Since Scott and I are in the middle of shopping for a new home I figured it might be beneficial to share a little about what we have learned so far. This process has been much different than the first time we each bought houses. We had both bought and sold and had a much better idea of what we wanted as we look for our house that we will probably live in for at least 5-10 years.
Make a list of what is important to you. You may not get every thing you want but have a good idea of what you need and be realistic about your needs and how they fit in your budget.
Our Needs/Wants:
- Something newer (Newly built homes are built for modern families, with open floor plans, more storage and more room to entertain and play)
- At least 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms
- A kitchen I can cook in
- 2,000 + square feet
- Close to major highways in our area of the Twin Cities
- Less than a 15 mile commute
- A large enough lot for Scott to be able to store his equipment for his company
- The driveway needs to be flat or not too steep so Scott could get his truck and trailer in it (this was way harder than we thought it would be)
- A compromise in location for this city girl who married a country boy, I would love to be in Minneapolis but that is just not practical for us. We found a great area and focused our search there. It’s close enough in to make me happy and far enough out to make my country husband happy too.
Our Search:
We meet with a Realtor and set up a search for all of our criteria, we would be emailed when a new property came on the market and we could decide if we wanted to go see it. Inventory is pretty low in the Twin Cities right now and we were very thankful that we were even able to find enough houses to look at. I am guessing we looked at about 30 places.
Our House (hopefully):
We have a closing date of May 20th, just waiting for a few things from the financial company and we should be ready to close then. Fingers crossed on this! After the past 6 months we’ve had we really need something positive to happen.
It is a 3 bedroom, 3 bath with an amazing lot, great kitchen and in a wonderful neighborhood. We did end up compromising on the location, the style of home and a 4th bedroom (that was really more a want than a need). But as long as everything goes well we should be in our new place at the end of May.
Looking for more information about houses? Check out BHI’s Start Fresh Buy New
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
