In case you haven’t already figured it out, I’m going to be writing a lot about looking for a new home. So if that kind of stuff is boring to you, please bear with me. At some point we’ll buy a place and you won’t have to read about the hunt anymore. Of course, you’ll have to read about redecorating and whatnot instead.
Anyway … today we went to our local bank to ask about getting pre-approved for a mortgage. Personally, I was already a little peeved by the time we spoke to the banker since I watched her fiddle at her desk, blow her nose, drink some coffee, etc. before she came to help us. Hey, if you don’t want my business, I will gladly take it elsewhere. She explained a few things to us and was ok, but nothing special. We don’t get any special treatment for being existing customers with several accounts and a decent chunk of change in their bank, so what the hell? My coworker uses GMAC Mortgages and I think I might just go with them. It makes me feel more comfortable using a company someone I know has had a positive experience with.
Anyway, I found this place online last night that got me all excited. It’s a townhome about 10 miles from where we live now and it’s huge! It’s over 2200 square feet – 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, huge kitchen, 1 car garage and a full finished basement. In other words, loads of space. About 2.8x what we have now and the monthly mortgage would be nearly the same as what we’re paying in rent. How sweet is that? The interior photos are quite nice and I really want to see it, but it’s for sale by owner so I’m thinking we should hire an attorney before doing anything else, right?
In any case, I really want to see this place. Do you think the owners would be willing to show us it without any proof we can afford it (which I know we can based on several “How Much Can You Afford?” forms I’ve filled out online)?
P.S. When you have looked for homes, what was the room you looked at first? I always look at the kitchen because it’s important to me that it’s large with plenty of counter space and nice cabinets, preferably oak finish in a medium brown color. I can’t stand cherry wood, chocolate-colored wood, or white cabinets. I’m pretty picky, I guess. Plus ideally, the kitchen would have an island. I just love them!
Hey Nicole,
I totally agree with your entry about more interior photos! I have previously walked into real estates and basically been laughed at because I have asked them if they need to hire a photographer due to the lack of photos in the website and the crappy quality of the ones that do exist on there!
I agree about the kitchen being one of the most important rooms in the house. What is also important is that the Master bedroom is in a quiet location, for example at the back of the house, not on the street.
Have fun house-hunting!
We bought a FSBO house and we didn’t hire an attorney. We just did everything through our realtor, unless you are skipping the realtor and then yes, an attorney would be good. :)
I hope you like the place! For me the most important rooms are the kitchen and the master bath. When Scott and I were looking for new houses we had the hardest time finding the perfect bathroom because most new houses have great kitchens in them. I can’t tell you how many great houses we walked out of once seeing the 1 square foot they call the “master bath”!