Buying a House

[arielroux]

So, I've been renting a beautiful brand new apartment since exH and I sold our house last July.

I've started thinking about what I want to do next because my lease is up in July, and I honestly don't want to renew.  I love living there.  It's gorgeous, has wonderful amenities, and it's in a great location.  But I miss having my own home.  A place to really call mine. 

I've been looking at houses online, and yesterday I went to see 4 of them.  One of them has me really excited.  It's smaller than I thought I wanted, and I'd have to compromise on the number of bathrooms (I wanted 2.5 - This has 1.5 - But it's JUST ME.  I don't need 2.5 bathrooms.  Even when I lived with exH we didn't need 2.5 bathrooms.), but it's updated, it has a perfect deck area, a fenced in yard, and I honestly felt good in that house. 

I want someone to just tell me what to do.  I've never done something this adult on my own before.  I've owned two homes previously, but they were both with exH.  The fact that I want to, and am financially able to, do something like this on my own is so exciting, but also has me so freaked out.  Gaahhhh, I can't make this decision!

Ladies who have bought homes on your own...How did you know which house was "the one"?  How did you decide what to do?  I always second guess my decisions, and I always had exH to help out with this decision before.  I am just so indecisive. 

[clw]

Me!  My ex-h owned the house I lived in before and while we were married.  Other than buying a car, I never thought I could actually ever buy a house on my salary and ok credit.  But I did.  I was living with my parents at 36 years old and my daily commute was 80 miles round trip. I couldn't do it anymore.  I looked at places to rent but nothing was what I wanted or it was way over my price range. So on a whim, I decided that I'm going to try to get pre-approved.  I did, I was shocked that I was approved, and then I reached out to a real estate agent.  It was pretty quick.  My first day out, I saw 3 houses!  Within the month, I saw about 20 houses. It was exhausting but the third house on the first day out, I couldn't stop thinking about it.  It has everything I needed.  Small, 2 bedroom, updated except for the original, 1900 cast iron claw foot tub and so charming, it had all appliances and a small back yard for the dog I wanted to adopt.  So I looked at it again with my dad and put an offer in the very next day.  Ninety days later, I moved in and my brother moved in with me temporarily for the first three months.  

It was super scary at first, I'm not going to lie, and I had a bit of buyers remorse even before signing the paperwork.  My mortgage is cheaper than any two bedroom apartment that I could ever find. I needed to be on my own again and I knew that it was the only way I could do it so I pulled the trigger.  I have no regrets and was quite proud of myself for doing something so adult like!  

[arielroux]

clw, what you said about the mortgage being cheaper than rent is so true. I'm renting a 1 bedroom, 1 bath apartment for MORE than what a mortgage on this 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath house would cost me. I do love it. I've talked to my dad about 6 times since I saw the house yesterday just getting his opinions on different scenarios.

I think I'm going to make an offer on the house, it's just so scary! I feel like I need reassurance from my dad that this IS the right decision, and that I really can do this. I'm excited, I'm nervous, I can see myself there. I'm still going to give myself another day or so to think about it, and then I think I'm going to go for it. Yikes!!

[clw]

It is super scary and I really needed reassurance from my father as well. When I asked him his opinion on what I should do, he just basically said, do what your gut and heart tells you to do. UMMMM thanks Dad!! That wasn't the answer I was looking for (I wanted him to make the decision for me) but I understood what he was saying and that I needed to do what was best for me. October 2013, I turned 37, my divorce was final, bought a house, moved, and adopted a dog in one very busy and crazy week!! I'm really happy that I was able to do it ON MY OWN!! Good luck!

[sweetchix]

I first looked into renting, but apartments go for more than I could afford in the area I wanted. So I looked into buying. I could not afford a single family home so I had to look into condos and townhouses. I ended up making an offer on the one I bought because 1)Location, location, location; 2)Even though I'd like 3 bedrooms this has a partially finished basement so plenty of room for DDs' toys, 3)The mortgage is about $300-$400 cheaper than if I rented, even with the HOA and escrow.

My plan was to stay here for 5 years, and 3 years is up next month. Ithink it may be a little longer then that, but ideally I'd like to get into a 3 bedroom 1.5 bath home (townhouse/condo/SF) before DDs hit their teenage years so they can have their own rooms and more privacy.

[1confused1]

Once my credit is repaired (thank you xh), I am hoping to buy something. I hate renting, although not having to pay taxes is nice, but I want a place that is my own that I can be in forever.

Good luck!

[bg]

No advice, but that sounds very exciting! Good luck!

[arielroux]

Thanks, everyone! I decided that I'm going to take the plunge and make an offer.

I really feel good about this place, so I guess I just need to figure out what I want to offer. Aaaaah!!! It's all happening!

[jenstar]

Good luck! I have been in the same situation since I moved out of the house I shared with XH, great new townhouse, excellent location etc, hard to move from. But I've been looking for a house the entire time, because I've always felt in limbo here renting, and I want somewhere to call my own and be settled with my DS. Finally we bought a house yesterday! I'm so excited, even though, like you, it's a bit smaller than I was thinking but that just gives me motivation to get rid of more "stuff" and less cleaning!

I think it's hard to know sometimes when you've found "the one" but I would say if you have a good feeling about it, that's an excellent sign! The market here is so ridiculous that I had to stop myself from getting too excited about places I liked because then it was too disappointing when I missed out.

[daisyn]

I rented for a few years post-divorce and then bought almost two years ago. I couldn't find exactly what I wanted (I'm particular!) so I had my dream home built. I got to pick out everything from the floor plan to the color of the brick to the bathroom fixtures! Best experience ever and I loved doing it on my own. I've taught myself some maintenance tricks (mostly plumbing related) watching YouTube videos, etc.
You can do it! I used to be indecisive too bc my ex was so controlling but not an more!!
Good luck!!

[btay]

Good luck! I am closing on a townhouse next week after almost a year of waffling back and forth between buying and renting. I'm nervous about the finances and responsibility, but I am so ready to be on my own completely

[abcdefu]

That is so exciting! Good luck! I may need your advice on your experience within the next year or two!

[thedutchgirl]

Good luck!