Building. A. House.
It all started with renewing the lease in January.
Rent got raised a little bit, which was half expected. Then, just a few weeks later, there was a notice about an incredibly obscure "inspection" going on around the property (not the typical "Fire Alarm" type). It was stewed on it pretty much every day until the day of. Realization hit when they came into the apartment that this was a "structural" inspection and the immediate vibe was that the property was about to be sold to new management. Are you freaking kidding me? They will jack rent up even higher. That's when making the jump into leasing a house began... but when the number crunching started, I was like, this is stupid.. I could just BUY a freaking house for the same price (AND not catch any flack for having kitties, etc, etc).
Honestly, I sat on it for a while... but the idea just gnawed. I kept getting more and more frustrated. I was mentally weighing the rate of current rent versus being a freakin' owner. I was irritated at the increasing lack of parking. I became disgruntled at having to share walls (even though the direct adjacent neighbors are a dream compared to others.)
Disclaimer: I LOVE MY APARTMENT COMPLEX. They have always been wonderful, responsive, respectful, and try everything in their power to keep the tenants as satisfied as possible. These first-world problems are nothing reflective on them, it's just how multi-family dwelling situations are.
Then, somewhere around Mid-February the "looking" started.
Initially, it was kept in almost the exact proximity of the current apartment... curiosity won and trips to "New Construction" subdivisions began. At first, it was strictly to see what one might look like if we were able to catch one being sold by an owner. I wanted to see what style they were built in and what kind of materials are generally used. More of a "do we like the builder of this neighborhood" type assessment. My whole mind set was "it doesn't have to be new," but.... my terror at not knowing anything about how to fix an older home was pretty real (Plumbing, Roofing, A/C Units - Oh My!) So, the cross-hairs of house hunting got even more focused... it narrowed down the "AGE" of home. An "inventory" home became an option. I figured this was safe because it would keep me out of the design center & we wouldn't need to worry about a build timeline.
So, now realizing an inventory home could be a legitimate option, I was allowed one day a weekend to indulge House Hunting with my captive. I could haul him all over the city if I wanted. From one, to the next, to infinity and beyond, all day. And if we ran out of daylight, I'd have to wait until the next weekend. I felt it was a fair agreement. This method, although fun, was really just blind. I didn't even know it was blind until much farther along... knowing what I know now: Seeing the right "Starting at $$" sign, really gives NO hint towards if you could really afford it or not. I didn't know much, but I knew there's generally a ton of taxes and other shit that goes into this stuff. BUT - at that point (and pacifying myself with knowing we had the better part of a year until the lease was up) I didn't let it detract me too much. I made a mental point to start remembering who of these builders felt like "quality" while walking through, and which reps didn't treat us like ass -- a surprising trend!! WTF -- among other things. I did try to make sure to ask questions, but I also didn't really know what to do with the information.
A couple weeks into our Weekend Escapades, a hallway conversation with my coworker Traci (also a pilates cohort) really changed shit up. I mentioned being really confused on if the property taxes, upon inquiry at these home sites, of 2.5% or 3.2% were really all encompassed or if it was only a portion and there were other State taxes, etc. She told me to look into the county's Central Appraisal District and the Tax Assessor websites. You just go on to the websites, toss in any address and it will give you all of the tax break down for that exact address. All encompassed.
The obsession was quick and pretty damn intense. LOL, I was floored by subdivisions that were thought to be cheaper in taxes (but were really astronomical), the MUD rates, the ISD taxes.. everything. This slashed so many areas off the "potential" list and really narrowed down some specifics. And my handy-dandy bookmarked "Mortgage Calculator" 😂 now had an actual reflection of real tax numbers. One step closer.
Given this household is small, I really did try scouting out a 2 bedroom newer-build. This was me trying to keep maintenance in mind (utility bills, heating/cooling the place, and having to clean the place) when considering size of house. There was no need for 2000 sq ft. I wanted it to stay smart and sensible if this was the real direction we were going. 2 bedrooms might even be cheaper to build? Well, there are some fantastic ones that do exist around here. But.... you have to be over the age of 55 in order to live in those swanky subdivisions. We found that out.. Embarrassingly enough. I hate it when you're greeted with..... "So, are you looking for your.... parents?" *#)!&^
At the beginning of March, we stepped up our game.
I was engaging in more conversation with coworkers about where they lived and what they thought about their taxes. Wow, really boring, adult shit. But the conversations were really great, actually. I was being given excellent pointers, informed of things to keep in mind, and made aware of things I hadn't even thought about yet.
One fateful weekend, hostage in tow, we swung by a subdivision I hadn't thought about in a year or so. It was still close to work, just from the opposite side (East) of my current drive, so I never pass it anymore. We asked about their smaller 3 bedrooms and if they had any to view. They didn't at that location, but just up the road a few miles (North) was a sister site. We hopped in the car and off we went. Originally, I was biased. I had heard it was more expensive and had a higher tax rate. I had no info on it because it was considered the next city limit, even though it was literally only by 1 street.
This ended up being our boon.
Their model was the one that drew us to the location, but once we arrived, they also had multiple plans available to go check out all around the property. We were handed a page of the tour-able addresses that were in our size & budget range and granted permission to let loose. We had a blast. It was the last home on our self-guided tour that day that ended up being "the one." We both walked in and sort of just stopped in our tracks. Both of us. We started looking back toward the front door, like, is this a joke? This is literally feeling like all of our critiques from previous houses were heard and corrected and made into this house. The more we made our way through the house, the more items it checked off on our personal list. It only came up short in 1 way.... and when we got back to the Sales Office, I flat out asked how much that house sold for and "if we wanted that house, with 1 change, what would the difference in price be." My top item on "Must Have" was the split Master Shower & Garden Tub. The house we toured only had the Grand Shower. The difference in price would be $2,000. Needless to say, we walked out of there that day with quite the handful of information and price sheets, and even the itemized options list, and I got to work.
Part 2 is a perfect transition, because it segways from the "Looking" process, into the "Action" process.
One fateful weekend, hostage in tow, we swung by a subdivision I hadn't thought about in a year or so. It was still close to work, just from the opposite side (East) of my current drive, so I never pass it anymore. We asked about their smaller 3 bedrooms and if they had any to view. They didn't at that location, but just up the road a few miles (North) was a sister site. We hopped in the car and off we went. Originally, I was biased. I had heard it was more expensive and had a higher tax rate. I had no info on it because it was considered the next city limit, even though it was literally only by 1 street.
This ended up being our boon.
Their model was the one that drew us to the location, but once we arrived, they also had multiple plans available to go check out all around the property. We were handed a page of the tour-able addresses that were in our size & budget range and granted permission to let loose. We had a blast. It was the last home on our self-guided tour that day that ended up being "the one." We both walked in and sort of just stopped in our tracks. Both of us. We started looking back toward the front door, like, is this a joke? This is literally feeling like all of our critiques from previous houses were heard and corrected and made into this house. The more we made our way through the house, the more items it checked off on our personal list. It only came up short in 1 way.... and when we got back to the Sales Office, I flat out asked how much that house sold for and "if we wanted that house, with 1 change, what would the difference in price be." My top item on "Must Have" was the split Master Shower & Garden Tub. The house we toured only had the Grand Shower. The difference in price would be $2,000. Needless to say, we walked out of there that day with quite the handful of information and price sheets, and even the itemized options list, and I got to work.
Part 2 is a perfect transition, because it segways from the "Looking" process, into the "Action" process.
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