Home Buyer

For awhile now, I've had plans of owning my own home. 2009 is proving to be the year that I might actually make that happen. And really, it's the perfect time because in a lot of areas of the country, it's a buyer's market. Homes aren't exactly selling fast enough for a lot of people, so property is selling at far reduced rates than they were three to five years ago. With the way the home market is these days, there are some exceptional deals for people to take advantage of. Hopefully I'll be able to find a good deal that comes with a great home.

I will say this, however. When you're first jumping into the home market like I am, it's easy to become frustrated. A lot of times I am hesitant to make a move until it's too late. On my drive home from work one evening, I saw a home that had been on the market for a very short amount of time. It really looked great from what I could tell, so I quickly jumped on-line to see if I could find any more details about the place. The website didn't provide a whole lot of pictures, but the home included many great options - a lot of what I was looking for in a home. The price was a little high on the place, so I decided to keep my eye on it until the price dropped. Well, it wasn't long before the price of the home was slashed by over $25,000. I was excited to see the price come down by that much, but there had to be a reason for it to drop so drastically in such a short amount of time. I became more proactive about finding out additional information on the home, so I decided to e-mail the realtor about it. And in all honesty, I did not get the kind of information I was looking for back in a timely matter. Before I knew it, an offer had already been made on the home and three additional parties were scheduled to look at the place. Shucks! But I took solace to the fact that the home was being sold "as-is," meaning that potentially this place needs a lot of work. The website only posted one picture of the front of the house and the shot was actually far away. So it very well could've been too good to be true. But still, I was disappointed this didn't end up in my favor. It probably was too big of a house for me - honestly, does a single guy really need a two-story, four-bedroom home? But the price and the details are what really drew me into the place. Oh well, better luck next time.

I have also been frustrated by the fact that the area where I live is not being largely affected by today's poor real estate market. In my opinion, the home market in central Upper Michigan has been affected somewhat, but not drastically. So instead of sharp price declines on homes, the market has stayed relatively flat. Still, that doesn't mean homes haven't been on the market for a good year or two before finally selling. I've seen homes that just haven't been selling very fast because the price is too high. But prices still have not fallen drastically. Yet, I have to believe something good will soon come my way. I just have to wait and see. I want to be able to take my time and make a good, solid choice. Rushing into buying a home could have bad consequences - ones I may end up living with for the rest of my life. I want to make sure I can be proud and comfortable of where I live.

Obviously you can be sure I'll provide updates on the home-buying process as they happen to me. For a first-timer in this area, it's easy to become overwhelmed by the process and I'll try not to let the situation result in one big anxiety attack for me. I want to be sure I am living in a nice area, in a neighborhood I can be comfortable with, and be relatively close to work. So far I have found a few places that fit those needs, but the prices are still a little too high for my liking. Hopefully prices begin to come down a bit more, or if a home stays on the market - I can set a price that the seller just simply cannot refuse. Time will tell whatever happens. I am patient when it comes to finding my own home - but if a deal happens to spring forth, I am not going to sit long enough for someone to try snapping it up before me.