The Hunt

As many of you know, Jake and I have begun our house hunt in NC. We finally decided to get a realtor last weekend. I think it will make things a lot easier. I've researched the area high and low via the web and day long drive-by excursions, however when you've only lived in North Carolina for a year there is just too much ground to cover without an experienced professional. It's difficult to keep in mind we are only 27 and we don't have to purchase our dream home. I think my realtor even thinks I have high expectations for a modest price range. We are determined to think outside the box during this house hunt, however we will stick to our gut, follow our checklist of must haves, and look past the wallpaper borders, brass fixtures and wimpy fireplace mantels. Paint can do a lot! If you look hard enough there is almost always potential. I seem to have it in my head that we live in Quincy and can get a lot more house and lot more history for our money, buuut we don't. We live in the Raleigh area and that jacks up the price of homes just a tad....ok more than a tad. Let me prove it with an example. While driving around an up and coming historic district in the heart of Raleigh we stumbled across a humble itsy bitsy home (1700 sq. ft. to be exact) for a whopping $420,000. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?! This is not a joke. We can live in the heart of Raleigh by buying a fixer upper, which we are ok with....but these houses only have 2 bedrooms and 1 bath, and sometimes in areas where it is quite possible we may get shot... haha jk. Our bare minimum is 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. Soooo I search and search for the crappiest house in the best neighborhood, and it's out there....but for way too much money. We are determined to buy a house on Jake's salary alone. I refuse to be house poor. So the hunt continues.  It may be in Fuquay, it may be in Holly Springs, Apex, Cary, or Raleigh....we're ok with all of these. We are going to see a house in the country on monday....yes I said the country. This is exactly where I said I would NEVER live. I am more of a city girl...and so is Jake for that matter, but this is us thinking outside of the box. I'm kind of liking the thought of 2 acres, nestled behind a sea of pines. It could be fun! I like to get my hands dirty with a little yard work. We'll see what monday brings. Patience, patience, patience....oh and prayer :) 


house hunting girl,
Elizabeth