Our story starts with dreaming, as many do. We spent our first year of marriage living in Jeremy's home, which he purchased as a bachelor before we met (see our tour here: Living Room, Kitchen, Bedroom, Bathroom, Closet). It was a great place to start our marriage and super fun to decorate together as newlyweds. It was also pretty tiny. We decided that if we could, we wanted to move to a larger home where we could plant our roots for a while and start a family. We started to have lots of conversations about the kind of house we wanted to shop for. We started to casually shop online. And one day we drove by a house with a sign in the yard, and I got obsessed. This is where our story really begins.
First step, time to get a loan. Having been denied loans in the past (I tried to buy a home while I was single before Jeremy and I met), I was very nervous to apply for this home loan. There are a lot of factors that come into play when you are a small business owner. Things like royalty income, past tax returns and fluctuating income can make getting a loan much more tricky than it would be for someone with a traditional income. I knew this, so I started preparing the year before, asking my accountant as many questions as possible and getting all my ducks in a row. We also chose to go directly to a mortgage broker, rather than a bank. I always recommend this option to my friends who are also self employed. More options are always good. At our first consultation we expected to just get advice, and we were excited to get an actual "yes" on our loan request with a killer interest rate. We celebrated!
Next, we hired a realtor and started to seriously look at homes. This stage was a lot different than I imaged it would be. We made a list of 3-4 houses we found online that we wanted to see. We booked a day with our realtor, and he suggested more homes. We added some of them to the list too. The first house we viewed was the one I had been dreaming about. I'd already decided in the back of my mind that it was "the one" even though it was a little outside our budget. As we walked through the rooms I felt nervous and a little discouraged. Most of the rooms had poor natural light and needed expensive renovations to make them workable for our style. It didn't match up to the hype I had created in my mind, and we agreed to keep looking. After the next few homes we started to feel a trend developing. There was something about each home that we considered a deal breaker.
After a few more discouraging visits to older homes, we decided to change the game plan. We started looking at newer homes, just so that we would have more options. Our well of older homes was quickly running dry. We found that it was much easier to cover all of needs and some of the wants when looking at newer homes. We put an offer on a subdivision house with amazing windows, but it fell through. A few weeks later we found another nice new home and put in an offer, but it had already been put under contract. We resolved to be patient. We had heard stories of couples shopping for much longer, but I was anxious to move forward—I get obsessed!
One day I was working at the studio with Emma when I got a call from Jeremy around 10am. He was driving through one of the neighborhoods that we liked and found a house that had just gone up for sale. We called around and learned it had just been listed that morning, and we had the chance to be the first to see it. Since it was an older home, we were super paranoid about it getting snatched up. I left for a long lunch break to see the house. I wasn't particularly excited because of all the homes we had viewed over the past few months. I had learned to keep my expectations low.
The home still had a family with lots of kids living in it. I've heard a lot of people say that it's easier to look at empty houses. While I do agree, I also enjoyed looking at houses that were still occupied. It can be helpful to view a furnished home. For example, you get to see what size tables and beds they had in all the rooms and if it feels roomy or cramped. Plus, it's kinda fun to see how other people decorate.
By the time we got upstairs, we were already asking our realtor what kind of offer he advised. We fell IN LOVE. I know how cheesy and dramatic this is starting to sound, but that was a day we will never forget. We snapped some cell phone photos and booked our meeting to make an official offer later that afternoon.
Thirty days later we signed a mountain of paperwork, bought a few gallons of white paint and spent the day soaking in our brand new, empty house. We were so excited to use those keys for the first time! We ordered pizza and sat on the floor in our new living room with smiles that we couldn't wipe off our faces.
PS. Emma also shared her home buying story last year!
114 Comments
Thanks for sharing this Elsie. A good example of “best things come to those who wait.” 🙂
Cathy
http://www.turquoiseflamingo.com
What a lovely story! My fellow and I are currently going through the home buying process as well. It can be discouraging times, especially when you think you’ve fallen in love with a place from the photos and the reality doesn’t quite match your expectations. We’ve put an offer on a short sale, so now we’re enduring the waiting process. It has been a few months, so hopefully we’ll hear back soon — talk about nerve racking!
