Home Buying: Our Journey

So I was having dinner with one of my longest and truest friends on Thursday night and she was so excited for Mike and I as we entered escrow that she couldn't help but ask questions about all of the (scary) details. 

I realized that we are not alone and many of you have been on this journey with us and I needed to thank you!  So for all of you that through phone calls, text messages, emails, and facebook that have kept us in your thoughts and prayers I thank you:

Cristina, Denise, Amanda, Rose, Desiree', Stacy, Lauren E, Rachel, Ellen, Leanne, Lauren R, Shannon, Jenn, Lia, allllllllllllll of you that I'm leaving out!  THANK YOU!  THANK YOU!  THANK YOU for listening to me vent and watching me get excited about houses that we just weren't meant to have. 

And of course, I have to take time to especially thank Mike's family as well as my own for constantly inquiring about what we were going to need and stocking up on things for our house. 

This whole journey started last April (yes you read that right, April!).  Mike and I had been discussing finding a place of our own together in April, 2009 and the LA Home Fair came around.  We went to the Home Fair on April 18th, 2009 and began our journey there.  Boy, were we overwhelmed. 

We split up during the seminars and went to 2 different workshops each.  We met up again in the afternoon and went to The Galley in Rosemead afterwards to discuss everything.  I decided to call one of my mother's best friends and a real estate whiz for some help and she set us up with our first realtor. 

My advice to anyone that is about to purchase their first house: Meet with several realtors and discuss your options first.  While I am confident that our first realtor is an excellent woman and extremely good at what she does, I do not feel that she was the right choice for us.  This very funny and exhuberant woman was very busy and was more than willing to give us codes to view houses without her present.  While I'm sure that is great for some people, it didn't happen to work for Mike and I.  We wrote at least 5 offers with this lady, and never recieved much feedback from any of them. 

On September 14th, 2009 I called a reference and was introduced to a new realtor.  Michelle and I hit it off immediately and what was even greater than us getting along, she was present at every single one of our home viewings and constantly took our input back to her office and compiled new lists of properties to see.  Her persistence and effort are top notch and her attitude and advice is priceless.  The greatest compliment that I could possibly give Michelle is to say that in 3-5 years when Mike and I are ready to upgrade to a more "family-friendly" home, I would not hesitate to call her and work with her again.  I would actually be devestated if she no longer was a realtor at that time. 

Mike and I have written an estimated 15 offers  with Michelle and I've lost count of all of the properties we've viewed with her.  She's been part of our weekend plans now for 4 months and I'm said to think I won't see her very much in the future.

So thanks for being part of our journey, and I'll be sure to keep our updates coming!  I've got to go call Edison now to get the power turned on for our home inspection!  Yikes!