The art of becoming a homeowner

It has been a week and one day since we closed on our house. Everything went very smoothly ...well almost everything. I took January 14th off from work. Justin went to work slightly early so he could leave at quarter to 10 and meet me at the house to do our walk through. I ended up leaving just a tad bit late and found that I need gas so that held me up. Then I wanted to get coffee because for whatever reason I didn't make it at home. I felt my car riding slightly strange. Eventually I make it to the house and meet Justin and Jeff, our agent. It was so fun to be there and know that in mere hours this house would be OURS.

Jeff was very patient with us as we checked everything out. Our friend Steve eventually met us at the house because we had plans for him to help us with shopping later in the day and cleaning up once we got the keys. In not so typical fashion, Jeff handed us the set of keys he had from the lock box before the closing. We thought that was the only set. We were at the house for over an hour which surprised me. Then it was time to head to Barrington for the closing!! Jeff left separate from us and it was planned that Justin and Steve would ride in Justin's car while I took mine to the apartment and dropped it off. I left before everyone else and noticed immediately something was wrong. I thought perhaps it was some snow on my tires.

I pulled off to the side of the road at this closed gas station by the house and I found that I had a flat tire. Oh no! I called Justin immediately. I saw Jeff go by me on the road and when I told him later he said he didn't even see me. Justin and Steve came to rescue me. We ended up leaving my car in front of this house/masonry business on a side road. A guy driving a plow gave us his card and said he could fix it for us if we needed. There was no time to get it fixed as we needed to get back to Barrington.

I hopped in the car with the guys and we set off. We arrived at the closing at the same time as the seller. I won't go into the boring details of the closing but it was a very neat experience. I was so nervous the entire time and STARVING! I didn't eat before we got there which was so stupid. My blood sugar was dropping at a rapid rate and finally I accepted a hot chocolate from Jeff so I could feel a little better. Our closing Attorney, Bruce looked like Christopher Reeves a little bit. The seller and his agent left before we did. The seller handed us a bigger set of keys with a key chain that said "Mom's keys". I have a hard time describing how it felt. As he left, the seller said "Have fun with the house.." I don't know that I necessarily feel bad..but it's a strange experience to now own something that a person lived in for 40 years.

It was not too much longer after they left that Justin and I were done signing papers. I didnt think that was too bad. I thought it would be much more. To be honest, it all went by so fast! And then...the final paper was signed and it was done! I let out a big sigh of relief and Jeff laughed at me.

We broke out a bottle of Apple Cider and had a toast with Steve, who had come back at that point. We took a few pictures of us holding the deed. Then it was all over and we left!

I will really miss Jeff. He was such a big help in this process. Whenever we're ready to sell this house we will definitely go back to him to be our agent again.

So this last week has been filled with making changes at the house. Pics on FB ! I can't wait to share more and I am so ready for it to be done and for us to be living there!

Justin and I have been keeping rather quiet about the potential purchase of our first house. We went through this in the fall and the house turned out to be something we could not feel comfortable buying. I think this time around we felt like it was better to keep quiet.

We are 8 days (and some change) away from closing on this other house we've found. Even though we got our approval letter from the bank I still feel queasy about telling the masses that we're buying a house. I hope no one takes offense if I didn't call or send a direct message informing them about our prospect. It's been a very stressful and whirlwind month. It's really hard to believe that it was only a month ago that we saw this house for the first time.

From the get-go I have been fearful that we really CAN'T afford a mortgage. I am fearful that we won't be able to handle the things that just come up when you are home owner. I am placing bets on what the first thing to break will be. (My bets fall on the fridge!) I am worried that we will find ourselves unhappy with the size of our bedroom and frustrated at our 1950's kitchen. WORRY WORRY WORRY!!!

I have to take a deep breath and remember that this is our first house. It is our starter home. We do not plan to be here for ages. We couldn't possibly raise our entire family in this house so I know that we'll be able to upgrade in the future.

I feel like the "cat is out of the bag" and that anyone paying attention to my facebook would be able to figure out whats going on...I still don't want to say anything OFFICIAL until it's OFFICIAL. I hope everyone understands.