First Home Style

I have a long to do list for my home. The problem is trying to priorities that to do list. Every item in my home was purchase, from the farmhouse chandeliers in the upstairs bedrooms to the doorknobs. All the door knobs. Furnishing a new home is quite expensive. Even though I am giddy and excited to get this home completely furniture and renovated, I have had to take a step back. I have had to just learn to live in a minimally furniture home.   I love it. I love the bare walls. I love the space.   I love the feel of not having clutter. On my last blog post, I showed some pictures of my kitchen and dining room, Today I want to share a few pictures from some of the other parts of the home. It's not perfect. I still need a dresser and a mirror but those will come in time.  In the meantime, this is what it looks like.

I moved into my new house in January and since that time, I have been slowly decorating and making feel a bit more like home. well, today I can finally reveal my kitchen dining room area. My dining chairs I got for sale for $119 for two. The dining table is actually a writing desk that I purchased from Amazon. However it arrived damaged and the company sent me a replacement desk that also had broken pieces and damages to it. I think we've hidden it well, but you can't really tell that it has broken in places. It's a small space with a comfy feel. Let me know what you think.

I’ve finally moved into my first home.  I’m bursting with excitement and happiness to share all my design and décor ideas that I’ve been pinning from google images and home décor magazines for many years. I am now the proud owner of what I’m calling my “urban cottage”, a small three-bedroom, two-bathroom ranch house in New York.  I’m so excited to make this home my dream home.   For the past several weeks the cottage has been under renovations. Within days after closing we realized that there was leaking behind a wall in one of the bedrooms (which wasn’t noted on the home inspection report).   Apparently, there was an issue with the gutters and instead of falling away from the house when it rained, the water was seeping through cracks in the brick façade. Thankfully we were able to identify the source quickly and fix it. Initially, the renovation work was estimated to take about five weeks, however it’s ended up at nine weeks. And as I’m writing this no...

Despite closing on my home last month, I haven't yet moved in. When I first made an offer on the house, I did not think that I would begin renovations immediately. I knew the house needed some updates.  But I could live with an outdated, functional kitchen for a while. once the sellers vacated the property, I was finally able to assess the property without their furniture blocking and cover any damages.  I hired a painter who was also a licensed contractor who noticed that all the walls in the house were bulging. The second bedroom where the children slept had a leak which caused the baseboard to rot and the wall to swell. The house was inspected twice and at no time did the inspector report rotting baseboard and leaking in the walls. I was not happy. Would knowing all these things deter me from purchasing this house? probably not.  However, the last thing I expected to do so soon after spending almost ten years of savings on closing cost and a down payment, w...

This morning I woke at about 4:00 am and couldn’t return to sleep. I was too happy knowing that in just a few more hours I would get the keys to my new home.   All that was left to do was sign a bunch of papers and this charming home would be mine. Well, I didn’t get the keys to my new home. Last night was the final walk through and to my surprise the sellers were still in the home and hadn’t packed a single thing.   They informed me that they needed more time and that they hired movers who would haul away their belongings on Monday. What? I was trying to be super understanding so I smile and nodded. However, my internal voice was screaming. At the closing, my attorney tld me that I would be compensated for every day that the sellers remained in the home.   On Tuesday afternoon, I will meet the sellers at the home where I will complete another walk through and then will be provided with the keys. Still, I bought a house, a house that I will not have access to for se...

I am busy. That’s what I keep telling myself. I have a lot going on. I have my 9 to 5, my side hustle, making time for friends and family, trying to get a handle on this new healthy lifestyle of meal planning, finding enough time in the day to work out, checking emails and text messages and writing that screenplay that has been dancing around my head for the greater part of the last twelve years. Oh yes, and I am also in the process of purchasing my first home in Brooklyn. I have a lot on my plate and I have many people and things vying for my time and attention. But that’s not an excuse for neglecting this blog, for not blogging more often than I have been. The truth is my emotions about this house have been so up and down that it literally makes me sick to think about it.   I am excited. I am happy. Being a homeowner is something that I have longed for for ten years. I got really close to purchasing a coop apartment five years ago and did not experience these same emotions....

Home-buying can be emotionally draining and stressful process. More than the process of searching for a home, making an offer, waiting for the seller to accept or counter your offer and then applying for a mortgage, I’m finding the financial to be the most stressful of all. For years, I have diligently saved and deprived myself certain luxuries in the hopes that I would someday become a homeowner. But now here I am writing the check for down payment, handing over what took me the greater part of two and a half years to accumulate. And then after that, there is the closing cost which is another huge chunk of change. As we get closer to the closing day, I find myself in a mini-panic. The money that I’m using to pay for my down payment and closing cost could actually afford me a three-bedroom, one bath with a finished basement and back yard in Pennsylvania. I could have bought a home in Pennsylvania for cash! It’s a little vexing that as a first-time home buyer in Brooklyn, NY, my home ...

