New Digs

Having never gone through the process of buying a home, let alone tackling it as a single mom with a child,  two dogs, and a home office in tow, I was a bit overwhelmed by the task before me. Per my usual protocol when faced with daunting tasks, I started dumping the thoughts and snippets rattling around in my brain into a notebook. (Please note that this notebook was selected for its fun and happy cover design and 100% post-consumer paper, ecojot - a girl has got to have her standards! Smile.)

Here are the features I targeted to find in a house:

• safe neighborhood - diverse is good
• good schools
• lots of daylight in house
• three bedroom (one for office), two full baths
• hardwood floors
• ranch
• brick
• energy efficient
• open plan in kitchen, dining room, living room is good
• good storage in kitchen (pantry is preferred)
• fenced in yard
• smaller yard/minimal grass that needs to be cut
• two car garage/carport/off-street parking preferred

I enlisted the help of a realtor who understood what I meant when I said daylight and energy-efficient. We jumped in feet first viewing 4-6 houses every time we went out. I was looking for houses mid-February through March of 2010 when the deadline of the first time homeowner's federal housing incentive was bearing down upon me. Given the state of the economy, the well-priced, solid houses that may have been sitting through the winter were now starting to move in the neighborhoods in which I was looking. I also was eager to move on from my previous house. I fully understood the commitment of the investment I was about to make so my house-hunting was thorough. I immediately ruled out houses that would require major renovation work (i.e. removal of carpet and installation of new flooring throughout the house, swamp-like backyard, oil heating, questionable electrical or plumbing systems) as I knew that as single mom I would not have the time or money to invest in getting do-it-yourself projects done. In the end, I found a gem. Check out how much of my target list that I hit. 

• safe neighborhood
• good schools
• lots of daylight in house
• three bedroom (one for office), two full baths (managing with one)
• hardwood floors
• ranch
• brick
• energy efficient  (the attic is insulated but the rest needs some attention)
• open plan in kitchen, dining room, living room is good
• good storage in kitchen (pantry is preferred) (there is a nearby closet that I converted to a pantry)
• fenced in yard
• smaller yard/minimal grass that needs to be cut
• two car garage/carport/off-street parking preferred

New to Me Digs

Not pictured here is the backyard and back steps. After the home inspection was done, the backyard and steps became the first item on my homeowner's to do list. I'll tackle that one in my next post.