Journey of a Homeowner

A true story of a First Time Home Buyer.

It seems almost every post is about fixing or renovating something else. I guess that is the life of a homeowner. I wont say I dont enjoy it but I do know as time goes on all these big projects will get finished. Then all I will be left with are small projects that I feel like doing. Fingers crossed I dont think of more bigger ones. Laugh.

In the long run, hopefully every project that I take on will only increase the value of my house. That is the true goal. That way when I go to sell I have a better spread to work with. Then I can start the entire process all over again. The goal next time would be to do it faster and try for a flip. If I can do a flip, this blog will take a drastic turn in direction. Flipping is an entire different bottle of wax.

At the same time, I may not sell this house. My current goal is to pay off as much as I can. I even have a spreadsheet that shows that its possible to pay off the house in 61 months. That time frame requires a room mate but it is possible. Ill then be 33 and own my home outright. That would be pretty impressive.

Having all that extra money every month. I would be doing a lot of traveling and investing. I think owning your home is one of the biggest steps to becoming wealthy. Just think about the money you spend every month. That biggest payment is either your rent or mortgage. If its your car, you either live at home or have several room mates or you possibly made a bad decision on a new car (Sorry but Dave Ramsey says so).

I like the idea of owning this home. I feel like I could accomplish a lot more in life. Thats an extra $15,000 a year. Thats a nice pile of cash to have around. I have a lot to think about in the next coming years. You will all find out what happens too.

I was unforntuante to find a house in time for the governemnt tax credit. It sure would have been nice to get an extra $8,000 USD to renovate with. Overall I still think I came out ahead. If I would have purchased the same property I am in now, I would have paid almost $43,000 more!!! Yes, thats not a typo. Thats how much the bank has slowly taken off the price, since it went on the market. I am much hapier now. I would have been looking for first time home buyer grants if that was the case. I would have become house poor if the purchase was made last year. And for those who dont know. House Poor is when you have a mortgage and almost all your money goes towards it. You barely have enough money to do anything else. So you end up stuck in your home.

With my current situation I am not house poor. I am paying a little bit more a month but its worth it. Every payment I make, a portion of that goes into my pocket. When you are paying rent, that does not happen. You are lining someone elses pockets.

So if I were to have any tips for a first time home buyer, it would only be one. Be patient. I saw a number of houses that I thought was perfect in every way. Some I bid on and lost. Some were just to far out of my price range. All I did was get frustrated about it but in the end I knew it would work out. And trust me it did. I was able to get a steal on this house. I already have about $30,000 USD in equity and thats only going to go up as improvments are made to the home. Who knows what the housing market trend will do. But right now I think we are close to the bottom. It should start going up over the next 2-5 years.

Now you may be thinking. I got lucky. I dont feel it was luck. I did a lot of research and a lot of looking. I knew I wanted to have prebuilt equity in the home. This made me feel safer making a huge purchase like this. Everyday I still look at houses. Deals like this are still out there. You just have to look for them. Learn what areas are popular. Read about school districts. Look at how longs houses take to sell in a particular area. Watch was houses actually sell for. All of these will give you a better understanding of what houses are worth.

In my mind, this is me traveling through a post apocalyptic world. Even though it has not happened yet.

I will be taking possession of my first house in the middle of February. It is a scary thought taking on so much  debt. Ive been a huge follower of Dave Ramsey and his show. I could easily thank him for providing me the knowledge to pay off my credit cards. If it wasnt for him, I would not be having this conversation.

Over the course of the next couple years I would like to document the process of being a first time home buyer. I have no idea what to expect. You will hear about all of my trials and tribulations. As well as any successes I have. You will learn the same things I learn. If I learn how to tile. You will learn how to tile. If I plan to buy something. I will become an expert in what I plan to purchase. You too will become one as well.

As the day, weeks, and months go on. Hopefully I can look back and enjoy my blood, sweat, and tears.

Here is a list of things I already plan on doing.

Purchase Appliances (Refrigerator, Washer, Dryer)
Tile Kitchen Floor
Install New Cabinets
Tile Bathroom Walls
Tile Bathroom Floors
Repair Damaged Walls
Paint Interior Walls
Install New Doors
Add Light Control Panel (Control lights via iPhone4)
Install Digital Door Locks
Install New Garage Door Opener

This is just some of the few things that I can think. I will be sure to get an extensive list put together as well as before photos. This way I will be able to look back at what I moved into and get even more joy of seeing what has become of my work.

Still working on getting all my stuff together. I dont own much, but it still takes forever to get packed. As of now I have a room dedicated to boxes and my bed. Still need to get the bathrooms and kitchen packed. Everything else can just go into a big miscellaneous box.

I dont think i'll have time to venture outside today. The weather is crap so I dont think I will be missing much.

I need to take sometime today and start making a list of refrigerators. I need to figure out what style, finish, size that I will need. Its the only real emergency item that I need to purchase for my new home. It is furnished with all of the other appliances, minus a washer and dryer. Those I can live without since I can go to the local mat to wash my clothes.

Im pretty sure I will go with a french door. I like the idea of having a full open top fridge. Plus I dont keep very many frozen items. Just chicken and maybe some steak or goat (Yes, goat). Google it. Its probably the best meat you can eat. Even better than chicken. Its just a tad expensive but still cheaper than some cuts of beef.

If you know of some model fridges that you like let me know.