A little over a week ago, the house was appraised for the bank. Today my loan officer informed me that the house appraised at the sale price. I have also satisfied the underwriter’s conditions. My role now is to shop around for Hazard insurance. Which means that we are about two to three weeks away from closing. I am one step closer to buying a home. And it’s a pretty exciting yet overwhelming feeling at the same time. I am happy. This has been a goal of mine for so long that along the way there were many times that I doubted that it would come to fruition.   But I am scarred as all hell.   The amount of responsibility terrifies me. I truly feel that now I am a grown up.

Last week we completed the home inspection. There were a few concerns such as a leaking faucet and fallen off cabinet doors but nothing that would impede us going forward with the deal. The house appeared to be in good working condition though it is in desperate need of deep cleaning.   My realtor has taken to calling this house a “hot property”, as there continues to be a lot of interest and offers. He was concerned that someone else could swoop in and make a higher offer than mine.   Apparently, there was a prior offer to mine and that deal fell apart after the inspection when the “greedy buyer” wanted to renegotiate the price.   I made my offer at the right time. Also, it was about $10,000 more than the prior offer. My realtor was eager for us to go to contract.   Present at the inspection were myself, my realtor, the inspection, the homeowner and the listing agent. I had asked my mom to come along as well for moral support. Mom did not see the home prior to...

At the end of July, I thought that I had found my dream home. I made an offer. The seller countered. Then I accepted the seller’s counter offer.   I was already trying to schedule the home inspection when my realtor, Robert, texted me that the seller wanted to hold off. Well, according to Robert, the seller decided to sell the home to his neighbor’s friend. I was disappointed but then oddly felt relief. As much as I like the home and the area, I was a little worried that the location was a little too isolated. It was close to buses but far away from the train. I was concerned about how I would get to and from work. Robert would still make his commission as he was acting as both the buyer and seller’s agent. Everyone was happy except for me. I then called another former realtor, Louis, and we began looking at properties.   We went to an open house on a quiet street, a few blocks away from a subway station and a block from a bus, that was listed below market value. There w...

After 5 years and countless open houses, I found a home that I want to purchase.   Things have been moving pretty fast since that initial viewing a little over a week ago.   I made an offer. The seller countered my offer. I accepted the counter. In fact, I agreed to all the seller’s terms and conditions and did not even negotiate the closing cost.   All that was left to do is to sign documents. In the meantime, I was decorating the home in my mind. I had picked out paint colors, stained the floors and had even updated the old fashioned bathroom sink and cabinet. It seems that it would all go to plan and by the end of August, I imagined myself accepting the keys to my dream home. My mother was excited. She imagined coming to visit and having afternoon tea. I found a housing inspector and we awaited the seller’s availability for us to inspect the home. But then today, I received an text from my realtor stating that the seller wants to “place things on hold”.   Wh...

On Sunday I went to two open houses in one of my ideal neighborhoods (the uncool parts of Brooklyn that are not Cobble Hill, Williamsburg or Bushwick). Both homes were clearly out of my price range but I was curious to see what I could get in a higher price point. Sadly, I realized that even with a larger price bracket, I wouldn’t get a larger, more updated house.   Even at my price point, I can only afford an attached fixer upper in this part of Brooklyn.   If I’m extremely lucky I would get three decent sized bedrooms. I liked house # 1, still, I couldn’t imagine making an offer on this property. It had a lot of pluses. It was a two unit property known more commonly as a Mother/ Daughter. The top floor or first unit had two bedrooms, with a kitchen, dining area, living room and bathroom. The second floor had one bedroom, living room, kitchen and bathroom. Each unit had its own entrance.   There was even a patio and garage in the back. I liked the layout of the hous...

Initially when I started my home search I was looking for a two-bedroom coop apartment in Brooklyn.  However, for the last few weeks I’ve been looking at houses.  I had no desire to own a house before. I always thought that house ownership would be too much work to maintain and that I was not mentally or physically prepared to deal with all of the responsibilities of house ownership.  Even now, typing this, I’m feeling rather overwhelmed by the idea of shoveling snow.  But I can’t deny that there are a ton of perks of having a house that are simply not available with a coop. For one, there isn’t a coop board to snoop around my finances, ask about my further plans for the property and hurl intrusive questions at me about why I had student loan debt. I guess my shift in thinking began late last year as I started attending more open houses.  I fell in like with the idea of having more space and possible having a tenant to assist me with paying my mortgage each...

Four years ago, when I started this blog, I was obsessed about homeownership. It was all I thought about. I was in contract to purchase my first home and I also recently graduated from a master’s degree program. Needless to say, I was cocky and confident. I was optimistic. I thought that everything was falling into place. But then the coop board denied my application and the job that I thought would materialize did not.  I was sad and angry for a long time. I stopped blogging and became even more depressed as I couldn’t find a home in my preferred neighborhood or my price range. I knew someone who had contacts on the coop board and I asked them to enquired about my application and why I was denied.  He was informed that I the coop board was concerned that I did not have enough cash and they wanted a cash buyer. They were also concerned about my student loan debt. As I had just recently graduated from school, I hadn’t yet started repayment. I left graduate school owing Sallie ...