–Amanda @ AllGussiedUp.com
Hi Elsie,
I am so happy that you have shared this story, it’s just makes me smile – my boyfriend and me also thinking about moving and a bit of encouraging is always good.this was the first truly sunshiny day here (we live in Copenhagen) so i take it and your story both as good signs :).
lots of love to you and have fun with the upcoming projects:)
R
What a lovely story. It can be very hard time but as usual you managed it beautifully.
http://chantallovesvintage.blogspot.co.uk
I love your story! I’m not in the place to buy a home yet, but I definitely think this helps me prepare for obstacles when its time, hehe.
Thank you for sharing! My fiancé and I hope to own our own home in the next few years. It’s great to hear your story. To be able to decorate your home without worry I long for!
Lulu xx
https://www.luluslittlewonderland.blogspot.com
That is so nice post and really.. on the best things we need to wait. Have a great day.
http://www.fashiondenis.com/
I love hearing stories like these <3 Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
how lovely… what an exciting step that must have been.
Valentina
http://valentinaduracinsky.blogspot.com/
Such an exciting story! One of me and my boyfriend’s favorite things to do is to stroll around our neighborhood with our dog dreaming of the house we’ll buy someday. For now we’re still renting to save, save, save!!
Elsie!! aw, i love this story. it’s coming at a PERFECT time for us because we are in “the in-between” before getting our keys!!! longest wait of our lives. i just wanted to let you know when i saw you last & you were talking about how determined and SURE you were about finding a house in the fall, it really inspired me to step it up. welp, we’re going to be homeowners in the coming weeks! 🙂
Hi Elsie! I love your story. Thank you for sharing! I currently live by myself in my moms house so I haven’t had the pleasure of looking for my own yet. I am excited for to start looking. I also have a list of wants, but know that I may not get them all. Right now I live in the country with lots of light and old fixtures. I envision living in a house that has lots of natural light, old fixtures, and a good heating system! A house with tons of potential. I would love to have a barn as well for my studio. I don’t know what it is about barns, but I love them. Thanks again for sharing 🙂
I love your story! We purchased our second home last year and it was a situation just like yours, I fell in love and didn’t want to leave. It’s built by a local architect that studied under Frank Lloyd Wright. He built it in 1970 for he and his family to live in so it’s got lots of neat touches and character and bonus, it looks like a Wright house. I’m so happy we bought it and still love it.
What a fab recap Elsie! Always such a HUGH high when buying your first home. I remember when my hubby and I bought our first home when we were living in Bermuda…it took a good nine months before we saw something that was in our mortgage pre-approved bracket, and had everything we wanted….getting the keys and moving in the first day is a memory I still look back at. You never forget these times….enjoy I look forward to seeing/hearing more.
All the best,
Jeanine
Such an inspiring story! I’m still in college, but I always daydream of what my house will look like when I buy my first house!
♥Brooke
http://youreinbrookelynn.blogspot.com/
Oh that sounds like our house hunting end of last year when we were moving from Japan to England. I had my image of huge houses with lots of space and when I saw the first one I was so confused…that house was just cute but no natural light or anything I had in my mind…Luckily, after 16 houses when we got back to hotel we did some own researching and there it was…beautiful house with wooden floor, fire place and light! The only thing is that we rented and don’t know when the owners are coming back… But now we know lots of things what we don’t want in our own house and what we do want 🙂
Thank you for sharing your story. It was beautiful and I hope there’ll be something similar feeling in the air when it’s time for our own house someday 🙂
I LOVE this post! I know that giddy feeling when you buy a new home and it is great! We moved from a brand new home into an older home this past June and still FAR from finishing all the renovations that we want to. I am slowly posting some of our work on my blog…lots more to come though! Keep up the good work!
Kim
azulhome.com
Love your story Elsie, so sweet. I think good things happend to good people 😉 nina
I can’t believe its been 6 months already! I really ♥ seeing how you decorate each room in your home! Keep doing what you are doing because you inspire so many of us!
