Sunday, January 13, 2008

House Hunters


Dustin and I have been talking recently about buying a home. (I know...so grown-up-like!) Though our lease on our apartment isn't up until July, we've been casually looking around, to get familiar with what's out there. Neither of us take it very seriously, but it's fun to look around, and get an idea of what it would be like to own something more expensive than a couch from Sofa Express. 

We got a call from a realtor about a showing yesterday so we thought it couldn't hurt to look. The house is in a nice neighborhood, and is in good condition. So naturally it is out of our price range.  But we went anyway, and did like it. We didn't fall in love, but it was an interesting glimpse into the future. Standing in the 3rd floor bedroom, I could picture our family there, our future daughters having sleepovers in the loft. But jut a quickly as the daydreaming began, it was over, and we were back into our comfortable, mortgage free (not to mention daughter free) life. 

Then today, we somehow got sucked back into the market. I was enjoying my weekend routine (sleep 'till noon, catch an online episode of The Real World...) when Dustin informed me there was an open house at a property he saw online. So we quickly pushed the hangovers aside, threw on a baseball cap and headed out into suburbia. Little did we realize, Sunday is national open house day. We ended up going to see 4 houses in the area. By the last one, I was so hungry and tired, I had lost all interest in real estate. Next time, I think I'll bring a sandwich.

One of the funniest things to notice was how much our HGTV watching has affected our view of home ownership and remodeling. As we walked through the houses, we talked about adding bathrooms, building garages, and breaking down walls. A few hours of "flip that house" and we think we're construction experts. Hopefully we don't bite off more than we can chew. I have visions of backyard showers with a hose, while we redo the master bath. Not an appealing thought.

So, all in all it was a fun weekend, and gave us some ideas for the future. But for now, I'm going to curl up on my sofa, and revel in the fact that if it snows tomorrow...someone else is going to be out there shoveling for me.

2 comments :

  1. mortgages and daughters ... that hits close to home

    but glad to hear you guys are looking. i think you quantified a lot of fears in home buying ... except I don't even know where our drill is, so no home improvement projects for me.

    although i did watch the 'flip that house' marathon yesterday ... loved other people doing work.

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  2. I am so excited you guys have a blog! How come we never knew that before, huh??? :) I'll add you to my blogroll and expect regular updates ;)
    Have fun house hunting. Be glad you're looking in Pittsburgh and not Philly. I almost died when I found out how much my brother's house cost (in the city though). Hurry up and buy something so we can come crash it! Matt's always good for some hours of DIY work - Dustin can cash in on all those years he's helped us!

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