Excuse the Boring, Part Three.

Yeah, you know the intro. Part One and Part Two in case you don't.

Why Arli Was Boring

Chapter 3: The House

(Or The Reason I Don't Hate Moving)

     So, I'm not going to lie, I really wasn't feeling the whole moving thing. I mean, yay for the job and the school and the salary and all that. But it was farther away. And while I love my university to the point that it may no longer be healthy, I don't so much love college towns. I generally don't so much love college kids. They are loud and messy and bad drivers. I know I say this like I'm all grown-up with all of my 22 years, and yes, my husband is in fact going BACK to college, but to be fair, I didn't love college kids when I was IN college for pretty much the same reasons. Also, there isn't always a lot to do in college towns. I mean, it's pretty much a small town that happens to have 50,000 people in it (90,000 on football weekends). It's fun for about 2 years, and then it gets old.

      Now, in addition to all these things, there is also the rental market. Rental properties is college towns, or at least this one, anyway, are... interesting. It's not like anywhere else in the world where the market is competitive and designed for long-term residents with families. Oh no. You get the absolute bare minimum for the most amount they can possibly charge you. And everyone is okay with this because you're probably only there for a year. So you either get a furnished apartment, a duplex with all same size, tiny bedrooms, or a house that hasn't built updated since the 70's (complete with carpet, wallpaper, and avocado colored appliances). Not that I'm in any way against the 70's, but the $600 electric bill for an old house wasn't sitting well with me. 

     So, for about a month, I spent every weekend away looking at rentals, hoping something would turn up that I didn't hate. We found some stuff that was okay, but nothing great. Nothing really even good, really. Either the bedrooms were closets, our furniture wouldn't fit, no washing machines, weird kitchen with no panty, only one bathroom, etc etc etc. (You really can't go back to one bathroom after you've had two. Trust me). So, in short, I was not a happy camper.

      Enter my awesome realtor and mother in law to the rescue. Together, the four of us figured out that we could actually afford to buy a house. Which is both super exciting and terrifying at the same time. My mother-in-law backed us on the loan, so that we got a fantastic 3.75% interest rate, and my relator found us some really awesome houses that we could afford with no problem. Of course, at this point, we had to start over, and we were running out of time. We needed 30 days to close and had to be in town by December first so that hubby can start the new job. We also had absolutely no idea what we were doing. At all. Thankfully, my realtor is amazing and super helpful. And we found an awesome house. 

       The house was at the top of our price range, but as it turns out, for every $1000 dollars you go up in price, your monthly payment changes less than $5. And when making a GIGANTIC purchase like a house, you might as well get what you want, since you're stuck with it for awhile. And, generally, you get what you pay for. The resale value in the area that we bought in is a lot better than some of the others that we looked at. The construction of the house is also noticeably better.  Also, we got to keep all of the appliances. When you buy a house, it usually doesn't come with a refrigerator or washer or dryer. Which can add up pretty fast, considering you're probably spending most of your money on a down payment and closing costs.It also helps that they're awesome appliances :)

 

      So, that's the floor plan. We liked that it had a split floor plan, for possible future children purposes. There's about 1575 square feet, and it was one of the larger places that we looked it. It's also built in 2004 and energy rated, so it should be super efficient. Also, can we talk about the size of the master bathroom for a second? I mean, seriously. I could live in there. It's amazing. The bathtub has a freaking SEAT. Also, I have about 400 closets. AND a vented attic. I don't know what to do with so much storage. Well, I do. I buy more stuff. :) I will have a post later explaining (as best I can) the home buying process. But mostly, right now I'm just really excited. We close next week, so my fingers are crossed that everything goes smoothly. We're going to be poor for a minute, but it's totally worth it. And, of course, here are some pictures of all the awesomeness. It was staged with furniture, but it'll give you an idea of kinda where everything is going to go. I can't wait to DECORATE!!!