At the end of the day, it's just a house

After losing 2 houses to aggressive bidding, I must say it's discouraging. 

We absolutely LOVE being home. Our families are close by, the weather is gorgeous almost all year long and it's just a gorgeous place. So, when we decided to become homeowners it was frustrating to realize how aggressive the market is. 

The first house was in an area we weren't thrilled about but the house was so pretty. So, it was depressing when we found out we didn't get it. 

The second house had the perfect location and was the perfect house. It was everything we wanted but the top of our budget. We knew the other offers were low so we went into higher. Still.. someone went over list price and got it. We LOVED this house. I could've cried. 

I was done house searching. I didn't want to see another house. We just lost our "Dream home," so to speak. Then, I realized what every first time homebuyer needs to realize. It's just a home. 

If you're like Vincent and I, you've lived in many different apartments. Some you loved, some you hated. However, it is different when you're making monthly payments on something you own. You want to, at the very least, like it. The good news is, everything is changeable. Yes, that costs money but there are many different options a traditional bank probably won't tell you. 

Look into rehab loans, both government and conventional. Sometimes you'll find a foreclosure or short sale that you'll be able to get below budget and add value too! Just keep in mind if you go the FHA route, you'll have to use a contractor and you can't do the work yourself. 

Your first home may not be your dream home but you'll be able to get some equity out of it, hopefully. 

Keep an open mind when house shopping! What can you change and what can't you? It's expensive to change the layout. Paint and wallpaper are on the cheaper side, if you do it yourself. Flooring can also be easy to DIY. 

Kitchens are going to be where the most money is usually spent. Pinterest some ways to do it cheap! 

House Hunting Tip #1

Know your market. 

We moved to Clearwater, Florida from Huntsville, Alabama. We were initially looking at houses in Huntsville, thinking we were going to be there a few years. Yep.. we were wrong. But, Huntsville is a great place to live with a housing market that is great for a buyer.. and probably a seller too. So, we were a little, umm... shocked.. when we moved to Clearwater and saw the prices houses were going for. 

We knew what we wanted and we really didn't want to give up much. We are willing to do some work.. and for the right price, maybe a full renovation. But, how were we going to pay for it?

We started at our bank. Everything seemed great until we started talking to family members about the possibility of some other options. For example, bundling closing costs or renovations. Our bank lender really didn't offer much help in this area so we went elsewhere. We found a great guy at a local mortgage company who explained things in depth with us. We had more options then we thought and that was a good thing!

We probably looked at close to 50 houses. I didn't think we were that picky but there were definitely things we each liked at one house and hated at the other. It wasn't easy. But, I'll get to that later. 

If you're really set in one location, at least know what you can get outside of it. If we lived about 20 minutes North, we could get a lot more house for our money. But, is it worth it? For us, no it wasn't. 

If you're specific about a location, know that you may wait a while. AND houses are going to go fast. So be prepared to act fast. Be critical but not overly critical.