We put the "real" in real estate. These first-time homebuyers give us a sneak peek at their new homes, hear about their house-hunting experience and even find out how much they paid for their house!

Get the scoop on this Connecticut couple and their new 3-bedroom home!

Location:

Danbury, Connecticut
Setup: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms
House Style: Contemporary
Square Footage: 1,814
Price Paid: $510,000
The Deal: $281/sq. ft.

How many places did you look at before finding the right one?
We looked in six different towns -- at close to 100 different houses.

How long were you looking?
It took us over a year to find and purchase the house. We made offers on three other houses, but they all ended up falling though.

What was the worst part about house-hunting?
It consumed our weekends. The first few weeks were fun, but then it became a chore. We got up every Saturday and Sunday morning and left to go find a house.

What was the best part?
We really got to see what we wanted or didn’t want in a house.

Was it hard to compromise and find a house you both loved?
Yes. After looking at 100 houses, there was only one other one that we both really liked. It happened to be one of the other three that fell through.

Do you have any advice for other Nesties who are house-hunting now?
Don’t settle. It took us over a year to find our house, and toward the end of the year, we were getting frustrated and started to think about settling for a house that wasn’t completely what we wanted. Then we came across our house and fell in love with it. Also, there will be frustrating times. We had to sell our condo in order to buy our house, and we had to move in with friends for about two months until we were able to move into our house. We’re grateful that they welcomed us to live in their home with them. In the end, it was worth it because we can’t picture ourselves in any of the other houses we looked at -- only ours!

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Find out how this couple outsmarted a tough Northern California market to find their dream home.

Location: Lincoln, California (a suburb outside of Sacramento)
Setup: 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Style: Traditional single family home
Square Footage: 2,145
Price Paid: $276,000
The Deal: $129/sq. ft.

How long were you looking?
We began by looking online and going to open houses. We did that for about seven months. When we finally hired a real estate agent, it only took about six weeks to find the house of our dreams.

How many homes did you visit and look at?
We probably looked at about 30 houses and put in offers on three other homes before finding this one.

What was the hardest part about finding your new home?
In Northern California, the foreclosure market was heavily inundated with developers and investors. This meant that each house we put an offer on generally had multiple offers. In fact, the house that we bought had 13(!) backup offers on it.

What was the best part?
Having dinner at our dining room table with our family on the day we moved in. It was a long journey and definitely more emotional than either of us had anticipated. Sitting with our family knowing that the house was ours was such a wonderful, indescribable feeling.

Was it hard to compromise and find a home you both loved?
We have very similar taste with respect to layout, kitchen cabinets, space, and flooring, so it was easy to find a home that had the elements we agreed on. However, there were a few hiccups; my husband was focusing on the garage and backyard patio (where he could put a barbecue), and I was looking more carefully at the kitchen and master bedroom. Having said that, when we walked into this house, we both knew it was the perfect one for our future family.

Do you have any advice for Nesties who are still looking for their first home?
Consult a mortgage broker before purchasing. We began the whole process by finding someone that could give us good advice and help us to determine exactly what we wanted to spend. Simply getting a prequalification isn’t enough because it only tells you what you qualify for, not what kind of payments you can actually live with. Once we knew what we could realistically afford, it made the whole process less stressful.

What’s your favorite thing about your new home? What's unique about it?
We both love the white picket fence in the front yard.

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Check out these recently relocated Nesties and their fabulous new digs!

Location: Oak Ridge, New Jersey
Setup: 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms
House Style: Center Hall Colonial
Square Footage: 3,000
Price Paid: $560,000
The Deal: $187/sq. ft.

How many places did you look at before finding the right one?
We looked at hundreds of houses online before finding our house. When we found it, we knew it was the right one.

How long were you looking?
For about six months.

What was the worst part about house-hunting?
Having to look at so many homes before finding the right one. So many houses were missing things that we wanted. We would find homes with some things we liked but with a lot of other things we didn’t like.

What was the best part?
Getting to see the architectural designs of all the different houses.

Was it hard to compromise and find a house you both loved?
Not at all -- as soon as we saw this house, we knew it was the one we were going to buy.

Do you have any advice for other Nesties who are house-hunting now?
Don’t settle and don’t get discouraged; the perfect house is out there!

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Location: Woodinville, Washington
Setup: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms
House Style: Brick Cape Cod
Square Feet: 2,200

How much did they pay for their first home? Find out after the jump...

Price Paid: $545,000
The Deal: $248/sq. ft.

How many places did you look at before finding the right one?
We started keeping track of properties in our area that were listed online, taking notice when a new one came on the market. The challenge in our area is finding a home with charm. There were a few older ones we looked at -- then we found ours. We actually toured just four. 

How long were you looking?
Only for a few months. We weren’t serious about moving, but when we found our house, we had a new and sudden motivation to make it happen! It was...the one.

