Well almost...still in escrow, but HOW EXCITING!!!!
Jeff and I had been talking about buying a house since before we moved to Southern California. The plan was to get me down here, get a job and then buy a house that we would move into once we got married. Well, we thank the Lord everyday that "our plan" did not go as planned. At the time, interest rates were at about 6.8% and that was a good rate, and home prices were at an all-time high. Now, just over a year later, interest rates have dropped to an all-time low as have housing prices. If we would have bought two years ago we would be upside down in a home that we were paying an arm and a leg for. Needless to say, for some reason, Jeff and I decided two years ago that we were not quite ready to buy and we stopped looking.
When we filed our taxes this year we were told by numerous individuals (accountants, friends, family, etc.) that we really needed to purchase a home in order to have a tax write off. We started to listen. On top of that, the federal government announced an offer for a $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers and the state of California announced and offer for a $10,000 tax credit for a purchase of a brand new home. We started to realize it was a horrible idea NOT to buy a house. When Jeff's parents were visiting in May we thought it would be fun to drive around the area and pop into a few open houses. Never did we think we would stumble across a home that we would actually buy!!! But, we did! The stars aligned and we found the perfect home. After thinking about it for over a month we finally decided that it was time to put in an offer - that day happened to be June 22nd. For anyone that knows me, you know that my two alltime favorite numbers are 6 and 22. It couldn't be mere coincidence that I was writing up an offer on a home for the first time in my life on 06.22. Anyway, after about a month of back and forth with the seller we finally heard word this week that they accepted our offer! We entered into escrow on 07.22 (22 again, what are the chances??) and if all goes as planned we will have keys in hand on August 21!
Here are some pictures of our brand new home!!!
The outside...
Keep us in your prayers that all goes well. I can't wait to become a home owner during my Life As A Wife.