11.09.09

                 

Finally one more exam down, and this blog has been on my mind for a while. As this is a milestone in our lives, I decided I should definitely write it down.

11.09.09 is a day for the Husby and I to remember, for this will be the view I will wake up with for quite a long while! : ) Technically speaking this will be the view in autumn, but you get the point! After what seemed like forever of house searching online, dropping an agent and negotiations, we are now home owners. How does that sound? Honestly, it still freaks me out at night, it is not something we can return tomorrow if we change our minds. But it is bye bye rentals, hello home, and of course mortgage *yulp*

All the hard work was done by the Husby, and we are grateful for all the help from Ian regarding the legal aspect. For posterity's sake, here are some random lessons I gathered about buying a home and tips from everyone around.

• -We did the unconventional route of not having a buyer's agent, instead negotiating with the seller/seller's agent directly. From what little I learn out of these few months and good old internet, the seller is responsible for paying commission of the buyer's agent as well as his agent. What good then did it do us to pick this path? We believed that by doing away with the middle man, we can get a better shot at lowering the price since the seller only has to pay the seller's agent, right? Not necessarily, as it turns out to be. D'oh! The seller will end up paying his seller's agent both sides of commission, yup, that lucky person gets two shares. So did this help us in any way? We are not certain. Perhaps it made that agent push harder for our bid... But if we had to sell our home in future, we are very likey not to have an agent, if you have read Freakonomics you will know why!
• -The best site for internet house hunting is Franklymls! In my opinion, it is better than Zillow as it is way updated more often.
  
• -The best time to get a bargain for a house? Late autumn, or the start of winter where the number of people relocating due to school/work is greatly reduced compared to spring and summer. After all, who wants to move in winter right? (sadly that will be us!)
• -The existence of the 28-33% mortage payment guideline. That is always the first step, to know how much you can afford. Here is the US, your credit score is very important too, which takes into account various factors like late payments for credit card bills and how many cards you have. Do not check your score too often, you get points docked off for that too- what a pain!
• -The best time to think if the property will sell, is when you buy it. Easier said than done I must say! The deal breakers here are the kitchens and bathrooms. I can foresee how Lowe's, Home Depot and any other home improvement stores will end up our most frequented places for a while!

I bet you wanna see more photos, but due to you-know-what, I have not had time to take any good shots. Plus the weather is cranky too. Promise more to come, maybe around Thanksgiving, wooohooooo!