What was the worst part about house-hunting?
Dealing with real estate agents. Given the changes in the real estate world and that the buyer is now in info hunter-gatherer mode, we just couldn’t see spending the money on a buying agent. We had an amazing inspector, all the real estate forms are standardized, tax record info is readily available online -- we just couldn’t see why anyone would pay an agent a ridiculous sum of money for what amounts to a few hours’ worth of work. Perhaps if it required a PhD in quantum-physics, but alas -- it doesn’t. It’s really pretty simple. Back in the day (my mom’s day), she was once licensed as an agent, and she said that making flyers for a house wasn’t even done. So there was essentially no information easily available to the prospective buyer. Now almost everything is available at the click of a mouse.

Thus, we would call the listing agents directly to have them show us the house. My husband’s job comes with a legal plan benefit, and the lawyers helped us with the paperwork. However, you can pay an attorney relatively little to do the same if you don’t have the legal plan. Most sellers will deduct the price of the buying agent’s commission from the sale price. For us, we saved $15,000 -- that was well worth the little extra effort.

What was the best part?
The best part was pulling up the driveway and thinking, That could be ours?! We began to imagine all the fun memories we would create in any given home. The first thing I did when I went into a house was choose where the Christmas tree should go. Forget working plumbing -- I have my priorities! All joking aside, if I couldn’t find the perfect place for a Christmas tree, then it wasn’t the warm and dreamy home we wanted.

We really appreciate that the house helps us realize our goal of living green. Lots of natural light reduces the need for artificial lights. The heating is super-efficient; we can compost and have our own vegetable garden, and we’re outfitting the house to be as water-efficient as possible. Eventually, all of us will realize that it’s not a choice, but rather a necessity, to do the right thing and live green.

Was it hard to compromise and find a house you both loved?
No -- we have very similar tastes. I think our house is a little more “showy� than Harry would normally choose. He's English, and, well, I think it goes against the British sensibility to have anything that one might show off...or say, submit to a magazine. Those damn Yanks, right?

Do you have any advice for other Nesties who are house-hunting now?
I have three tips for house-hunting Nesties:

1. If you have the luxury of time, have patience. People are always moving out of dream homes. Don’t settle.

2. With that said, don’t be greedy. Buy a house you can afford. Find a traditional mortgage and be conservative. You’ll hate your gigantic home when it’s empty because you can’t afford to furnish it; then you’re stuck in it because you can’t afford to go out or on vacation. Mortgage brokers will almost always try to sell you on what you think you “need� when you purchase a home. Most buyers go in greedy, and then they're sold on an even larger mortgage. Sure we would love one of the million-dollar homes our broker was cajoling us to aim for -- but personally, I like eating more than ramen noodles for dinner. Remember that once you have the house, something else will suddenly seem like an even more important financial need. You want to be able to handle that.

3. Don’t pass up looking at older houses. While new construction can sometimes be appealing since you can choose your cabinets and tile, the eco-friendly option is to buy an existing structure and make it your own. This can be done with surprisingly little effort. Plus, you get the added benefits of mature landscaping and more interesting quirks that make life less...vanilla. Good luck!

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Location: Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania
Setup: 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
House Style: Storybook Tudor
Square Footage: 2,400

How much did they pay for their first home? Find out after the jump...

Price Paid: $260,000
The Deal: $113/sq. ft.

How many places did you look at before finding the right one?
We had originally seen “our� house on the Internet (Realtor.com) and asked our real estate agent about it. Our agent took us to three other houses that were all similar to the one that we had found on the Internet. While they were all nice, our house was in excellent condition and gave off a great vibe. After looking at only four houses, we found the house that was perfect for us.

How long were you looking?
We began browsing several real estate websites just for fun a few weeks after we got back from our honeymoon in early November. We had no intention of buying anything for a year or two, but we just wanted to see what was out there. Once we walked through our house, we knew it was the one for us, and we were living in it by the end of December!

What was the worst part about house-hunting?
Because we found the house we wanted so fast, the worst part was waiting to hear if our offer was going to be accepted. We put in an offer that was verbally accepted, and we were going to sign papers the next morning. We started celebrating that night when our agent called us and told us a last-minute offer had come in. We offered a higher bid, and luckily we found out the next day that it was accepted. The wait was agonizing. 

What was the best part?
The best part was the first time we walked through our house, knowing that it was perfect for us. It was so much fun to think about filling the house with our own things and really making it our own. We found it impossible not to think of all the exciting times that lay ahead! The experience was very overwhelming and emotional.

Was it hard to compromise and find a house you both loved?
When we were looking at the houses, I loved the character that came with the older ones. Sean appreciated the old style, but what really won him over was that the attic was converted into a huge room that we now use to watch TV and play foosball. We really lucked out in that we were able to find a house that had things we both love!

Do you have any advice for other Nesties who are house-hunting now?
If there’s a house that you truly adore, it can be a good idea to include a personal note with your offer telling the sellers what it is about the house you love. Being sincere and open about why you want to buy their house brings things down to a more personal level and makes the whole experience comfortable and memorable for everyone.

Did you Just Move? Show off! Submit photos to be in The Nest magazine Get in good with your neighbors Find decor ideas for your new space