In the Eyes of a First Time Home Buyer- House Hunting

I am 23. And I am buying a home. *honestly never thought I'd be saying that statement*

I am not married, I do not have children or pets- although I do plan on getting a dog once I buy a house- but other than that, this home will only be inhabited by me. I am searching for a 3 bedroom, 1.5-2 bathroom house with a budget of $150,000.

I work in real estate, but honestly I am not that knowledgeable on the home buying process. I am the marketing and listing coordinator for Homestead & Co in Edmond. Once a property goes under contract I am finished working with that listing so I am a pro regarding pre-contact matters, but post-contract I do not know a whole lot- probably just like many of you.

I have decided to blog about the entire process as a first time home buyer. Every question and concern I have, every disappointment I encounter, every victory I attain- I am going to disclose to you all so that whenever you decide to buy your first home you can have someone to reference.

I seriously have so many questions. Personally, I hate bugging people- I don't want to be a burden to them- so it is difficult for me to remember that my agent is working for me. They do not get paid unless I buy a house so when they say they want to help me whenever I ask they actually mean it! A dedicated real estate agent means it when they tell you to call them up every time you want to see a home, every time you have a question, and every time you need any guidance in searching for a home.

Searching for a home is actually so much harder than I thought BUT I thankfully have an agent who is working for me which has been a God send. I thought the home buying process consisted of me looking at listings online, have my agent set up showings, and after 5 showings I would find the house I wanted to make an offer on.

......yeah, no that is not how it is going for me.

Well here I am, 5 houses in, and personally I feel very discouraged because I have not fallen in love with any houses I have looked at. I haven't even fallen in like with any of these houses because pictures can be so deceiving yall!

I am SO picky. I want x, y, and z but I have a budget of $150,000. I know it is possible, but impatience is setting in. Luckily I started my search with plenty of time to look for my perfect home. I technically do not HAVE to have a house until June, and boy am I happy I started looking in January because I feel like my pickiness is going to prolong the process for me.

So, I highly recommend starting your search before you think you need to.

Like I said, I am 5 houses into my search. Truthfully, I have found aspects about each home that I do like, however, my features I liked did not outweigh the features I did not like.

I am going on more showing this week. So far I have 2 more scheduled and after those I will update you all again on where I am at in the process and the hurdles I have had to overcome to reach the point at which I will be at.

xx
mads

Happy first day of November! The Fall has been good to us here at Homestead & Co., we just listed 3 new listing this week and each of these homes are a d o r a b l e. The Fall is in full swing and what better way to dress your home up for this lovely season than by also making your home smell heavenly!

Everyone's house has a signature scent-why not spice yours up this Fall! I am going to tell you my favorite way to make my house smell yummy that does not involve candles or diffusers or spray smell good stuff. Slow cooker Potpourri.

The ingredients you'll need are:

1 orange
2 cinnamon sticks
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup fresh cranberries 

All you need to do is combine all the ingredients into a slow cooker crock pot that can hold at least 2 quarts of water.

Once the ingredients are in the slow cooker, you will cover it all up + an additional 2 inches with water.

Mix it all up (gently-not to splash and lose any of the good stuff!!) and turn the slow cooker on low/warm, uncovered. Adding water throughout the day may be necessary to make sure ingredients do not burn.

For as long as you want to leave the slow cooker on, the beautiful aroma will invade every room of your home, leaving it smelling like a fall festival!

http://dontwastethecrumbs.com/2015/11/slow-cooker-potpourri-fall-and-winter-scents

Trick or Treat Yourself

The first holiday of fall is in 15 days! That is right, Halloween is in 15 days-this is not a drill! Here at Homestead & Co we are trying to decide how to decorate our front office door for the holiday trilogy kickoff! We have some listings that have great front doors- perfect for decorating for Halloween. 

Are you a fan of trick or treaters or are you one of those that turn their front lights off and ignore all of the doorbell rings? No shame if you're not a fan of giving out candy to cute little kids, all dressed up to get some candy.... Come on, just hand out some candy and get in the holiday spirit! 

Us home decor obsessed individuals love to treat ourselves with the best of the best front porch Halloween Decor. What is your go-to style when decorating your front porch for halloween? Are you more rustic chic, let's put a hay bale and a pumpkin and a scarecrow out, or are you really into ghosts and goblins and scary looking spider webs? Both are great choices! I am going to share with you my favorite front porch decor options! Some scary, some sweet. You be the deciding factor on how you are going to prepare your front porch for those cute trick or treaters! 

Skelton Takeover [here]

Witches Brew [here]

Boo [here]

Fall Oasis [here]