Continuing on my descent into adulthood, the time has come for KJ and I to play home buyers. Initially I was all giggles and goosebumps at the prospect of getting out of the rent game and finally being able to put a nail into a wall without thinking about how much the landlord was gonna ding my security deposit with every swing of the hammer. The minute I mentioned I was in the market though people began coming out of the woodwork to start cramming references down my throat. This really wouldn't be so bad, except that they keep asking if I've called said reference. And then when I say I haven't they adopt a face similar to the one a four year old gets when you tell them it's bed time or that Santa Claus is a Republican.
Anyway, apparently buying a house is both complicated AND time intensive (which is like saying something is both poisonous AND it tastes like shit...seems like it should be one or the other since being both is just cruel). Luckily, their are books for people like me (the lazy and those generally adverse all things resembling work).
Word of advice: When you first start to shop for a home, do the math first. Figuring out how much you can actually afford prior to attending open houses for beautifully crafted (and satanically overpriced) homes will save you from a week's worth of the "omg, we're so poor it's not even funny" depression.
KJ and I have generally managed to get over what has to be the worst case of sticker shock in all of Christendom and are actively taking comfort in joining the growing throngs of those calling themselves the financially-disenfranchised-young-professionals-who-think-that-the-Seattle
-housing-market-can-take-their prices-and-shove-it-up-their-escrow.
In the meantime we will patiently save our pennies in hopes of one day being able to afford the white picket fence middle class dream.
12 comments:
HOuse buying is definitely a bitch. Good luck in your hunt.
wow. how adult. i'm putting the home buying off, well, pretty much until i die.
"Descent into adulthood"? Interesting choice of words. I would have to agree.
As for homebuying, Katie and I were in the same boat as you two are. Everything here in Chicago (not just the city but the suburbs... all of them) are horrifically overpriced. We were looking and looking and becoming increasingly convinced that the only walls we would be able to afford would be made of cardboard and say something like "Ryder Storage" on the side. Maybe, if we were lucky, we'd eventually "move up" into a PODS.
I was pretty much convinced, and tried to get Katie to think the same way, that it was going to happen like this... suddenly a deal we absolutely could not pass up would make itself available and we'd have to jump on it. Guess what? That's exactly how it happened. We found the one place in our town in our price range and we fell in love and made an offer. Within like 72 hours, it was all settled and we had a closing date. Fastest I've ever seen a huge financial transaction go through. Scared the living crap out of me.
WA State has a First Time Home Buyers workshop/program. I learned a lot when I attended the workshop- and it is free!
Good luck on your quest toward adulthood. ;)
I'm completely certain that I should start preparing for ultimately buying a home... instead I'm clinging to the fantasy that a handsome benefactor will just give me one for being so damn fabulous.
Real estate over your way is unbelievably priced, and has been for at least a decade. I wasn't paying attention to it before that. And now? Thanks to Seattle-ites buying "summer" homes over here, we can't afford anything over here anymore either. Sucks.
When I bought my condo, like you suggested, I ran the numbers. So, I knew what I was getting into. You want sticker shock? Try selling your place! The amount of money you have to put into it to get it ready ... and then pay your agent ... oh my! There goes college for my yet-to-be-conceived children!!!
@ SRH: See, you're supposed to say "Owning a house is a valuable and rewarding decision. You shan't regret it young sir."
Damn your honesty.
@ Kat!: I suddenly just a mental image of "home" -less Kat. It involved you on a train with one of those sticks with a bandana sack on the end.
@ Kevin: I've heard that from a few people. You look and look and look, and then BOOM...something opens up and like 2 days later you own a house. Craziness.
@ Sizzle: Oooh, good idea. I'll have to look into that. I wonder if they'll get offended if I bring in my "For Dummies" book.
@ Bre: Yes, I too would welcome a benefactor willing to shower me with real estate. He wouldn't even have to be handsome.
@ Eclectic: When I lived in OR we used to blame rising housing costs on the migrating Californians. Sadly that excuse doesn't work here.
@Nilsa: Agent fees kill me. They act they're doing you this giant favor. Redfin is looking pretty awesome right about now.
I hope you're putting priorities first. You really need to test-drive those bathroom door locks. You don't want a repeat performance with you locked in the john.
These days SELLING a house is actually more stressful, trust me.
Christendom-- I haven't seen that word used in YEARS, last time in some pamphlet but never in a blog. WOW.
@ Karl: Screw doors. Hanging beads only.
@ Diane: Glad somebody appreciated that. :)
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