SURPRISE! Ya girl is a soon-to-be homeowner! I’m buying a house!!! My home isn’t expected to be completed until June 2021, but I am already deep in the process. I wanted to answer some of your questions and share some of the things I’ve learned so far. Stay tuned for all of the home content!
I’ve never owned a home, so I am learning a lot throughout this process! You know how every homeowner tells you “buying a home just happened so fast!”. Yep… they aren’t lying. I literally went just to look. I had zero intention of making an offer for 3-5 months. Clearly, that didn’t happen! Within 24 hours I put my earnest money down, and I was under contract within a week! It truly happened so fast, and I feel like I have whiplash. I’ve gotten a ton of questions on my Instagram, so I want to round them up here.
I’M BUYING A HOUSE Q&A:
Some things to know: I am buying a new construction townhome!
Q: Am I building in Houston?
A: Yes! I am staying in Houston.
Q: How many bedrooms?
A: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, plus a bonus loft space!
Q: Am I getting new furniture?
A: Luckily, I have a lot of furniture, but there are some new pieces on my list. I’d like to get a new master bedroom set. I also will be turning one of the bedrooms into an office/filming studio. There is a loft space that I will be turning into a cloffice for try-ons! I *may* need to get a new couch. I’m hoping I won’t have to, but it depends on how my current furniture fits in the new place.
Q: Do I get to customize the home?
A: Nope! Since the foundation was already poured by the time I put my earnest money down, all selections were locked in. Fortunately, the home has almost everything I want. The only thing I plan to change is the cabinet colors (they will be grey and I want to paint them white).
Q: What has been the most fun part of the process so far?
A: NOTHING! It’s been seriously so stressful. SO MANY CONTRACTS. So many documents. Searching for a lender is challenging to say the least. It’s way more work than I thought it would be. I know it will be so fun and exciting once I close, but until then, I’ll be a ball of nerves haha!
Q: How do you shop for lenders?
A: So I applied with the builder’s lender, a lender that my realtor recommended, and a high-rated lender I found from this list. Once your credit gets hit by one lender, you have some time to “shop around” without affecting your credit score. So I basically requested both a mortgage and a closing estimate from each lender and compared numbers.
Q: How do you check interest rates?
A: You can just Google “current interest rates”, and it breaks down the current rates for various loan types. It’s constantly changing, so it’s important to keep an eye on the rates.
My advice to any first-time homebuyers: surround yourself with people you trust to answer your questions honestly. It’s a very overwhelming process, and you need people around you that will explain what’s going on!