The Adventures of a First Time Home Buyer: Part 0

Part 0: The Decision

My boyfriend and I are now the proud owners of a two-bedroom, two and a half bath, ninth floor condo. We are also the exhausted owners of a two bedroom, two and half bath, ninth floor condo. This is the first home we have bought. Honestly, I didn’t think I would be a homeowner until I was at least 30, but this was one of those “right place, right time” situations. However, there were definitely times throughout the process when I was confused and frustrated and not sure if it was right. In this series, we’ll follow the adventures of a first time homebuyer: me.

When we graduated college and moved to the city, my boyfriend and I believed that renting was the only option. Buying did not even cross our minds - OK, it crossed my mind but it quickly faded. After all, we had very little savings and we were already stressed about being in a relatively new city and having new jobs. We had found a two-bedroom, two-bath, 21st floor condo in the downtown area. It was new and contemporary with wood floors, tiled bathrooms, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. It was basically a palace compared to the dumps I lived in throughout college. The condos were both for sell and for rent and the building was trying to get a better owner occupancy rate. Therefore, we also entered into a rent-to-own program so if we decided to buy, what we paid in rent would be taken off the price. If we decided not to buy, we would cancel the program and return to being regular renters. As the deadline approached to either purchase or cancel the program, we had not talked about what we wanted to do.

You’re probably having an internal scream fest, saying under your breath, “You had the perfect place! Why didn’t you just stay there?” Believe me. I know. But here’s a quick run down of the facts.

1. When we signed our lease, we were told that if a buyer wanted our exact unit, we would be given 60 days notice and would either be moved to another unit in the building or could move out entirely. I was not extremely happy about that little detail. Therefore, we entered into the rent-to-own program because we were guaranteed not to be kicked out at moment’s notice for at least the duration of the one-year program.


2. At the signing of the rent-to-own program, I asked about the price of our unit. It was RIDICULOUS! Or at least it seemed ridiculous to us. We were also told the building owner would probably not negotiate the price. That was a HUGE turn-off.


3. The units look very impressive, but things are not always as they seem. The pretty white tile in the bathrooms had a film over the top of it to make it look shiny. Once that film started to peel, it looked awful. Also, white tile showed every little spec of dirt or dust. The wood laminate floors were thin and pitted easily. The fan for the air conditioner and heater sounded like a hurricane wind. It turns out that the black granite countertops were impossible to keep smudge-free. Our dryer broke down at least once a week. And drafty is the perfect description for the windows.


4. The housing market was not exactly at its peak and other (nicer) condos in the area were selling for much less than the price on the condo where we were living.

Because all of these factors had weight in our decision making, you can see why we decided to move. There was also the matter of money. Before we could even think about looking at places to buy, we needed to make sure we would be able to afford a condo. Our parents had already offered to help us if we decided to buy. My boyfriend and his mother met with a lender and we found out we would most likely be approved for a loan. Also, the lender figured we would be paying less each month with a mortgage than what we were paying in rent. We both wanted to stay in the area for at least 10 years, so buying seemed like the right decision.

Next we had to determine where we wanted to buy, what we wanted to buy, and what the highest price we were willing to spend. That part was easy. We wanted to live downtown and we wanted a condo with the same features as the one we were living in…only better. The maximum price had already been determined in the meeting with the lender. Some of our parents were very hesitant about buying a condo versus a house. The idea of only owning a piece of a building instead of an entire building and land on and around that building was alarming to them. In the end, we explained our reasons (below) for not wanting a home and they understood:

1. Houses have lawns. We hate to mow.


2. There are no houses downtown. We are not the suburbia type.


3. Houses are usually larger than condos. And when there is extra room, you fill it with junk. We do not want junk.


4. Contemporary décor is hard to pull off in a house.


5. Houses do not have workout rooms unless you create one and furnish it.


6. Houses don’t have fun amenities like pools and movie theaters and entertaining areas. (I separated out the workout room because it is the most important to me.)


7. You have to paint the outside as well as the inside of a house.


8. If something goes wrong or breaks in a house, you have to fix it or find somebody who will.


9. A security system has to be installed in a house. Our building already has a security system and a security guard.


10. Houses are bigger and that means it takes longer to clean them.

In short, in my mind, grown-ups live in houses. We are mature young adults. There’s a difference. Condo hunting, which doesn’t sound as good as house hunting, had begun.