just a few years. Plus, we've been reading lots of articles predicting that the housing market (especially in "frothy" areas like Seattle) may be nearing another peak. Who knows if that's true or not, but for now, we're gonna wait it out.
Buying a house is a scary thing! It's a BIG deal and a whole lot of money and uncertainty. I've seen articles that say "2016 is THE year to buy! Get a house now or you'll be priced out of the market forever!" and on the flip side, I've seen articles that say "The real estate bubble is about to pop!" We're not economists, and we have no idea who's right. So we're just gonna do what feels right for us and trust that it will all work out.
So, all that to say we renewed our lease and will be staying in this little rental for a little while longer! It's not as exciting as getting the keys to a new house and launching into a bunch of remodeling projects. But hey, we're having a baby in a few months so maybe that's enough major life changes for the year. :)
For anyone else who has been house hunting this year, I'd love to know...what has your experience been? And what part of the country (or the world) do you live in?
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I love this post! I totally understand the house thing. We found out we were pregnant while living in our appt, totally a surprise! We house hunted for a while with no luck, then my husbands parents decided to sell us their beautiful big home, the house my husband grew up in! Not only was the timing perfect, but there was a special personal touch added to it since we waited. The time is coming! hold on! :D
Aww, thank you for the encouraging comment, Rachel! That's so sweet that you'll get to raise your babies in the same house your husband grew up in! I hope we'll also look back in the future and feel so that glad we waited for JUST the right house. :)
Aw bummer!! But baby! So exciting :) I've been house hunting in Spokane and the houses on the market suck right now!! I found one I loved but the inspection failed miserably:( so back to square one. We can be patient together!! Xoxo
I didn't know you've been house hunting in Spokane!!! What areas are you looking in? Too bad about the inspection on that house...I hope you find a house you absolutely love AND it's in great shape! And I hope that same for me! Haha. Being patient is haaaard.
Aww I'm sorry it hasn't worked out for you guys yet. I know how disappointed you must be, even though you want to be ok with it, so you are making the best out of it. Maybe this time next year, and hopefully it'll be a blessing bc you'll know more what you need with baby boy already in tow. We just sold and bought. In December. So almost 2016. Sold our home in NY state and bought in south jersey. We definitely bought our first home at the right time, after the bubble broke, but we didn't make a lot of money when we sold. but we were just happy to sell, it was a smaller starter home (1890's, colonial, 1350 sq feet) ppl are generally looking for newer and bigger in our area. And then we moved to a new construction, new development. We also bought when the interest rate was down. Which I don't think I really understood as a first time home buyer, but that makes a huge difference in your monthly payment. So even though we bought our first home after the bubble popped, the rate was much higher. So we are much better off. Keep looking, you never know. Everyone wants to get in before school starts, so I think sellers are much more motivated to sell after September. They've missed the spring market and the before back to school market. Also there's less buyers so less likelihood of a bidding war.
Thanks, Jen!!! You're so sweet and positive. :) I'm definitely disappointed, but trying to look on the bright side. I keep telling myself that we're spreading out the big life changes, giving ourselves more time to save, AND maybe the market will cool off a bit this year so we can get more bang for our buck. Fingers crossed!
I totally know how you are feeling! And yaaaaaay on the pregnancy, so exciting!!! :-) So happy for you! It's been like forever since I commented on other blogs, I've been so busy with everything... I just wanted to let you know how I feel about not being able to move to another home that is located closer to my family. As you know I'm living for 12 years now in Bruges and I still have that homesick feeling... All the houses we ever visited, had always that thing that made us feel like: "nope, never mind". Just like you guys now experience. And although I feel disappointed too to get the house hunting thing on hold again, I just feel in my guts that the right house will come along when the time is right. I want to believe that, otherwise I would get crazy. Because our home where we're living is getting too small with our boys, we just need a bigger space to live and something closer to my parents because they are getting older and having a few health issues lately, so it would be nice to live closer and to help out. But for now, things are staying as they are, and in my heart I just know and hope that the right home will be there when the time and situation is just right. I hope it will be for you as well. Congratulations on the pregnancy, you look amazing! Enjoy your time with the two of you, because time goes way quicker with a baby. :-) A big hug, Inge x
Hi I'm moving in a couple months and doing some redecorating. I love the leather pouf and the pink chair. Where did you get them?