Laura
What a wonderful story! Buying a house is always such an adventure. Your not just looking for a place to live, but a home. Glad you found a great home.
http://heidiswanderings.blogspot.com/
Such a beautiful house
I’ve always lived in older houses so I definitely share your preference!
http://ahandfulofhope.blogspot.co.uk/
I’m already dreaming about my own house sometime in the future… I still have a long road to go tho… I really appreciate you sharing this story, it will be so useful!
Reading this made me excited to buy my own house..even though that’s a long way off!
xo, Clare
http://thewanderingelefant.blogspot.com/
We bought our home 7 years ago, it was a great adventure, we should wait for a year for being built, and few months to move after painting, doing the kitchen, going to ikea for most of the furnitures… they were very busy months, exhausting, but finally we got our home! Since then we have done some changes, now my husband is redoing his bathroom…
Yes, moving to your home is a great moment for a couple!
(*) sometimes very stressing for a couple too ; )
omg, how cute this blog is!
I’m addicted to it 🙂 This post is inspiring
xx
Thank you so much for sharing your story today! Hearing real life stories of the process helps, especially since I have my heart set on an older home too.
I’m always looking at country houses and dreaming of making a move from the city. Erika and I highlight or favorite Hudson Valley and New England homes each week until we can have one of our own.
http://thejunkdrunk.wordpress.com/2013/02/15/farmhouse-friday-barns/
Thanks for sharing this! My husband and I are looking to get a house in the next three or so years and I love hearing about others home buying experiences.
Your house is lovely and I love seeing your new projects and renovations.
Hi Elsie! I love your new sweet home. : ) I have just a quick question. What brand of white paint did you use to paint the inside walls with? There are so many options out there! My husband and I are getting ready to purchase our first home, so I want to get as much information before as I can. Thanks for your time! : )
Such a beautiful story!xxx
so sweet 🙂
Such a great story! It was meant to be for you and Jeremy to have that house! I love the pictures and stories of all your decorating styles and renovations! It really makes me want to redecorate our loft!
We first saw the building we currently live in October of 2010 and we moved in April 2011. The original unit we found was a short sale so luckily we found another unit in the building. Whats funny is that original unit is still on the market after all this time. Its just so nice to have a place to call home and where we don’t have to move each year when the lease runs out!
What an exciting time in your life, I’m so happy for you! Best wishes and sending love from Texas,
-Crystal
Crystal’s Beauty Corner
Lovely story ! Great project…
http://hidinginheaven.blogspot.fr/
I loved reading your story! I wish I was in the position to buy a house right now, but since my husband is Air Force, its not really an option right now.
Such a sweet post! And love that message from your mom 🙂 I think your home is beautiful from what i’ve seen in your post, keep up the good work! And congrats on your new home 🙂
Love this story! Every home buying experience is different. For us, our challenge was balancing location with budget. Housing prices are very high and our city (Calgary, AB Canada), and I was almost considering settling for the subarbs when we found our house. Old but solid in a great neighborhood and the chance to do renos (but not too much!). I wasn’t in love with the house initially, but once I recognized the potential in a our fixer upper, I’ve been day dreaming about renos ever since. And so far the reno process has been fun! 7 months in the house so far and we love it 🙂
Congrats on your new home!
this is a beautiful story. owning a home is my personal dream. i can’t wait to start this process
kw, ladies in navy
I cannot wait until Jesse and I can buy our first home, granted it may be years and years away since we’re a military couple. I love the stairs in your home, they look beautiful!
oohhh our first home buying experience (as self employed people) was trying (to say the least). our second home purchase was so smooth and fast it scared me a little. in hindsight i realize the first was difficult because it might have been better if it had not happened but it did and we learned so many lessons that helped us along the way. this new little home of ours (we said we’d never renovate again after our first home and instead we took on practically building a house the renovations became so deep) we drove by, knew instantly, called a realtor, made an offer, and signed papers all within 24 hours. i knew then, even with the nervous jitters it gave me that it was meant to be, there was no pushing and trying and forcing it to work out, it all fell into place as easy as going to the store for a coffee. it hasn’t all been easy since but i’ve never known that something was right as much as i know this house was. thanks for sharing your story elsie, as always, i look forward to following along with yours! xoxo, tiffany
I have to say that this story made me a little teary eyed! My husband and I purchased our DREAM HOME in November of 2011. We’d been in Utah for a year for my husband’s job, and they had just moved us back to Denver where all of our friends and family were. I was 7 months pregnant, and in love with this house. We put up crown molding, painted the ceiling the prettiest pink color, and installed a beautiful chandelier for our baby girl’s nursery. And then we got word that we had to move again! After living in that house for just 5 months we had to leave it, and are renting again in MN. I’m still sad when I think about leaving that gorgeous nursery!
