House Hunting

My hubby and I have officially started looking for our first home. Like many of our friends we have found that buying a home in the Chicagoland area to be nearly impossible. Fairly, we are looking in some of the more affluent suburbs. But when coming up with 20% equals the same amount my mom's house sold for (even for a modest starter home) you can see how this can be hard to swallow.

With some money saved and a market that begs for first time homeowners, we decided that when our lease is up this October we would take the plunge. While this is an exciting first step for us, it is scary.

Two weeks ago we started by looking at four houses. One struck our fancy. While nearly every surface was painted with a faux finish (my guess is either high school art teacher or Trading Spaces superfan), it's nothing a little elbow grease can't fix. Today we had appointments to look at 16 houses, 14 made the cut, 4 made the shortlist (including the one from last week), and hopefully one will be our new home.

This lovely number has undergone something of a transformation over the last 18 months - beautiful yard, two car garage, three bedrooms, two bathrooms (master suite!!!), finished basement. And, while it still needs it's fair share of help, we're excited!

While the mortgage crisis means there are some great deals. It also means that buying this home is tricky. Some bank loaned the current owners more money than they can handle, and they have since defaulted. (While I am sad for this large family to lose their adorable home. I would like to buy that home for my someday family.) Not only does this mean getting bank approval for a short sale, it also means that - even in this market - we are already trying to outbid another offer.

My dad is coming up on Tuesday to give the structure a once over. Once blessed, I promise to fill everyone in with more details, but for now, keep your fingers crossed and you may get to visit us in our very own home later this year.