My First Home

Just a quick update, as we have started to look at homes in some different developments. So far we have seen properties in Mountain Village, Carrol Park, and Amber Meadows.  We have probably seen five or six houses so far, but those five or six offered allot of variety. Most of what we have seen has been really encouraging, though we have also had the opportunity to look at some “fixer-uppers”.

One of the properties we saw had blue carpeting on the walls of the bathroom, in the “finished” basement. As you can imagine, this was not included in the listing. I started to feel the carpet with my hands, when I realized that the bathroom in question also had a shower. I then realized that there is probably a pretty good chance that at one point or another, somebody had used their carpeted walls to dry themselves after a shower. Disturbing realization to say the least.

I think that house may need a little more TLC than what we are looking for, but nothing is out of the question as of right now. We are definitely looking for something that needs a little work, so that we can build some sweat equity in it. As of right now, we are still getting a feel for the different developments in the area. Once we have a good idea of what is available to us, we can start narrowing down our options. Valerie is out of town this weekend, but I believe that we are planning on spending a good portion of next Saturday looking at more properties.

Last night we went out to dinner with Valerie to discuss what we need to do now that we have been qualified. I feel very good after speaking with her. She has always been a close friend of the family, which made it more comfortable from the start. She was very tuned in to what we were looking for, and completely understood our concerns. It almost seemed like she knew what kind of things we wanted to discuss, before we had a chance to bring it up.

I have read a number of articles and books that say if you are not comfortable with you are dealing with (be it a broker, agent, etc) find somebody else. They place allot of importance (and understandably so) on finding somebody that you are not only comfortable with, but somebody that you are confident will be able to address your needs and concerns. That being said, I don’t think I could feel more confident at this point. The advice she gave and the questions she asked last night really make us feel like this is going to work. I would say finding somebody you are comfortable with is very sound advice.

Valerie now has our contact information as well as a good idea of what we are looking for, and is going to start sending us listings immediately. As always, more updates to come.

On Tuesday of this week, Greta e-mailed me the pre-qualification figures. I guess I shouldn’t have been too worried, because we qualified for 60-100k over what we were looking to spend. She did mock-ups for three projected scenarios, so we can get an idea of what our monthly payments would look like.

Now that we don’t need to worry about qualifying, I am concerned about being able to afford whatever loan we get. While we qualify at a decent amount, I don’t think we could live comfortably with some of the more expensive scenarios she provided. In fact, all three scenarios were ran using purchase prices above what we were looking to spend. I will be calling her back this week to see if we can get a scenario with a lower purchase price. We also have a solid figure for what our down payment will be, so I can ask that be included in the new scenario as well.

Now that we know what we qualify for, we can start looking for a home with a little more purpose. We have been casually browsing the market, but until this point…did not have any solid figures. I will be trying to contact Valerie (the friend of the family who referred us to Greta), to start shopping for a home. As I mentioned before, she has allot of experience in the industry…and has been a close friend of the family for a long time. I’m sure any help or advice she can provide will be very valuable.

After getting a contact name from a friend of the family, I called to set the wheels in motion. Greta works with Countrywide, and has all the information she needs to find out what we qualify for. I spoke with her last night, and she expects to have a figure for us by Monday. I am a little anxious to find out what we will prequalify for, hopefully the time passes by quickly.

As I had previously mentioned, I am a little nervous due to the prices in the Frederick area. However, I do feel a little better after speaking with Greta. There are a couple of programs and possible grants out there for first time homeowners. Hopefully we can qualify for some of these programs. I will update with specifics once I get some more definite information.

A friend of the family has allot of experience in the mortgage industry. She was a real estate agent for a long time, and actually got my parents into their home when we first moved to Maryland (from Denver, CO). She has since left that profession, but still remains active in the mortgage world. She has provided me with the appropriate contact to get the loan process started. I will be calling this contact in the very near future.

I will admit I am a little nervous. The real estate prices in the Frederick area can be a little lofty. I am hoping that we find a house we can afford. I know there are allot of programs out there for first time buyers, so I am trying to remain optimistic on how this will all turn out. Hopefully I will have updates soon to come.