Over the last several years, I have attended a ton of open houses and house tours here in Brooklyn. I have noticed that a lot of the potential homebuyers are single and female like myself.   Because this homebuying process has been so competitive I have never really surveyed the competition to find out why they chose to buy a home alone. For me, I have always wanted to own something whether I was married or single. I have always had a strong desire to decorate my own home, just how I want without the approval from a parent, a roommate or a landlord.   I have also been curious about female homebuying struggles such as dealing with mortgage approval, real estate agents, coop boards or just searching for a property in general. Female homebuying is not an anomaly. However, at these open houses I’m still met with these “poor dear” looks from real estate agents. Especially among male real-estate agents. I have found real estate agents as a whole to be rather aggressive. Granted...

Realtor.com So, I guess I’m really doing this now. After hemming and hawing for the last few months, I’m finally ready to begin the mortgage/home search. And what better way to start than getting pre-approved.  Last week, I spoke to a mortgage consultant and after submitting W2, pay stubs, banks statements, etc, I got pre-approved for a mortgage. The mortgage approval amount is pretty much what I expected if not too aggressive for my liking. I’d liked to find a lower priced property than the pre-approval amount.  Also, I’m not opposed to buying a property that needs a little work, I’m just not into doing any major renovation work.  I’m moving cautiously but the bottom line is, I’m once again looking at properties.  I’m really excited. I feel more comfortable, confident this time around. I'm a lot calmer. Maybe because I've been through this process before. I know what I want. I know what I need. I know where I want to be. I'm not intimidated by cost or...

While surfing StreetEasy, I noticed that there was a new two-bedroom apartment listed in my ideal neighborhood. The price is absolutely ridiculously overpriced though I was curious and wanted to see the apartment in person. I knew from past experience that the apartment looks much larger usually in person than they appear on line. I clicked the call the agent feature on StreetEasy and I was connected to a Broker name Owen. Owen isn’t the listing agent however he would meet with me at the property and offer me guidance, realtor services if I needed to make an offer.  I wasn’t going to make an offer.  Firstly, the property was ridiculously overpriced.  Secondly, it was small.  The apartment opens into a small foyer where you can see the living/dining area. Left of the foyer was a retro pink bathroom, then a master bedroom with two nice closets (one of them a walk in).  The second bedroom is actually I half bedroom right off the kitchen. Owen made a point of telli...

I have a confession. I’m a stalker. http://shrink4men.com/2011/02/16/female-stalkers-part-2-checklist-of-stalking-and-harassment-behaviors/ For the past two months, I have been stalking this perfect two-bedroom cooperative apartment online. Almost daily I view pictures on Streeteasy.com and Zillow.com and breathe a sigh of relief when I see that someone has not yet snapped it up. It’s not a huge place. It’s a two-bedroom apartment with a small kitchen and living/dining area. I have imagined hosting Christmas and dinner parties here. And boy do I let my imagination run wild with design ideas. I have painted the living room a nice grey and hung flowy white curtains to the windows where currently there are blinds. In the kitchen, I have stained the cabinets, modernized the hardware and changed the backsplash to glass tiles that I found at home depot. Despite the imaginary home decor ideas, the apartment is otherwise perfect and in move in ready condition. Except of course tha...

The other day I met up with my good friend, Tracey. These days we always seem to talk more about our careers and financial matters.  Tracey and I are in the same career field but have different kinds of responsibility. My job, for a large government agency, requires spending long hours on my feet and travel to many locations. Glamorous it’s not but it allows me a lot of autonomy. Tracey works on a yearly contract for a university in Manhattan. I live in Brooklyn with a roommate. Tracey lives in Manhattan with a roommate. Tracey complained about her lack of autonomy and job security.  Tracey, like many people, feels that she is underpaid for the lifestyle that she wants to live. I mentioned several times in this blog how totally uncool I am. I don’t hang out in trendy coffee shops and don’t spend long hours queuing to get into the hottest new restaurants. I don’t have a gym membership. Instead I take great pleasure in finding free and inexpensive things to do around the ci...

In the last few months,   I started 2 new jobs and bought a car. But let me start at the beginning.  In 2016, I made a resolution, along with the usual lose weight promises of years past, this year I had a plan of focusing on my financial future. Managing my debt. I asked myself what goals I wanted to accomplish in 2016 and developed a plan of how to accomplished those goals. I made a vision board and then I drew my own mind map. I was watching motivation videos on YouTube and TED talks. I would watch Suze Orman and Dave Ramsey and be inspired. I was on a goal of financial self-improvement. I made it a goal to find a higher paying job with my company. I mastered the “tell me about yourself” question and practiced my response in the mirror. I was confident. And after multiply revisions to my resume, careful crafted cover letters and multiple interviews, my hard work paid off. I got a job. Yeah me! Three years after graduate school, I finally got a job in my field.  Wi...