HOME!

The Brown Family has bought their first home!  Stuart and I bought our first home together in April.  I still have my townhouse in SC so this house is technically now my second home.  This purchase was Stuart's first home buying experience.  The first time I bought a home it was a snap, I didn't even go to the closing because I was out of town at a wedding and barely lifted a finger during the sale.  Let me tell you, the closing process on this home was awful and not a fun experience.  But the process of looking and finding our just right home together was a great experience.  We pretty much agreed on what we were looking for and where we wanted to live.  In the late fall of 2012, we went to an open house in the Falls River neighborhood.  We met a super friendly and outgoing agent who stayed in contact with us and we slowly began to look around.  We had our lease on where we were currently living until March so we weren't in a hurry.  But the more you look the harder it is to not picture yourself getting out of the rental life and into your own home.  Then we found out around Christmas time that we were expecting baby #2 and it was a no brainer that if we could buy a home that we needed to sooner rather than later.  Moving during the summer during those final months of pregnancy or right after baby was born did not sound appealing! 

First we needed to decide on an area of town.  Narrowing our search to North Raleigh was an easy decision.  We wanted to stay close to both of our work locations and honestly it just felt like home.  Living in Five Points or North Hills would have been nice but boy the prices are just too steep!  Maybe in our next life we will live in a cute bungalow and walk over to Lilly's Pizza.  After the new year rolled by, we started our adventure and signed on as clients with our agent.  We looked at many houses mainly in Durant Trails but they were flying off the market.  It was crazy how fast houses in our search area and price range were going.  In late February/early March it became apparent that once we found the house we wanted that we would have to move quickly.  We began the preapproval process and I honestly was surprised to find out that we would be able to buy a house still owning the property in SC.  I thought that would have been our roadblock.  We then found a perfect house in Wake Forest that had a huge lot and beautiful screened in porch and outdoor living area.  After we decided we needed to make an offer, it was already under contract.  A few weeks later the buyers got cold feet and it came back on the market.  We quickly made an offer.  Well so did three other buyers.  The house ended up selling for $10,000 more than asking and it just didn't feel right to enter into the bidding war. Through that offer, we did realize we wanted to have a Raleigh address.

We continued to look at homes online and in person but something was missing in all of them or they were smaller than the townhouse we were currently renting.  Our top neighborhoods became Falls River, Durant Trails and Bedford.  The proximity to the bike trails and community parks in these neighborhoods was very inviting.  The house in Wake Forest did not offer us a "lifestyle" so we knew we had made the right choice for us.  Originally we thought we wanted more yard/more space but the idea of being able to walk to the park and the pool at this point in our life sounded perfect.  Then one evening a house came up in our search and I knew we had to see it....and fast!  In the morning I sent an email to our agent and Stuart and Leighton were able to go see it that morning.  He called and said it was great and a contender.  I just needed to go see and would be able to the next morning.  After seeing it, I fell in love.  It just felt like home.  Stuart was out of town at a game so I secretly put in our first offer after having briefly talked about our options on the phone.  I told him I wanted to take time to think about it but knew we couldn't wait.  Our agent put in our offer that day and that weekend we went back and forth just a couple of times and easily came to terms all while Stuart was gone.  By the time he was home....we had an accepted offer!  We were thrilled.  Inspection went smoothly and the sellers fixed everything on the list.  We closed a week late due to all the difficulties we faced with the mortgage lender.  Frustrating process with all the documentation they need these days but we eventually CLOSED!  A week later and we were in our new home.  It has been perfect and we love it here so much.  It all worked out and we are thrilled with the location, neighborhood, our neighbors....EVERYTHING.  Here are some pictures of us out and about at our new home.  Once we get more settled in I will post inside pictures.