Rather than enter into the strange velvet rope encrusted lair of the tellers we made a b-line for the elevator to take us into the bowels to search for the legendary Home Mortgage Guy. It was rumored he could only be found during the midweek when the sun hoovers far over the horizon (so 9:30-4, M-F).We joked about how much the elevator's achingly slow closing doors felt like being bricked into a coffin, only we didn't get any amontillado. After the elevator made sure no old ladies were going to suddenly make a bolt for the doors it finally accepted its position in life and lowered.
A dark and empty hallway greeted us. Well okay there were a couple of bathrooms and a water fountain but otherwise it was empty. Then we saw the mythical and cryptic sign:
But then a light appeared, a door cracked open and there he stood. The legendary mortgage guy, a blackberry clutched in his hand to take down roaming interest rates. With a nod of his head he ushered us into his rather moist and plant infested cave and thus began a surprisingly pleasant discussion of just how much home we could afford.
When we emerged an hour later we had gained a realtor agents name and the hope that maybe just maybe we actually could get ourselves a house. Now begins the real work of trying to actually find just that perfect house to spend oh 30-50 years in.
We're open to any tips from experienced home purchase type people on the best way to go about it. Well unless it involves creating our own sod house, cause we're not really that talented at building with dirt.
5 comments:
congrats on beginning the process! Find an agent you love and just start looking! Right now there are some great deals to be had, so be picky and find your dream home! Most of all don't stress over it - have fun!
Woohoo! Congratulations for being approved! That's exciting. :) I can't wait until we get to really start looking at houses. Just gotta decide where in the world we wanna live first, you know? :) Good luck!!
Congratulations for being approved! That's really exciting. I'm looking forward to seeing your home buying process!
Congrats on being approved. I can't wait to see how the process goes for you!
Yay!!! That's exciting!!
I'd say the biggest things you can do is figure out your price range/budget, and what's important to you (location, # of bedrooms, etc.). Once you have those narrowed down, get on the internet and look, and look, and look, oh - and look some more. Seriously. You can narrow down your searches and really get a feel for what's out there in your price range in what neighborhood, and what sets certain houses apart. From there, you can narrow it down a little more and go look in person at the ones you're interested in.
Buying (and selling, I've been through that too) a house is stressful, but getting pre-approved is a big step and will make the process better and easier. It's mainly stressful because all these little things come up in the writing and accepting of the contract, and it always seems like the underwriters of the loan want to see some paystub or random sheet of paper that you swore they already had.... And until you sign (about a million times) on the dotted line(s) on closing day and get the keys, I was always worried that something could/would happen.
But it's really nice to have your own place, that you don't have to worry about the rent going up or whatever. You can settle in and do whatever you want (within the law!). It's great!
Oh, and don't worry too too much about trying to find "the" house you're going to live in forever. Just think about now, and probably the next 5 to 10 years - that takes a lot of stress off.
Keep us up to date!
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