When I first met my husband I had sold my first home, a condo, and was moving into my first single family home. Our relationship became serious very fast and six months later we were engaged to be married. His townhouse had sold much more quickly than anticipated, so he had no other choice but to move into my home. But there was one problem; it wasn’t our home.
The American dream of home ownership
Soon we found ourselves house hunting again. It was fun imagining how our lives would be in each home we stepped foot in. We both knew we wanted to buy instead of rent. We wanted to have something to show for our money. We were investing in our future.
Our first home together wasn’t much to look at from the outside, but the inside was beautiful. Before long we moved again into the home where we would bring two cats and two beautiful children into.
The rates with Capital One are amazingly low right now and home prices are still very reasonable. We talk all the time about how we wish we were in the market to buy a home now, but at the very least we have refinanced to make our home more affordable.
If you are in the market for a new home, it is important to get all of the facts and figures. There are surveys, closings costs, PMI and Insurance, oh my! Thankfully Capital One has an online learning center called Home Loans Online Neighborhood which is really great, and free. There are articles and videos to help with all stages of the process, as well as a glossary of terms. Legal speak can be a bit confusing!
One of the very first tools we ever used when we started the process was an online mortgage calculator. It is a great starting point when trying to figure out your home buying budget. You’ll also want to request copies of utility bills if you are buying a pre-owned home.
We really miss house hunting. It was a really fun and rewarding experience.
If you are a homeowner, when did you buy your first home?
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
House hunting can be stressful but so fun at the same time. And there’s no better feeling than owning your own home!
There is no better feeling of owning your own home.
We bought our first house back in 1981. It would have been great to have resources that we could have accessed to help us along the way with our purchase. We have since bought another home and have lived here for 27 years. We have recently done some extensive remodeling and I am pretty sure this is where we will stay.
We bought our first home 16 years ago. Now i’m dreaming of the day it’s paid off.
Capitol One’s online learning center sounds great. Having a resource like that available before buying a home would really prepare you.
We are in Canada but still, we plan to purchase sooner rather than later. I’m really looking forward to it I’m so over renting.
We bought our first house a long time ago. We are now in our second house and it´s probably going to be our last house! Buying a home is stressful.
House hunting is so much fun. Each house is a new adventure!
The process seems so much easier than it was back when I bought my house.