Tim has been trying to convince me that we should buy a house before we buy a newer car. He's been researching houses online, different builders and real estate sites, and checking interest rates. Every day he mentions something else that he would like in a house...different cabinets, plush carpet, new appliances...anything to pique my interest and "win" at the house vs. car argument.
Since we were out and about, we decided to drive by and see the builder that we had agreed was our favorite. We stumbled upon some open houses in a different neighborhood and decided to look around. They were beautiful houses, but much too large and well beyond our price range. I was slightly worried that we wouldn't be able to find something we really liked that covered everything we wanted and was still affordable.
We drove down the road and found the community that included the builder we liked. Their office was open so again, we decided to have a look around. The gentleman and lady that helped us were both very knowledgeable, didn't make us feel as though we were wasting their time by asking a ton of questions on the first day that we were out looking, and never tried to up-sell us. (At least not obviously...ha!)
They offered to let us see a house that was almost exactly like what we had wanted, only it was in a gated community. As soon as we turned the corner, Tim said, "I love this neighborhood." It has some custom built homes that bring the property value up and you can tell that everyone that lives there right now really takes care of their homes.
Stepping through the door, we were both surprised that we liked it so much. They pointed out the different lots that were available and I immediately felt that pull in my chest. I wanted to live there. But I know that sometimes I can be impulsive and I know that Tim is good at pulling me back. After snagging a few print outs from the office, we headed out for lunch.
(Side note: Sushi Train in Tulsa is AWESOME. It's exactly what you might think. Sushi served on a toy train that drives around the building. We were slightly hesitant to choose anything but every waiter came over to help us at one point. I could not recommend them enough. Fun, good food, super nice people. Also, get the cheesecake roll. Delicious!)
All during lunch we were itching to talk to someone about a home loan. We ended up going through the pre-approval process online with USAA and after triple checking to make sure that our budget would work, our minds were made up.
We're building a house.
(Oh my gosh I'm so excited!!!)
We'll have 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a dining room, a nook, a living room, a utility room and an upstairs game room. Our yard will be smaller than the one we have now, but it's still plenty big. We get to design everything, from the wall colors, to the counter tops, to the light fixtures. There are a few upgrades we'd like to make and some wish list items that we may do if money allows, but no matter what, it's going to be awesome. (Pictures of a house that is very similar are here.)
I'm sure I'll be posting a lot about how the process is going, so I'll apologize in advance. We've never been on this particular type of adventure.
We're ready.
Our land! (That is so crazy to say!)
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