The local MLS is one of them. Granted, it won't include as much information as your realtor will have access to, but it is a great starting point to see what is available in your area. It's also really helpful to see what is in your price range, and a lot of realtors include pictures and virtual tours as well.After Mike showed us the house as listed on the MLS, we patiently waited a day and then drove over to check it out on a Saturday afternoon. We parked at the bottom of the hill and began our stealthy trek to the top. Keep in mind this is in broad daylight. The Man is rocking his typical winter wear of a black leather trenchcoat whereas I'm in my favorite baby pink velour hoodie and pigtails. We immediately liked the house, but I had my concerns. My biggest worry was the hill (and lack of a laundry room. I had always wanted a laudry room.)The Man loved the hill and I understand why now that we can look out over all our neighbors. There is just something awesome about being "the house on the hill."
As we rounded the back corner, we were locked into the sights of who would become our neighbor. She was at the house next door with her home inspector. We made our way back down the hill hoping not to be caught stalking, but Neighbor Lady wasn't having it. She asked if we had bought the house and told us it was going up for auction that day.
Our hearts sank, but we knew we had to see inside-- even if it was just to show Mike an idea of what we wanted.We called Mike and he met us at the house on the hill a few hours later. We toured the inside and began checking off our "want list." The house on the hill had almost everything we wanted in our home. I insisted that Mike schedule to show us some more houses (just because.)Not only did he show us that house, but also the one Neighbor Lady was planning on buying. We made an appointment to meet Mike in two days to tour a few other options.
Two days later, we met Mike outside of the Brick House. The Man and I love the look of brick and the pictures of this house on the MLS showed potential. However, our tour fell through when the current owner of the house cancelled through a note posted on the front door. Who does that?We told Mike we wanted to see the House on the Hill again. We oohed and ahhed and told him we were seriously interested. He said he'd do some checking and get back to us.
An hour later, he called. The house was available, but an offer had been made. If we wanted it, we'd need to put in an offer that night. By 9pm we were leaving Mike's office with a copy of our offer in hand. We were in a competitive bid over a house we saw for the first time 4 days prior and had a great Realtor on our side that we had met less than a week before. We had found our home and made an offer TWO WEEKS after deciding that the time was right to buy.
It took longer to find out if we won the bid than it did to find our realtor and our house. That weekend was torture. Sheer-angsty-waiting-Did-we-get-it?-Is-that-our-house?-Are-we-moving?-Will-we-make-it?OHMYGODWHENWILLTHEYCALL!torture.
They called. We got it. We jumped and I giggled and screamed and we hugged.
And then I freaked out and morphed into a bundle of paperwork and mayhem. We wanted to close by November 30th. I had a week to get ALL of the loan paperwork in for both the Man and myself. We had a week to confirm the cash for a downpayment. I don't remember much from that week, other than the fact that when it was all done we were one step closer to owning our home.We closed on November 30th, 2009. Mike handed us the key to our new home and the next part of our journey began. We moved that weekend and I've been nesting ever since.
It was chaos. It was madness. It was entirely, completely and undoubtably worth it. I love our home. It's perfect for our little nerdy family.
Now if we can just tear out that one wall....
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