Kassi
http://www.babiesandbrewskies.blogspot.com
What a great story 🙂 Congratulations! x
I’ll probably be the first or second person in my entire family to buy a house so stories like this are always good to hear. There IS hope! Hhaha. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Lauren at Lauren at http://inbetweenidols.blogspot.com/
I want to see more pictures! It sounds perfect!!
We are actually moving TO Springfield from St. Louis and have had the same experience trying to find a home. I think we went through like 6 rounds of “these are terrible” and also thought that what we wanted didn’t exist: natural light, open concept, yard for playing and friendly gatherings, a kitchen with actual space, etc.., so I completely understand your experience. There are some funky home layouts and many are so dark! We have to sell our house here in order to move there and it’s taken literally 7 months to do. In the meantime, my husband had to move to Springfield already for work when this process began and I’m in St. Louis with a new baby. We drove down one more time to look in January and randomly threw a house we saw online in the mix. It was the very last one we went to look at and we loved it. Finally! So one contingency contract later and a recent offer on our house here, we are moving and get to be a family again in April! Now to buy paint…
This sounds awesome. So glad you found a great place.
Love the pony wall paper on the first picture, where did you find it? xxx
http://rainingcakeandcookies.blogspot.co.uk/
Congratulations on your new home. Me and my family are going to be looking for a new home this summer and now you’ve got me all excited.
Amanda
Hi Elsie,
thanks for sharing.
If I’m not indiscreet, may I ask you what did you do with the other house? it could be interesting to know how it works… I mean buying a new one and selling/renting the old one.
Thank you!
Claudia
Yes life will teach you that we can’t always plan so perfectly. Life is full of surprises in the unexpected areas. we may have a squeaky clean plan, but then…………………and our lives are rocked. It’s good to keep an open mind, and not use terms like “dream home” because really, don’t we all live in a “dream” home if we have a home? Isn’t shopping for a home a privilege?! Those are the kinds of things I learned while buying a home–I can see you’ve grown so much in this house hunt, and that’s so good for character. It humbles us. It gets us lower, and we see how we can’t direct and plan every angle in life. Life shows us sometimes.
congrats!!!!
Perfect timing with your post. We just sold our home in Southern CA and are returning to Northern CA due to a job relocation. The housing inventory is extremely low here and our options are quite limited. I started to get frustrated this week, but your story has encouraged me to be patient and trust that the right house is waiting for us. Thank you for sharing!
Nice story! I owned two homes prior to becoming a small business owner, can’t imagine going through a loan process now! Congrats to you and wishing you happy home projects!
What a heart warming story! Just reading through your post makes me giddy! Congrats on such a big purchase and a mark in your lives. Keep sharing pics of your place with us! Congrats.
I love this post, and I get so excited so see all he before and after pics you post. My fiancé and I are getting married in May, and I’ve been telling him how excited this post has made me for our future home search. Thank you so much for sharing it with us!
thanks for sharing your story! it’s so inspiring, and i hope to have a dreamy old home someday, too!
Beautiful story!
Kisses!
http://www.marshylicious.blogspot.com.ar
This is the most wonderful story 🙂 I’m so glad you found your dream home xx
Such a great story; thanks for sharing. My husband and I just moved into our new home last week. It was a short sale and we were homeless for a while (living in may parents’ basement for six months during which I was pregnant and gave birth). It was a long horrible process (overall took nine months for the sale to go through and we had been looking for 6 months before that with 4-5 offers that ended up not working out for us) and we nearly gave up but we are so happy to have our new little family in our new home. I have pages upon pages of notes of how I want to decorate as we settle in more. I know I will probably be changing things all the time as we discover what works best for us.
