It feels absolutely surreal to be writing this post. CHASE AND I ARE HOME OWNERS! We signed all of the documents and this darling little grey house become ours on Feb. 4th! The home buying process was CRAAAZY. We were told to prepare to “fight the crowd,” but this experience was unlike anything Chase and I had done before. Let me explain our experience…
Chase and I had been renting a house since we got married. When Chase was accepted into dental school at Roseman University in South Jordan, we faced the decision on whether or not we were ready to purchase our first home. After viewing a couple of properties in April of 2018, we couldn’t find a place that spoke to us. This led us to our decision to rent for another year while we prepared to purchase our home later in the year. We also wanted to continue to save. When we first began the house hunting search, we had no idea what kind of downpayment was required, what the process looked like, or how long it would take to buy a home. We were led to a great realty company here in Salt Lake City, City Home Collective. Here we met realtor, Alexander Muzio who was there to answer every. single. question I had.
Chase and I saw our first property with Alex in late October/ early November. With each property we saw there were always things we liked and disliked. With the budget we set aside and with this being our first home, we knew we would have to be willing to bend on a few things. A couple homes later, we found one and decided to make an offer! I had never been as nervous as I was signing on our first offer letter. Later that day we were informed that there were three other offers on the home and we needed to submit with our best offer by 5pm. We decided to up our offer and sent it back in. After 24hrs, this is typically how long the seller has to accept an offer, we heard we were not accepted. Initially Chase and I were disappointed, but looking back we knew this happened for a reason.
After this, we continued our search. After viewing a few other homes, we found another one that we felt would be a great place for us. We wrote another offer and put it in. Again, we found out there was another offer in for the same home. UGH. For this house, we did not feel comfortable raising our previous offer and decided to stay where we were. While this offer was in, Chase and I continued to search Utah Real Estate to see what else popped on the market. In this moment I found our darling grey house on the site. I sent Alex a text and said that we wanted to see this house even though we had an offer out. The next day we were able to see the house.As soon as I walked in, I began envisioning what our life would look like in this house. I ADORED it. With that being said, we were still anxious to hear back from our offer that was out.
Later that day we heard that our offer was not accepted, and Chase and I immediately wrote an offer for the grey house we saw that day. BUT, GUESS WHAT… 4 OTHER OFFERS had come in for that house along with ours. I couldn’t believe it. We knew that if this was the home we felt was for us, that we needed to be somewhat aggressive in our offer. We went in full asking price, and 24 hours later we received the news that the HOUSE WAS OURS!!! We were THRILLED, SHOCKED, AND TERRIFIED.
Once your offer is accepted, you then have a time period set to get an inspection done on the house. In this time frame you negotiate with the seller to adjust anything that needs repair or you would like to be done. For our house we closed in 28 days. This is pretty typical for most, and I felt like it was the perfect amount of time. We had to break a lease the apartment complex we were living at, and we also had to get ready to move. It was at this same time that I was about to open An American in Paris at Hale Centre Theatre. To say February was a CRAZY MONTH is a complete understatement. 🙂
Now that we have been in our house for a little over 2 months, we couldn’t be happier! We want to slowly make little updates, but those will come with time. One of my favorite things about our home is the light that flows into our living room in the mornings. I loooove siting in the sun, and I can sit on our couch and bask in all the sunlight I want! Totally perfect.
For those that are beginning their home hunting search, I am thrilled for you. This process is fun and exciting, but it can be extremely overwhelming. Chase and I prayed sooo much throughout the process that we would be guided to a home that would be perfect for us. After several failed offers, we ended up at our little grey house and I couldn’t see it any other way. I now know why the other offers fell through. Pray, trust the process, and give it time. You will find the perfect place for you.
For those that read this all the way through-you’re a rockstar! That was quite a lengthy post. Thank you so much for stopping by! If you have any questions, please let me know.
XO,
Ri