Our new home

With our contract ending in our rental home in June, Nick and I decided that we wanted to stop throwing our money away with rent, and buy a home of our own! No, Nick didn't get a higher paying job. The only way that it is even possible for us to buy a home is through the Rural Housing Development Program. Basically they pay a large portion of your interest rate (down to 1%) until you are able to afford a house without the subsidized loan. The catch? You have to live in a rural or developing area, like Eagle Mountain or Saratoga Springs. That aspect didn't bother us at all since I was quite familiar and fond of the area. I lived in Eagle Mtn. with my parents during my senior year and off and on post high school. And with record low interest rates, the $8,000 first-time home buyer incentive, and the fact that we would be paying the same monthly if we rented a place, we felt like this was a no-brainer decision.

We started our home hunting a few weeks ago. I was excited and hopeful in the beginning but then after looking at 20+ homes, I felt like we were destined to just keep renting. I came to the conclusion that home hunting is very similar to dating in a lot of ways. For example, sometimes we would get really excited about a home as soon as we walked into it and say "I think this could be the one," but then as we really took our time inspecting it more closely, big red flags came up and we were forced to keep looking. And then there were some homes that from the outside look of it I didn't even want to give it a chance, but then when we entered it we could tell that it had a lot of inner beauty and charm.


In the end though I feel we choose a house the had the whole package deal and seemed to be a good fit for us. And it's funny, because for me it was love at first sight. I was completely smitten with it! Even our realtor commented to Nick how he could tell we had found the one because my eyes just lit up when we walked into it. So I was ready to make and offer, but Nick needed a little convinicing. We went through the house 3 times before making our final decision. The big drawbacks for Nick were that there is not a bathroom on the main level, the basement is finished, but not as large as he would like it to be, and he didn't like that it only had three bedrooms. These concerns didn't bother me. I could deal with the no bathroom on the main level and I pointed out that we could eventually wall off part of the basement and make it a 4th bedroom, and I also emphasized the fact that this was a STARTER HOME. You are not going to get everything you want with your first home. That's why it is called a starter home. So after some tears, prayers, and advice from friends and family, Nick let go of his concerns and we put in an offer on Monday. By Tuesday morning our offer was accepted and we were on cloud 9! Finally a home of our own! Check out the pics:

Front room

Kitchen

Dining Room

Master Bedroom