You Just Might Find...

Last summer The Admiral and I were living in a beautiful 2 bedroom townhome style condo that was just minutes away from just about everything we wanted to do in life. We were renting it and the price, although a little more than some of the other places we'd looked at, was well worth it.

More importantly it was the perfect size for us. Unlike the 900 some odd square foot place we'd lived in the 5 years previous, this place was large enough that it didn't feel like we were standing on top of each other everytime we sneezed. In the end we had to move but it served as a model for what we would be looking for if we ever wanted something more permanent.

The chain of events that caused us to move from the condo grated and irritated enough for us to come up with a plan that involved renting a space with a dear friend in the hopes of saving enough money to not have to move again for a while. The plan, while requiring some sacrifice was a good one, and like Leroy Jenkins we were all in and ready to "do this".

A month ago we started taking the browsing process a little more seriously than just perusing ads in the paper or on-line. Because of our experiences over the last few years we had a pretty good idea of what was on our shopping list.

• Minimum of 2 bed rooms



• A place for some storage (garage)



• A short commute to work and family for The Admiral



• Fireplace



• A nice kitchen for The Admiral



• A more modern look for both the place and the community



• And most importantly IT HAS TO BE AFFORDABLE

This last bullet was essential, because if we couldn't afford the monthly payments then quite frankly what was the point?

So off we went on our search. In all we saw about 2 and a half dozen different properties. Most of them were condos/townhomes. Neither of us are fond of doing yard work. Our first discovery was that it was going to be hard to find something that fit all of our criteria. This isn't unique in this process but it's the sort of thing you have to come to grips with in a hurry.

A half dozen of the places we looked at were in the same complex as the condo we'd lived in a year ago. This was great, because it meant we new what to expect by way of size and ammenities. We knew we'd be comfortable there which made things easy. All of the available units were Short Sales so the pricing wasn't set in stone. This presented some challenges because you couldn't really know how much you'd truly have to pay. Tack on the HOA dues and it was beginning to seem unaffordable.

2 of the places we instantly fell in love with were more than just nicely refurbished. They were also priced well and in the same complex as The Admiral's uncle. It seemed almost too good to be true. Close to family - check. Short commute - check. Gorgeous kitchen - check. Fireplace - check. Enough square footage, including storage - check. Affordable - che...wait what's this crap about $350 a month for HOA?

I ran the numbers and realized that it would mean an extra $20,000 over 30 years just for that extra $60 bucks. Yikes!!! A couple of weeks into the process and I was ready to call it quits. I felt financially inadequate, and the entire venture just seemed to be too much to handle. I'd calculated how much we could afford on a month to month basis and we were striking out at every turn.

"Were we going to be able to find a place that looked the way we wanted?

"Was there even a chance that we could afford it?

How does anyone ever get what they want in this type of an economy?

Last weekend after touring another half dozen places with our Agent we decided to put the top down on the Cruiser and drive around looking at places in areas outside of the geographical area we'd been concentrating on. It was a Beautiful Balmy Seattle Day and it felt nice to just drive around and play "what if".

We mostly saw some stuff we couldn't afford. Truth. But towards the end of the day we pulled into Dunhill Terraceon a whim. We left realizing that if there was any possibility of the pricing working out the way we hoped, we would be living there. An enthusiastic text to our Agent secured us a return visit later in the week.

I began coordinating with our Loan Originator on pricing and loan approval immediately. The four of us strategized on the best approach and came up with a game plan.

The true difficulty for us was that the home wasn't built yet. To say that our negotiating strength was low would be a huge understatement. So in our final budget planning we assumed that we'd be paying full price and eating all of the closing costs.

But we'd decided that to have a brand new home that noone else had lived in yet would make that sacrifice seem more than just small. It would be miniscule.

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So ladles and germs there you have it. Today The Admiral and I signed the paperwork for our very first home and were pronounced Homeowners. I cried a little behind my sun glasses once we got in the car.

We paid a little more than we wanted. And the house is a little further away from family and work than we wanted as well. But it's new and it's ours.

It's true what they say. You really can't always get what you want. But if you try sometimes...