Long Overdue Update

I haven't had as much time to blog lately as I would like. Between moving, getting settled into our new place, visiting parents, and everything else, its just slipped through the cracks. So I figure its time for a much overdue update.

We are finally in the house and settled. I managed to get much of the decorating I wanted to do done, but there are still a few small project here and there to tackle. And then, of course, we still need to paint. So its coming along but is still a work in progress.

We had a great time when Sean's parents came to visit. Spent a lot of time driving around and showing them some new places in Oregon. Even had the chance to take my father in law down to Eugene and show him the UofO sports buildings. He's a big sports fan (and a HUGE UCLA fan) and is always interested in seeing that kinda stuff. He was very surprised to see Autzen was so far away from campus. I was also able to take them and show them the Alpha Chi house at UofO (both my inlaws were greek). It brought back some crazy memories of growing up down there and driving through that part of town. The Alpha Chi house was always my favorite one on the campus... I guess it was destiny. :)

Anyways, so it was a good visit. Then a few weeks ago I went down to Eugene for my birthday and spent the day with my mom. I managed to find a new bridesmaid dress at David's, as well as a dress for a wedding I'm going to in November. I'm really nervous about the dress, as it is JUST BARELY long enough. So if ANYTHING is off when it shows up then it will be too short. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Its not guaranteed to be in until October and then doesn't give me much time for plan B should it be too short. This is the new dress...

Decoration Inspiration Part 3 - Home in Progress

So on Monday we will finally have our house keys!  So Sean and I started doing some shopping this weekend. Since I had some time, I thought I would share what we finally settled on for our master bedroom.

So everything is going to be black and white. I still want to add a punch of color, but I have not decided what color just yet. Anyways, on Friday we went to a local furniture store and picked out our bedroom furniture, some decorations, a sofa, and a set of coffee tables. This is the bedroom set we decided on:

We bought 2 night stands, the bed, and the dresser with mirror. I originally purchased this bedroom set as well, but Sean wasn't crazy about it, so we canceled it. Instead we went to Macy's and picked out this bed set.

 

I also picked up two of this mirror for the bedroom:

Finally, today I went and picked out a bathroom set for the bedroom.  I had a hard time finding something that stuck with my black and white theme, especially since there were others I really like that would completely have not gone. So, after several stores, I finally settled on this set:

So that's it, the master bedroom and bathroom. I think I'm going to save everything else for one we are in and decorated. This has been so much fun and I can't wait to get in and see what everything is going to look like. Pictures of the house when finished to come!

Home Buying in the Burbs Part 4

So the latest on the house is that we will NOT be signing tomorrow as we had planned.

This time there is a problem with the appraisal report (which I'm not sure why they didn't catch it 2 weeks ago when they got it) and the underwriter has requested some changes. So we get pushed back again. We are still not sure when we will sign now, though the loan processor has stated we should ask for an extension until the 30th.

This has me freaked out. We have everything in place to move next week, including having much of our apartment packed up and in general disarray. On top of that, we have family coming into town to visit in 2 weeks and our apartment is in no condition for visitors, so hopefully we will still have time to move before they get here. If we can't move next week, I don't know what I am going to do.

This whole thing has taught me a lot of valuable information that I would definitely pass on to any first time home buyer:

1) First, and most importantly, GIVE YOURSELF TIME. You may not get the first place you love (or even the second or third) and banks are not completely reliable. If you are living somewhere that you know you need to be out of by a specific day, give yourself a few months to find a place and a few months to close. You don't want to end up homeless and the bank only works during business hours.

2) Even if the first bank you go to has a great mortgage broker and the loan sounds like what you need, SHOP AROUND. This was the biggest mistake Sean and I made and it has cost us about $8,000 so far. We went with the first place to approve us and didn't look into our other options. Sometimes, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

3) If you are unsure, uncomfortable, or just plain don't know something, ASK QUESTIONS. Things change every day in the housing/mortgage industry, and your mortgage broker or realtor may assume you know something. Speak up for yourself and asks questions. Don't worry about being annoying or asking what you think is dumb question. There are no dumb questions and these people are working for you now, so if you are going to spend that much money, they should be available to answer any questions you have. If they aren't, find someone who is.

