A House Post

I've been wanting to tell you all about how T.J. went out and got us a house. Our very own first house where T.J. and I will live there together as husband and wife. And I can't believe how blessed, and thankful, and flippin' excited I feel! Like cry for joy, overwhelmed with emotion excited, and everything's just been a whirlwind, so this post has been sitting in my draft folder for months.

Back it up a few months, before we were engaged, back when we were still tip-toeing around the marriage talk, we both knew that "you and me together forever" was where this whole thing was headed, and when we got to that point we would want a house.  Since TJ's residency program is 5 years long it made sense to get something more permanent, to feel settled, to be "grown ups" playing house. A place all our own, to paint and decorate and go Pintererst crazy in (..that last part might just be me...).

So before he knew exactly where he would be spending those 5 years, I was all over Zillow, saving houses in the two potential residency locations he was leaning towards. And the second it was confirmed that he would be heading to Washington, I deleted all my other homes and ramped up my Washington searches. I definitely got a little carried away but TJ was okay with that because the main thing that mattered to him was that the house be as close to the hospital as possible. 

This was the #1 thing for me as well, even more important than stainless steel appliances and hardwood floors, believe it or not. TJ is going to be working looonnng hours at the hospital. He's going to be working overnight and on weekends and the poor guy does not need a long commute in traffic on top of that. And I sure as heck don't want share our time with the highway.

T.J. reached out to some local realtors and at the beginning of April he and his dad booked flights for a long weekend to check out some of the listings and hopefully find a place. Unfortunately my work schedule would not allow me to go with them but before he left for his trip we sat together and looked at all the listings the realtors had emailed him, plus the houses I had saved on Zillow. And we were pleased to find that we were on the same page about what we did and didn't like. We weren't too picky, honestly. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a bathtub, not weird. That was our main criteria.

T.J. and his dad arrived in Washington and jumped right into the hunt. They visited a lot of houses their first day there and they were all busts. Too far, too sketchy, funky layouts. And the second day went much the same. We started to get a little discouraged and realized an apartment might be the better option, rather than rushing to find something in a single weekend. But he still had a different realtor to meet with and a few more listings in our prime location to see the next day.

While he was out house hunting I was out shopping with my friend Kelsey. Later in the day I got a text from him with the links to the houses he'd seen that day. He asked me to check them out, especially his personal favourite. I told him I'd look at them later when I was back at a computer. Honestly I didn't have much hope based on what he had shown me the previous days. But an hour later he texted again to see if I had any thoughts, he wanted to call and chat about them right away because we needed to decided if we wanted to "make any moves."

When I saw that text, Kelsey and I rushed home to her computer and immediately started looking at the houses and I immediately started panicking. I don't know why exactly? I guess a part of me had assumed we probably wouldn't actually find anything on the very first trip. I had resigned myself to apartment living so when he called saying he wanted to make an offer on one of the houses in particular, I was surprised. And I think I scared him a bit (oops) as I vocalized all my thoughts in a possibly hysterical tone. In my defense, this was my first time "seeing" the house since it had just gone on the market and wasn't on Zillow yet. Subsequently there was a misunderstanding about a street that runs behind the house and some serious concerns over whether the master bathroom actually had a bathtub or not. I'm not exactly proud of my reaction. So that sweet guy drove back over to the house to take (hilarious) pictures of the privacy fence and the bathtub to put my mind at ease. You may agree with T.J. and think I was being silly but, y'all I have gone 3 years without a bathtub and I need one back in my life!
So then I looked at T.J.'s favourite house with a little more discernment and with a clearer head and it wasn't even a question. I called T.J. back and apologized for my momentary insanity and admitted that the house looked pretty darn perfect. It checked all the boxes and was actually really charming once I was able to calm down. We hung up and T.J. called the realtor and told them he wanted to make an offer.

Paperwork was drawn up, approval letters were drafted,  and the offer was submitted to the owners.
A few days later T.J. called and we were just talking, sharing about our days, for a solid 20 minutes before he oh so casually tells me the offer has been accepted. Just like that. Cool as a cucumber that boy. I did enough jumping up and down and exclaiming for the both of us and we just couldn't believe that he was one step closer to being a home owner.

After a little more back and forth and faxing documents and tracking down forms with signatures from so and so, T.J. closed on the house and moved in at the beginning of June. And I finally got to see our house in person for the first time when I visited at the end of the month and I loved it even more.  And, excuse me while I gush...but I know that even if it was a rundown shack in the middle of no where I'd be just as excited to move in because of who I get to share it with!

Comments

  1. Congratulations, I couldn't be happier for you!

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    1. Aww Debby! Thank you so so much for your kind comment.

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  2. So exciting! You are going to have so much fun making that house your home!

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    1. Thanks so much Molly! I am so excited to get in there and make it ours! My pinteresting has ratcheted up to a whole new level.

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  3. I'm sure no one can tell that you are excited and happy! :)

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    1. Hehe- you're right, I do a pretty good job of playing it cool ;)

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    1. I couldn't agree more! He take such good care of us!

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  5. No matter how many houses you buy, you'll still feel that excitement when your offer has been accepted! :)

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  6. I can't wait to sleep in the guest room : )

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    1. Oh my goodness! That thought makes me so very happy- I can't wait either!!

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  7. Oh, so happy for you and TJ. I'm sure many, many happy hours will be spent in that house.

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  8. There is nothing like home ownership... We have owned quite a few homes over the years and rented in between and big or small, owning is the way to go! You will always love your first home and have such fond memories of it!

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    1. You are so encouraging! It can sometimes feel like we're over our heads a bit and I can't believe we have our own home! Hah. But it's going to be such a wonderful place to start our married lives.

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