I have been excited to write this post for a while because we can finally talk about our exciting news: we’re first time homebuyers! Doug and I bought our first house and are moving in at the end of April.

This has been years in the making (I remember looking at houses in 2020 when we were trying to decide where we wanted to move) and I’m thrilled to leave the renting season of life behind and begin this new chapter!

I’ve shared the news on my Instagram and chatted a little bit about it on stories but wanted a space to really dive into all of your questions. I’ve rounded up the most common ones and wanted to expand a little here 🙂

TLDR: we’re first time home buyers in North Carolina and literally couldn’t be happier!  

 

Did we own in NY or is this our first time buying?

We were renting in NY and this is the first property we are owning (yay for being a first time homeowner!) I had been renting since I graduated college, so this has literally been a decade in the making! Doug and I were very fortunate that we were tenants for family while in NY, but always knew we wanted to own property ourselves.

The market in the NY area was (and is)… wild. Like between the taxes, cost of living and the house prices: we knew living there long-term was likely not going to be easy. We loved being so close to NYC (forever my favorite city and a place that holds my happiest memories from my 20s) and knowing we were moving away from that location was tough, but in the end, we knew it was going to be the best decision for our family.

I think it was early 2020 when we realized moving to another part of the country – where the cost of living would be better – presented itself as a very serious reality; when Doug literally had a job fall in his lap that would allow us to relocate to NC (I wrote all about the initial move to North Carolina in great detail) it was an answer to prayers.

What made us want to stay in NC?

The short answer: we just love it. From the friendly people to the amazing weather (you can’t beat 80 degree days in February) this state welcomed us with open arms and we knew we didn’t want to leave. We knew we absolutely wanted to become first time homebuyers in North Carolina!

For me personally, I’ve lived in six cities in the last 13 years (that was shocking to type out) so the concept of having a home base was not something I really have had in a long time.

Once Doug and I got married, we started thinking long term at where we really wanted to plant roots and considered so many places. From living close to each of our families in NY, to branching out to another location, we weighed the advantages and disadvantages of each decision.

It’s a hard feeling to describe but when we both visited North Carolina for the first time, we just knew. Each of us had this overwhelming feeling of “this is home” and we’re so happy here. Cliché as anything but when you know, you know.

Pink Scallop Athletic Set | White Leather Sandals

How long did it take to find your home?

Oh my gosh, we were blessed and found it so quickly, which was amazing and so surprising! Like we found the neighborhood after one weekend of looking and immediately put an offer in. We ended up placing two offers within a week on two different houses, but we immediately knew the neighborhood we wanted to be in after touring it.

We worked with our realtor (more to come later in the post) to find our current rental and through that process, we both learned what we were looking for and what was important to us in a home. Beginning the process of becoming first time homebuyers went so smoothly because we basically were picking up where we left off two years ago and was so ideal.

When’s move-in day?

We move at the end of April and are closing in the middle of the month. So much is happening so soon that it’s reminding me of the month before my wedding where everything happened all at once!

Did we use a realtor as first time homebuyers?

We used a realtor and I legit cannot imagine how difficult the process would have been without her.

For those looking in the triangle, I cannot recommend Jackie Force realtor enough, especially if you’re a first time homebuyer. She and her entire team made the process so smooth for us and we never felt worried about the next step because they always had our back. She was amazing for both choosing a rental and becoming a first time home buyer!

What is some advice for first time homebuyers?

Biggest piece of advice across the board would be it’s okay to not know all the answers and to take time to think about it. So much of this process will feel rushed if you let it but you are more in control than you think. It’s okay to think about the decisions you’re going to make before you make them (you might know instantly but you might want to think about things and that’s okay).

Have a game plan of your must haves and nice to haves before you start looking. These will help make the decision so much easier when you’re touring homes and neighborhoods.

Our broker made an amazing point early on and I had never thought of things this way: she told us to think about how much we wanted our mortgage to be and then what we could comfortably push the number to be. I was so comfortable with this concept from renting, but had never paid taxes, HOA fees, homeowner insurance that there was a bit of adjusting for me on what top of our budget should be/how much we needed to put down based on the number we came up with.

Last point: don’t look at houses above your budget, especially as first time homebuyers! I did this once “just for fun” and even though it was only online, it made looking feel disappointing because the houses we were looking at weren’t “as nice” as the $1.3M ones I saw online lol.

Remember you’re buying the structure of your home, and anything inside can be changed! Don’t let countertops or carpet deter you from choosing your dream house!

Any fun décor plans for the house?

Yes! I have so many fun projects planned for the house! When we move in, the house will be a pretty standard new build, which is by no means bad at all. Our current rental is fairly similar and it was great for the last two years; I’m just looking to put my personal touch on it and add a little color! Instead of the Barbie Dream House, I’m looking to build the Serena and Lily Dream house.

Ultimately, I’m looking to have the home feel coastal with a southern flare. Think soft blues, pinks, sage, creams and golds!

We are so excited to move into our new home, to be first time homebuyers and are so thankful for everyone who has sent us a message wishing us well! This new chapter is going to be so exciting and I can’t wait to share everything with you all 🙂