4) Until you are in the title office signing the paperwork, everything can change, so BE FLEXIBLE. We have had to make plans, reschedule, and then reschedule again a few times. The bank works on its own time and (at least the one we are working with) doesn't like to make sure they are thorough the first time. So at any time something could change and get pushed back. Be prepared for things to change and don't plan any major events (or visits from out of town family) too close to when you are suppose to close.

Hopefully someone else will read this and learn from our mistakes. I'm sure the home buying process doesn't have to be this stressful. If we had known this stuff in advanced, maybe it wouldn't have been.

Home Buying in the Burbs Part 3

So over the weekend we got final word that we are, in fact, going to have to put 5% down on the house. The loan we applied for was a 100% financing, but unfortunately they have some extra requirements when buying a condo (which our place technically is). The place has to be "warrantable" which means that the HOA has to meet certain requirements (so much money in reserve, one person can't own more than 10%, not more than 30% can be rentals, etc...). Our place ended up coming back as unwarrantable, so now we have to put a down payment down.

This is both good and bad. It's good because we are taking out a smaller loan and will have some equity in the house right away. It also means that our monthly payment will be *slightly* smaller. It sucks though, because that money was going to be our budget to buy all the new furniture and stuff I had wanted to get.

So basically, now we have to prioritize our purchase. We are definitely getting the bedroom furniture right away. And I fully intend to buy the bar stools and Sean really wants a new TV for his "man cave," which I have agreed to since we can get it from Best Buy and just make payments on it. So basically, I have to wait until the end of July to get a new sofa and anything else we may decide we want to replace.

Today we have our (hopefully) final inspection. We've already put out $375 in inspection fees, and today is going to be another $75. I know buying a house is expensive, but it really gets under my skin that we are spending money we shouldn't have to because the seller didn't fix stuff. Grrrrrrr. Anyways, after this we wait for the appraisal and, if all goes well, we should close soon. We are suppose to get our keys and be done by June 17th. We will see if that happens.

Decoration Inspiration Part 2: The Bedroom - Update

Macy's was having an AWESOME sale this weekend, including an additional 10% off. So, coupon in hand, I went to explore and see if they had anything I couldn't live without.

I had long ago promised Sean that I wouldn't start buying stuff for the new place until we actually had the keys. But then I found this...



I love this bed set and it was SUCH a good deal. For only $90 I got an eight piece bed set (normally $250) that includes everything you see above except for the sheets. So, I just need to find a nice set of white sheets, and I'm good to go on my new bed set.

I love it so much and it is just what I wanted. I really wish we were closing sooner now, but June 17th will come soon enough. Stay tuned, I will post pictures of the actual set in the actual room as soon as we are moved in. :)

June 6th Update: The bed set came in the mail today and I love it just as much! The yellow is a bit softer than it looks in the pictures, but otherwise its great! It was definitely worst the $90. Thank you Macy's!!

Home Buying in the Burbs Part 2

So now that we have our dream home picked out (okay, maybe not our DREAM home, but our dream home for now), we have begun the long and frustrating process of getting it inspected, appraised, and purchased.

At first I thought we were getting off easy. Everything has gone relatively smoothly to date. Since the home is new, their were minimal things that needed to be done and the seller agreed to repair all of them. So here we are thinking all is going well, and then today our bubble was completely burst.

Issue #1: Our amazing realtor (and yes, I stand by that statement despite this) forgot to put the dishwasher repair in our repair agreement. That was the one big thing Sean and I were concerned about and the only thing she forgot. So now we have to hope that the seller will still agree to repair it OR we will have to make a claim against the home warranty to get it fixed. Annoying.

Issue #2: We had the re-inspection today to make sure everything that was listed in the repair agreement had been done. It had not. For some reason the gas was still off, which means the inspector couldn't check the furnace, air conditioner, stove, or fire place. This means we will have to pay to have him out AGAIN. Sandy (our above stated realtor) is going to try and get them to cover the cost, but I'm honestly not sure why they would.

Issue #3: So because we are applying for a 100% financing loan through OnPoint Credit Union (which is a great bank, BTW, and the mortgage broker we are working with is awesome), we have to jump through a few additional hoops to get our financing. One of those is getting a condo certification that gives them a bunch of information about the homeowners association and determines whether we can get 100% financing or if we have to put 5% down. So the original condo cert that the bank got was wrong and we were told we would have to put the 5% down. Now we are finding out that we may not have to put the 5% down, HOWEVER, its suppose to take up to 2 weeks to get the cert. We are suppose to close June 17th. Clearly that will be cutting it close.

