Playing the Real Estate Game in the DC Area

It's been a five (blissful) months since we've gone out to look at houses. We were burned so badly in our search. Countless contracts, three inspections, three realtors. All for nothing. We were searching in vain for over a year by the time we decided to take a break for a while. We needed that break very badly, and the changes we made really did make a difference in our attitudes and life. In that time off, I tried to convince myself that buying a house wasn't the right choice for as many reasons as I could come up, including (but not limited to):

• I should enjoying being young and carefree without a mortgage.
• Spending money on concert tickets, going out to eat, etc is way more fun than spending it on a mortgage.
• We've always wanted to live in another state doing it now before we have kids and want to be near our family makes sense.
• The majority of our future kids' grandparents will probably move out of town in the next 10 years anyway.
• Grad school would be the perfect opportunity to live somewhere else for a while.
• My tools for yard work right now include kitchen scissors and a serving spoon. And I like it that way.
• Similarly, if something breaks, our sweet land-lady arranges to get it fixed. And pays for it.
• I love our neighbors and our neighborhood.

Then I devised an alternative five-year plan that did not include homeownership that enabled me to think of those reasons listed above. I did a really good job of convincing myself. It really was a great plan - it was valid and smart.

So I'm still not sure I want to be back in the real estate game, but for every con I came up with there is also a pro to buying right now.

Still, I don't know how I feel about it. If it says anything about our experience, we couldn't even remember our realtor's name when we wanted to contact her yesterday. Which might be understandable except that her name? It's my middle name (the one I had 'til I got married, anyway)... and I still had to look it up to remember. (It should be said that this memory black-out had nothing to do with her as a person because she's sweet as can be.)

So all this to say, we're going to start looking again. So... wish us luck? I guess? We'll see how long this lasts. Because honestly? I can see myself walking into one house and then being done again.

P.S. I'm still catching up on posting. I posted two entries (concerts, Baltimore) this weekend to start my catch-up process and plan to do more in the next week or so. And yes, I skipped over the last half of our West Coast vacation. Someday I'll get back to it. Maybe in the dead of winter to remind me of summer again.

Change - it feels so good

You know how we've been looking for a house for the past year? Well, we're done looking for now. After nearly ten contracts written and two houses that got to the inspection stage only to find something we weren't comfortable with buying, we're through. We're staying where we are. We've been feeling really down about the house-hunt and it has been painful. So we quit. A year is enough.

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude." - Maya Angelou

Over the past week, we have started talking about a new life path - something that is making me feel lighter already. We're changing things... and where we can't change them we're changing our attitude:

We are going to learn to love our little apartment. We're clearing out crap that we've been gathering in anticipation of moving which made our 600 feet feel a lot smaller like boxes and packing paper. We're going to get rid of our futon and replace it with a comfy couch. I've delivered a few (more) boxes of things I don't want to part with but don't want in the apartment into my childhood home (thanks, Al!). We'll probably buy a new bedspread, some curtains, and shelves to organize our things better in the space we have. 

We're enjoying the nice weather. No sense in dreading summer. It's not here yet. And really, the summer isn't that bad. Last summer I said I'd try not to hate it so much, and that little bit of effort really made it so much more enjoyable.

We're enjoying each other. We've been walking Rufus together each day instead of each of us doing one walk alone. Instead of having separate mornings where I lay in bed until Jason is out the door, we get up a little earlier to walk Rufus together. It's a great way to wake up and start slowly and a great way to decompress after each day.

We're bettering our health. Two walks a day instead of one with Rufus. Gym trips for Jason (a train I need to jump on too). Less takeout, more home-cooked meals. Water in our spankin' new stainless steel water bottles that don't make us feel like we're drinking plastic or BPA.

We feel better already. Rufus feels better already.

What do you do to make yourself feel better when you're feeling down?

Houses and Family Portraits

We have become slightly obsessed with the real estate in the area. Knowing that we'll probably end up here for the long haul (if we can afford it) since our families are here, we can't help thinking, "Wouldn't it be nice if we had a house?" Don't get me wrong, we love our shoebox. But we can't live here forever. Rufus' crate is already in the middle of the living room floor, and our one storage closet is already stacked as high as my chest.

Here's a house I wish I could call my own. It's in Arlington and every time I drive by it I drool a little bit. I'm not loving the new wooden gate, but other than that it's perfect. It has a bigger yard and driveway to the left and even has a little brick oven and a garage!

It's not for sale, and judging by the new gate and the fact that it wasn't always white-washed, I'm guessing there are fairly new owners living in it. Oh well.

Houses around here are expensive, and many are expensive and old that need updating. But I think there is something to be said for the lived-in look. Why buy a pretty, recently renovated house for more money when you could spend half as much and buy a fixer-upper and fix it up just the way you want to? Something about that really appeals to us.

We're also into the idea of a townhouse. For the long haul. Cheaper. Not as much yard work. Cozy.  And we love cozy (as long as it's a bit bigger than a shoebox). As long as I have a teeny yard where Rufus can run around and I can pretend I am a gardener and try to grow a few plants, flowers, and some herbs and veggies before running for cover when my hands get dirty and I see a grub or a worm, I'll be happy.

One day we'll need more space, but for now we'll look at houses and learn about what we like and don't like (white-washed brick, at least 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, fenced-in yard, no pool). I'll continue to browse Apartment Therapy and dream up the rooms of our future house (mostly white/neutral interior with pops of bright color).

For now, we'll stay in our shoebox where we can call a maintenance man and don't have to mow the lawn or rake leaves. I'll grow my dinky basil plant indoors for lack of gardening space. We'll take Rufus to the dog park or the lake when he needs a good romp-around off-leash. And I'll try to appreciate our floor to ceiling mirrored wall while we have them because goodness knows if we buy a house with them I will consider taking them down myself... with a hammer.