I like this story! Mine was a bit similar, I had been looking for an appartment in the South-East of Brussels, and 1 1/2 year later (and between 50-70 visits) found a house in the East of Brussels… It wasn’t my original plan but after so many visits I had decreased my list of requirements. I am glad that I did, because I instantly felt that it was the one. And it had only been on sale for three days when my offer was accepted! But I do relate to your former feeling of discouragement, you keep on wishing for luck while knowing that it is something that you can’t control… But in the end you realise that all the time spent visiting ill-suited places was not lost, but rather helped you to focus on what you really wanted your dream place to be! It does feel indeed like you are investing a lot of yourself in renovating this house and will be able to turn it into something that is completely yours. Good luck!
Thank you for sharing this, I really enjoyed reading it. X
We loved sharing our house buying experience with you guys! It’s been so fun to see how your house is becoming perfectly you and Jeremy =)
I was so inspired by your story! I should start dreaming too
🙂 Liz @ rusticpeach.com
aw this is such a great post! i think home buying is such a fun process, especially when you can sit back and reflect on the before & afters. i had literally been saving to buy a house since highschool, so when my boyfriend and i had the opportunity to purchase our first home @ the age of 22, we jumped at the chance. we put an offer in on the first and only house we looked at, and moved in 3 weeks later. it’s been almost 2 years and we’re still making it our own. while we did some major renovations prior to moving in (lucky for me my boyfriend is a certified carpenter), our design styles are constantly changing. but this is the part i love. i love that if i want to change something up, the biggest obstacle is going to the hardware store 🙂
here’s to a happy, happy home!
Aww yay! I love a story with a happy ending. A fun example of that old saying “all good things to those who wait”.
Looking forward to your tour photos, of course!
Cheers
What a sweet story!
xo Jennifer
http://seekingstyleblog.wordpress.com
This is a sweet story 🙂 Can you believe people cover up such beautiful hardwood floors with carpet?! I can only image how exciting/nerve-wrenching house hunting is. Sounds like a rollercoaster of emotions, but it always works out in the end. My fiance owns what was his bachelor pad for about a week (we went on our first date the day after he bought it, ha!) & we are hoping to start looking for a new place here in the next year or so. It kills me though because we’ve decided not to make any more changes to our current house because it’s doubtful we will get a good return on our investment, so I’m just waiting for the day when we move. I can’t wait to see more progress posts!
What a lovely and exciting story!
Thanks for sharing!
xoxo
Juliette Laura
So cute, gives me hope too, my boyfriend and I have been looking for a year now and had two houses fall through – hopefully it will be third time lucky!
I love this! I can’t wait to get that giddy feeling of buying my own home 🙂
Oh wow congratulations!! That is so awesome! I love that you guys are doing renovations-it feels more “your home” that way, I think. But I have never bought a home, so what do I know 🙂
Looks very nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So many things to be done in an new house!!!!!!!!!!!!
So lovely things!!!!!!
Sometimes disturbing!!!!!!!!
http://www.BonnieclydeMarni.com
http://www.BonnieclydeMarni.com
http://www.BonnieclydeMarni.com
I love this story. <3 It reminds me of me and my Hubs home buying story. We bought our first home in March of 2011 and we too are still working on projects to make the house our home. We know that we will be there for about 8 years. We looked at so many homes and I definitely had those moments where I psyched myself up about a house only to be let down. I feel like we looked at 1,000 homes! Of course the one we ended up buying was the very last house we looked at! I love our house now, but there are some things we want to do to it. Luckily it's nothing structural - all cosmetic like paint and things like that. We actually did finish one renovation which was our downstairs half bathroom. It's on my blog if you want to check it out! =] Also, I think I liked looking at homes that were still occupied better because you really could get an idea of how the furniture fit. Anyway, congratulations and I can't wait to hear about your renos!
What a lovely story! My favourite part is definitely sitting in the empty room eating pizza on the first day. My husband and I had a similar experience with our current and first home. It’s like you just can’t believe its yours! Time slows down and you really, really soak it in. It’s your home, just brimming with your collective potential. love it.
It is a beautiful story! I am glad you found your dream house..Congrtulations! Wishing you lots and lots of happiness and adventures in your new home!
cried. shouldn’t be surprised, but i always gotta laugh at myself. what a sweet story. so so exciting. I look forward to this day for my husband and me!
