Location: Aurora, CO
Setup: 3-bedroom, 2.5-bath
Style: Craftsman-style
Square Footage: 2,670
Price Paid: $303,000
The Deal: $113/sq. ft.
How many places did you look at before finding the right one?
We looked at about 20 houses total in person and countless others through online databases and builder websites.
How long were you looking?
We started looking in January 2007 and found our dream home in March 2007!
What was the worst part about house-hunting?
We had to keep increasing the amount we were willing to spend in order to get a house in a neighborhood we liked. We started out looking at town homes, and as we weighed the pros and cons of those, we moved onto single family homes. Eventually, we resigned ourselves to the fact that we were going to have to spend more money than originally anticipated to get exactly what we wanted.
What was the best part?
We had a lot of fun going through model homes. The best part was looking through all of the models, trying to decide if they were homes we could see ourselves in, and then finding "the one" we knew had our names on it!
Was it hard to compromise and find a house you both loved?
Fortunately, we both have similar tastes and had similar priorities in mind when it came to deciding on a house. The biggest compromise we had to make was whether this was a good time for us to buy a house. We were moving from an apartment, so we didn't have to worry about selling a place. We had just gotten married the previous August, though, and I was about to graduate and start a residency program, so we really had to talk and decide if this was a good time for us to take on this kind of responsibility (which we decided it was!).
Do you have any advice for other Nesties who are house-hunting now?
Our advice would be to agree to some preferences before you start house-hunting; that way, you come across as a team when you're being asked questions by the realtor or salesperson. It also makes it easier to narrow down your search. Your preferences can always change as you continue your hunt, so have frequent conversations with one another about what you like and don't like about the homes you've looked at. Also, stay open-minded because you might find something you absolutely love that doesn't exactly fit the profile of what you're looking for.
by Caitlin Losey
4/23/08
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Buying A Home,
just moved!,
Real Estate