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Wow wow wow.
What a crazy month this has been. At least I think it’s been a month. I’ve kind of last track of time. But I am happy to announce that my husband and I have officially bought our “forever starter home.” It’s the first house we’ve ever bought, and while I never initially had plans to move houses for a long time, Titus and I both agree that we never want to move. again. It is such hard work. *Update- we did move and it was just as much hard work haha!*
Now put your feet up, curl up with a blanket, and get some cocoa in your empty mug (I know I am) while I tell you how it all started…
Our house journey started something like this:
Titus and I had our apartment for 1 year. We grew to love that cute little place and the things that went along with it, but we were both wanting a house.
Nothing wrong with apartments by any means, but we wanted a place to make our own. In our apartment, we didn’t have much any privacy (oh boy do I have stories) or room to have lots of people over, and we both knew this place would be our home so we didn’t want to throw rent money away on what was almost a mortgage. Plus there’s all that good stuff about credit and taxes and yadda yadda yadda.
So we started looking up houses online for fun without even knowing a budget or talking to a bank. We may have even creepily stalked some houses too, but hey, I know everyone does that! But it did help us figure out what we wanted and what was most important to us! Making a gazillion lists didn’t hurt either 😉 It boiled down to this:
Our Musts:
1.Good Location
2.Spacious/Private backyard
3.Fireplace
4. At least one garage
5. 3 beds/2 bath
Would Like:
1. 2 car garage
2. Brick house
3. Bedroom with bathroom in it
4. Finished basement
I want to rewind for a second and say that Titus and I prayed and prayed and prayed for a house for quite some time. We prayed that it would happen at the right time, that we would be content with what we have in the waiting, and that God would bring the perfect house to us.
Now with a bursting heart of thankfulness, I have to point out that God answered everything on our list. Our “must haves” and our “would likes.” This is just such a huge testament not to my house, but to God and how He loves us so much that He wants to abundantly bless us.
I was a little nervous before talking to the bank because I had no idea how much of a loan we would qualify for. We made sure we had really good credit, but we are also young compared to many of the people that buy houses these days. After looking up houses online I had a number in my head of what I wanted the bank to give us. I loved the houses that were around that price range, anything lower and it didn’t have everything we wanted. Well, folks, the bank approved us for a house loan that was the exact number in my head. Ephesians 3:20 people, Ephesians 3:20.
As soon as we knew we could actually buy a house, lots of happy dancing ensued (from me). It needed lots of updating, but that wasn’t a deterrent for us. We decided we would rather have the “ugly house” in a great neighborhood, than a fantastic house in a bad neighborhood. After all, what do realtors say? Location, location, location. We knew that pretty much anything in a house could get fixed, but you can’t change what’s around you.
In a whirlwind, this house became ours. We had viewed and bought the house that already had multiple offers on it before we were even originally scheduled to see it. Now one step at a time we are slowly changing this house from an outdated split level to a french country haven while on a budget and juggling 2 full time jobs.
That’s our house journey. First post coming soon!
*Update- We sold this house!*
*Check out the current house projects we’re doing…like this limewashed brick exterior!*