I love this post so much! Your house is a dream!
Hey Elsie,
I love it when you share the more personal stories from your life on the blog. It’s such a fun privilege to feel included in your journey. It sounds like you guys found the dream home. Good luck and I hope you have many years of happiness there.
Elizabeth
x
Thanks so much for this. My husband and I are just starting to look. It’s definitely exciting and scary at the same time! We can’t wait though to find the one and settle in and make our special mark in our first place.
Loved reading this post, Elsie! Congratulations on such a big, exciting step! My boyfriend and I are in the process of buying our first home– I totally get that giddy, dramatic feeling. Our appraisal was a couple of days ago, so we are anxiously awaiting to hear back! Buying a house certainly gets the nerves going and whips up quite a frenzy, doesn’t it? Ours is an older home as well and we have quite a few renovations planned, so I will be eagerly awaiting posts that give us a peek into yours and Jeremy’s reno process! You always have such wonderful tips. Congrats again!
http://beautifuldaysgoneby.wordpress.com/
~Steph
Thanks for sharing your cute story! Your house looks amazing…can’t wait to see a full tour!
Yay! This is such a great story! And so similar to mine! We close on our home March 15th – I couldn’t be more excited, although the mortgage part has been scary and incredibly intrusive (I feel like I’m naked in front of a bunch of people)! And there was a family still living in our home too – I liked it because it helped me imagine placement of items and how we could make it out own. I’m so happy for you two! And I love that chalkboard wall!
Thank you so much for sharing this truly inspiring story. My boyfriend and I are currently house hunting in the SF Bay Area. To say the market has gone completely crazy over the past couple months would be an understatement. I can identify with a lot of your feelings of alternating giddiness and disappointment, and look forward to finding “the one” as you guys did. Thanks again! 🙂
That a very nice story!
“People aren’t lying when they say the renovation process never ends.”
So true — especially when it’s already your own place. 🙂
This post had my tearing up.
We bought our dream home 3 years ago. A 1940’s craftsman. There were a lot of things that could have kept us from getting it… a mistake made by our realtor, required repairs, other people willing to pay more etc. But the owners met us and our oldest daughter (who was almost two at the time) and fell in love with us just as much as we’d fallen in love with their house. They were an older couple… and seeing our little J. toddle around their back yard melted their hearts 😉
It was magical. They worked with us through all of the mess and made it happen.
We have a happy birthday, home! party every year in September to usher in the fall and to celebrate how amazing it is to build a family in this beautiful home. Sometimes I look around and I still can’t believe it.
I’m saving up for my first home right now so this was really fun to read! 🙂
I don’t know if it’s something you’d dedicate a full post to, but I would LOVE to hear more advice for self-employed prospective home buyers. I’m terrified I’ll save up for a down payment and then never get approved to actually buy a home.
So exciting! My mister and I are just a couple of years away from getting our own home, and I can’t wait!!
xo Heather
http://ahopelessnotebook.blogspot.com/
i love love love this!
I love the story. I want to hear MORE MORE!!! haha I would love to purchase an old home…..one day. 🙂
This is just the sweetest story!! I cannot wait to buy a house when I’m a bit older and hope to find one as magical as yours!
http://slingback-scandal.blogspot.co.uk
Xxx
Beautiful story Elsie 🙂 I hope to find my dream home one day too. So inpiring!
Emma xx
http://www.eminhapinto.blogspot.com
I love reading about how people find their ‘forever’ home – thanks for sharing. A lovely story. And testament to trusting your instincts and knowing when something is ‘right’.
Love this story!
What did you guys do with your previous house? The one Jeremy bought prior to you guys getting together? As someone who is currently trying to sell her house, I’m always curious to hear what people are doing with their current homes in a shaky market. I am DYING for a bigger house for my kids!
thank you for sharing your story – you two are creating such a beautiful home & I love seeing it happen 🙂
Another great post! Your house is truly beautiful!
Jennifer xx
Please check out my blog at asprinklingofeuphoria.blogspot.co.uk
thanks for sharing! we are currently house hunting. do you mind sharing what “white” paint you chose? i’m terrible at choosing…it’s either too bright, too blue, too yellow.
