To Buy a House, Or Not to Buy a House?

Ever since I was 15 or so, I’ve thought about buying my first house. I had my mom start a savings account for me. I told myself I’d put money in, but never withdraw. I’d put in birthday money or part of my paycheck from working over the summer at my dad’s office. A few dollars here. A few dollars there. I knew in order to buy a house you had to have a pretty hefty down payment (at least it seemed pretty big to a 15-year-old).

I always thought you moved out of your parents’ house when you got married and went straight to living with your husband. And I thought, well I don’t want to live in an apartment, so I better be ready when I get married to buy a house right away. But of course, while we make plans, God laughs.

After moving back home upon graduating from St. John’s University in May 2010, I was offered a prestigious position working for an established home improvement TV show. That’s right, you guessed it. My dad hired me as an associate producer to work for his television show, Today’s Homeowner. It just so happened that my mother worked there as well as the accounts payable/accounts billable/check signer.

Since I’d basically been living on my own for four years while away at school, I obviously had gotten used to being by myself. Working and living with BOTH of my parents was a little much for one slightly introverted girl to handle. So by November of 2010, I was ready to move out!

Then the lectures began. “Buying a home is an investment. You can’t go about it with emotions. It’s a business transaction. Yada, yada, yada.” I just wanted it to be cute and cozy and all mine! Having lived in Mobile for the 22 years of my existence, I was familiar with the good and bad parts of town, the desirable and undesirable. I knew where I wanted to live, I just had to find the right house in my price range.

I was searching MLS Listings online everyday trying to narrow down a few to see in person. Of course, I had to yield to the expert opinion of my in-house home improvement expert, which lead to a little tension every now and then. And the few houses we looked at got vetoed almost immediately, much to my dismay. But I believe in fate. And if it was meant to be, it would be.

So the search continued…(check out my next blog post to see if I found a house or not).