House hunting!

Wow so I feel very adult. Zach and I are starting to go house hunting! Maybe I should call up House Hunters and see if I can be on their show! Hahahaha. We've met with the loan officer and everything already. We should be able to be approved for a $200,000 loan no problem. Fingers crossed we can find something that fits what we want!

Originally we were going to try and buy my Nana's house ( where we live now) but Zach and I decided that it was too complicated a process, and we didn't want a mortgage that was more than we could afford.

So now the big things we want are :

• 3 bedrooms
• 2 baths
• 1200 sf or more we have around 1200 now
• big yard preferrably fenced in
• garage
• not off of a busy road

Other things that would be nice but we could probably work around

• hardwood floors? the less carpet the better with all the pets we have
• fireplace
• decent kitchen ( even if it has okay cabinets that we can refinish)
• sun room!

So I don't know if we are expecting too much but thats what we want! I know Zach wishes we could find something in pungo, but pretty sure it is more expensive out there.

I am perfectly fine with a house that needs some fixing. Paint alone can do wonders. I would rather mold the house to the way i want it than get something that is already done for me though not exactly how I would do it. We definately want some place that we could potentially start a family in so it can't be too small. We need a little room to grow. Not that there are plans for that soon!

We still need to save up $7,000-$8,000 for a down payment too. Which Zach has some savings. And potentially we could use money from the wedding? There are alot of factors that depend on it. If we rushed and got it before the end of April we could potentially get the $8,000 tax credit.Though I am not real sure of the specifics of that. But maybe we could borrow money from a family member then pay them back when we get the tax credit?

Zach and I will also not have much furniture if we move into our own house. Since my Nana's was already furnished. We have our bed and night stands. Some book shelves and Zachs futon. Plus our Tv's and entertainment center. As well as my little entry table cabinet. But we have no kitchen table and chairs of our own and no couch, or coffee table or side tables... Well lets just say there is alot we would need! Maybe I should start hunting for good things at thrift stores and on craigslist. I think I would have to buy a new couch though...

Buying a house is a HUGE purchase though. It is extremely exciting but I definately want to do alot of shopping and be 100% sure about what we end up doing. There really isn't a horrible rush. But this is something that could be rather soon or could be over the summer. One way or another we will probably have our own place by September.

Zach's friend Jarrod's dad is a realtor and is going to take us to some places on the 13th. Wonder what we will see! I have a fear that we may end up getting disheartened by seeing lots of junk houses! hahaha I just hope we can find a place in a decent neighborhood. But at least for once this seems to be one thing that Zach and I happen to be on the same page for. We both pretty much want the same things.

This will be a major step. Getting married AND buying a house! Sheesh!