I’m only 22 and just barely graduated, but I get really excited about owning a home someday. This was a lovely story. c:
30 days? SO QUICK! It takes about eight weeks to buy a place over here and waiting to get the keys to my tiny flat was the slowest period of my life! I’m – well, *we’re* now – hoping to upgrade to somewhere bigger soon, so I’m loving reading about everybody else’s house purchases.
Cool story, bro. xoxo
Such a sweet post. 🙂 I went through this same process last year, and after getting approved for a loan and searching and searching for houses, we just never found the “right” one. There were so many that seemed OK, but we didn’t want to settle. We wanted an older craftsman style, with a big yard, and a kitchen that we could at least enlargen if it was too small. Nothing seemed to match. We got discouraged, and gave up. Someday…….. sigh.
Trish
http://www.jellybonesblog.blogspot.com
I love moving house. The experience is so exciting and gives you the chance to develop your own world
This is so cute. I love it.
http://ascottandco.blogspot.com
I loved this story Elsie. I’ve loved our homes we have bought and have become attached to them as we work on them little by little to make them our own. So much fun and so sweet to make memories in each new place. Thanks for sharing! Looking forward to seeing what you guys are gettin’ done in there!
What a crazy story, oh my goodness!
xx
Kelly
Sparkles and Shoes
So excited to read more about your renovation projects!! This is good information for me to have, since I am pretending to be an adult nowadays.
xox
Bailey
http://akabailey.blogspot.com
aww! you make me remember all the excitement; first meal in my new house ten years ago were egg salad sandwiches my mom made 🙂
The home buying process can be such a roller coaster ride of emotions. I think the best advice I could ever give to anyone is to just roll with the emotions that come with it, and make the best of it… because once all is said and done, looking back at the journey of how you got there is half the fun.
When my husband and I started looking for homes almost 3 years ago now, we knew we wanted a multi-unit home so we could become landlords. Our thought process was that we were a young couple with no children, and could afford to live smaller while investing in our future…. well let me tell you, house hunting for multi-unit homes turned out to be one of the craziest experiences I have ever had. We had all of the normal house hunting highs and lows, but also some crazy characters to accompany them, from tenants grilling us on our “landlord” style (which we had no clue of, we were amateurs!) to tenants that deliberately tried to scare us away from the properties for fear of any kind of change! Finally, as luck and any good house hunting story would have it, we stumbled upon our perfect home out of unlikely circumstances and have been living here for the past two and a half years. We ended up with more than we bargained for with a home we love and can grow into as well as a detached rental unit to kickstart our investment. Though the road was a bumpy one, I wouldn’t change it for anything.<3
I guess its too late to say using a belt driven floor sander, makes an enormous amount of dust that can cover the house! and you are to use it diagonally across the floor, as this helps sand out any bumpy floor boards!
Brilliant house by the way! and great quality of work done!
As a freelancer, I really appreciate the tips about approaching home-ownership as a self-employed person. It’s SO hard to find information like this – thank you!
Aww! I can’t wait to have that feeling, too!
Sarah=)
http://www.etsy.com/shop/owleyevintage
I love this story and it keeps me so motivated for when the hubby and I get ready to buy our home. We are currently in the process of moving to one of our favorite areas and after 2 years or so we want to buy a home. Hope our story also ends with a happy ending. Fingers crossed! 🙂
You write so well, Elsie. You should try to write a novel or an autobiography. It will sell! Ed of PeterGreiner.com
Love this story! Just in December the Hubby and I closed on our very first home. It was definitely a very stressful time but the second we got the keys to our new home we knew it was all well worth it.
Congrats on find the perfect home!
I just recently started to think for the first time about actually buying a home (it’s just weird knowing that that’s an option for me now!) and I’ve been drolling over beautiful urban lofts for weeks, but I get so discouraged. It was delightful to read about your experience and know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks for the encouraging peek 🙂
We just bought a house recently as well, so it’s really fun reading your story since I can relate. And we also had champagne & pizza on the floor the first night! =)
WOW! Your home looks amazing already! Wished we had a house like this. Good luck with your renovaton. :D!
http://www.indyhomehunter.com/