So, there goes my dreams of an "easy" home buying process. I'll continue to share updates as they happen, so stand by for more on that front.

Decoration Inspiration Part 2 - The Master Bedroom

So for part 2 of my decoration inspiration I decided to tackle the master bedroom.

For most of my relationship with Sean, everything in our bedroom has been mis-matched and one of several different bed sets. My goal with our new place is to have things be cohesive and my style.

The first thing we plan to buy when we move into our new place is a bed set for a King Size bed, including a new bed. We measured the wall and it should be just big enough for a king bed and 2 night stands. Sean and I have very different taste when it comes to bed furniture. I LOVE sleigh beds and Sean refuses to sleep in them. So, after looking at a bunch of different sets, we finally found one we agree on.

 

This bed has the sleigh bed feel without having the foot board. That is Sean's biggest complaint when it comes to sleigh beds, so I agreed to look for a bed without it. The other thing I like about this set is that its pretty classic in style, so it won't be "out of style" in a few years when we go to sell our house. 

This is the bed set that I want. I love the idea of a light bed set against the dark wood. There are SO many windows in our new bedroom, and I want to play that up by picking bedding with a more laid back feel.

That's it for the master. I'd like to put up curtains eventually, but the house comes with all the blinds, and it doesn't make sense financially to replace all of them with curtains. So we will have to see where we go with that. Maybe eventually we will replace them, but not right away. 

Decoration Inspiration Part 1: The Living Room

So ever since Sean and I found out we got this house, I've been thinking non-stop about one things....

How am I going to decorate?

Currently, I live in what can only be described as "single man motif." Sean had a lot of input into everything we purchased, so its kind of a mishmash of stuff. However, he agreed that I could decorate the new place however I wanted.

I have a rug that I love, so I've taken my inspiration from the colors in it. Here's a bit of what I've found so far. As soon as we know we actually have the place, I'm going to start making purchases.



I love these bar stools! We have this amazing, high breakfast bar in our kitchen and I wanted something kinda classic looking. Not to mention that 3 of them are only $129.99 at Target! Love them so much!



My kitchen has round handles on everything. I know this is probably going to show some of my quirky-ness, but I hate how round knobs on square cabinets looks. So I want to replace them all. I found these brush nickle knobs that will match our fixtures. A steal at $3.04 a piece.



I LOVE this chair. It's absolutely beautiful and matches the colors in my rug SO well. Another Target find at only $299.99!



I love how classic this sofa is and it goes with EVERYTHING. Some nice throw pillows, and it'll be perfect. Find it at Ikea for $499.00!

Next up is finding a new bedroom set, bedding, and stuff for the master bathroom. Stay tuned... I'll post pictures of that soon!

New Home!

Sean and I finally found a place. It's located right on the Hillsboro/Beaverton border and has everything we want.

We put in an offer last week and it was accepted! We start inspections and stuff this week. If all goes well, we are expecting to close Mid-June. Sean is freaking out, but I'm excited for the next phase in our life.

Below are some pictures of the new place.


Our New Living Room, Complete with Fireplace


Modern Kitchen, Appliances Included


Light and Bright Master Bedroom


Large Master Bathroom

Home Buying in the Burbs Part 1

So Sean and I are buying a house!

We got approved on Wednesday and went to do our first round of looking at places on Thursday. We ended up finding a place that we LOVED and we were going to put an offer in.

So Friday morning we met our realtor back at the house, where she told us there were a couple other offers and we needed to get ours in now and at our best price if we wanted the place. So we took one last look around and decided to make an offer.

I was SO excited. The house was amazing, especially for the price.

And then my realtor called us. Apparently, the assistant that she talked to that morning didn't have all her information correct and when my realtor called to talk to the other realtor, she found out that they had already accepted an offer on the place. I was SO bummed, but Sean and I had already discussed the "what if" since we knew there were other offers.

So the hunt continues. We are going to an open house today to look at another place and have an appointment set up to go looking again on Wednesday (though we are hoping to move it up sooner). We have found a couple more pretty amazing places to go look at, so we will see.

More on this to come... :)