Hey friends, I thought I’d give you a little update on house hunting since I kind of left you hanging a couple of weeks ago. I hope in sharing this that someone could either relate or be a little more prepared for the frustration that is house hunting. Of course it starts out fun, but this market isn’t exactly a buyers market and it can get a little stressful.
[ See my post on things I’ve learned house hunting. ]
House Hunting Update #2
Like I said, house hunting is frustrating, especially with Dave travelling and houses going so fast. Like gone in one day fast. It’s insanely stressful trying to make such an enormous decision that quickly.
We’ve also been looking seriously since November so we’re going on month 4. And looking online for months before that.
Since the last post, we have lost out on two houses. The first one that I was talking about in the last post, didn’t go so well with the negotiations. It ended up “dead in the water.” With the second house, the seller never told us they had 3 other offers in…so of course we hadn’t put in our best offer and they went with another buyer.
No bueno. Tears of frustration were shed.
Then I tried something a little crazy—I looked at an awesome house without Dave.
Don’t look at me like that. Dave has been out of town a lot lately and this wasn’t the first time I did it.
In fact, the second house we put an offer on, Dave was out of town and hadn’t looked at it. The difference with that one was that we had seen the exact layout multiple times since it was one of those cookie cutter homes.
Anyways, it was a risky move to check out a house sans Dave this time, but it was a really good house and I suppose we didn’t want to miss out. It checked off all of our boxes and then some.
…updated kitchen (that was quite frankly drool worthy—like the fridge had wood on it so it matched the cabinets), open layout, right number of bedrooms, bathrooms, perfect area of town, great schools, all of the appliances, roof, ac, heating and allthethings had been updated in the last 10 years, big driveway, big backyard, big basement for a gym plus a sweet laundry room (yep, I called a laundry room sweet. yes, I am a stereotype.).
Plus I loved the details like shutters in the living room and master bedroom. Did I mention the kitchen was awesome?
I took videos walking through the house and sent them to Dave, we went over details..it all seemed perfect.
In the end, Dave wasn’t comfortable making an offer without setting foot in the house. Which makes sense. Just tell that to me after I fall in love with the perfect house. I sat in the Hy-Vee parking lot and cried when he told me. And that was after I was trying to be calm and composed and logical.
There’s something about going into a house and picturing yourself living there. It’s hard to not get attached or frustrated when things don’t work out. Especially one with a drop dead gorgeous kitchen and on a 1/4 acre of land in an amazing location in the city. Gah.
I did get a good idea for making the formal dining room (who needs a formal dining room? not us haha) into an office. Actually, I would have doubled that area as my foodie photography area…
Anyways, this whole process is becoming frustrating and it’s making it hard to blog. I don’t want to be all mopey and sad here. Not that I don’t ever complain about stuff on the blog (lol), but I don’t want every post to be a woe-is-me one. So I stick to happier posts on Instagram where it doesn’t have to get too real and I can make jokes about coffee mugs, chocolate chip pancakes for lunch, and talk about my love for pizza.
Ooookay. Thanks for listening to me vent about my first world problems.
I have some more happy posts coming up for you including a post about some amazing places to eat in Portland (see my Instagrams from last weekend for a preview of sorts), and a couple of sweet and satisfying recipes which are perfect for drowning your sorrows in.
Kidding. Sort of. 
[ UPDATE: House Hunting Part 3 ]
Tell me…
Have you gone through the house hunting thing? Am I being a giant baby?
Linked up to: Thinking Out Loud
Awww, I feel your pain, girl. We are looking at buying our first house in 2017 most likely. I know it’s going to be a stressful process because Austin houses are crazy expensive and they sell the same day they are listed. Ugh. I’ll need all the tips I can get! I am looking forward to your Portland posts. I hope to visit there in 2019! My Native American tribe is having their 30th celebration and they are located on Coos Bay, OR.
Ugh it’s so stressful to think about ALL houses going that fast! Right now it’s just updated homes in good areas that are flying off the market. I think it’s going to get worse in the spring and summer, so we are trying to avoid the craziness of bidding wars!
You should totally let me know when you’re going to Portland…I would LOVE to go back!!
Off course it’s emotional! It would be weird if it wasn’t. I don’t own, but when we lived in NYC I fell head over heels for what I thought was the perfect apartment for rent. As soon as I’d seen it and fell in love, the broker told me they already had an offer so it was essentially off the market. I tried everything – called daily and even offered more money. We ended up renting another place that was SO much better suited for us! This is a long way of saying you’ll find the right place for you at the right time. It doesn’t stop you getting emotionally attached in the meantime, I know. Good luck!!!!
Thank you for the validation that it can be emotional! I’m not sure Dave understands it and keeps telling me not to get attached to houses haha. Easier said than done!!
It’s so great that you were able to find a better place…that’s so encouraging!!
PS your last post on Cinderella becoming a personal trainer is probably the best thing I’ve read in a long time. <3 <3
In my area, houses for rent or for sale go super fast. It makes it frustrating and can be difficult – because of course you don’t want to settle on a home. May and June is when it really starts getting busier. My husband and I are saving for our down payment right now, and will be encountering this ourselves in a year or so. I hope you start having better luck and find the right house.
Hey Laurie! Yes, it was rough. We actually did end up finding a house (thank GOODNESS..I was turning into a hot mess!).
I hope you have better luck…maybe the market will turn around?? E-mail me any time you need to vent! 🙂