Beginning the Process - House Hunting

So I took the day after Match Day off from work with one purpose in mind - find a realtor.  Luckily the pediatric program had already recommended two.  I went with the one that had a website I liked.  And a team of realtors to find me my perfect house.  Check that off the list.

And then I had to find a bank that would be willing to give us a mortgage on a house with a high load of student debt and no pay stubs for Dh until we would already be moved in.  Check that one off the list too.  The realtor’s had a couple suggestions.  I went with the local bank with the better financials. 

Next step, book plane tickets to look at houses.  It just so happens that my father had some free tickets and was willing to come with me to Madison.  Dh was working 6 days a week and couldn’t come with me to look at the house that we were going to buy. 

So one week and one day after Match Day, my father and I headed up to Madison.  We spent all that Saturday looking at houses. Houses within 2 miles of the hopsital so Dh can bike or walk to work each day.  There were more duds on the list than we thought there would be.  We narrowed it down to two.  Then one.

We decided to look at “The One” the next day just to make sure.  But when the realtor called to ask to see the house again, we learned that there was already an offer on it.  But…he hadn’t accepted the offer yet.  So, that next day we headed over to the house, decided we would make a strong offer and after some emailing and faxing to get the offer signed by Dh, we sat back and waited.

Then the phone call came at eight o’clock that night.  We didn’t get the house.  The man who was selling his house without a realtor went with the lower offer because they were putting 68% down.  Who puts that much down on a house?

My father and I were left with half a day to look at houses again.  This time we decided to up our price range to get into a neighborhood we loved.  Five houses listed just a little above our price range…but they all had offers on them.  Still, our realtors got us into one that already had two offers. 

On the market for a week, no showings until that Saturday, and the house had two offers.  Still we went.  It was a great house.  Bigger than any we had looked at.  And out of our price range.  So why did we put an offer on it too?

Then the wait began again.  I didn’t know whether I would be excited to get the offer accepted or relieved if it wasn’t.  We were way above our price range.  We could still afford the house, it would just drain the savings that we had been putting away for years.

The phone call came as I was driving back home.  We got the house.  The house we couldn’t afford.  The house that already had two offers.  Did we just make the worst decision ever?

Now I need to find a job FAST.  Now we need to get approved for the loan, get the inspection, get through the next three years.  Dh is freaking out.  This is not the house we had imagined we would be living in.  It is too nice.  Too expensive.  We run the numbers in our budget daily.  If I get a job, even just for one year, we will be okay.  Our savings will be rejuvenated.  We can make it work.

But it is still scary.  And we are still freaking out.  And I still need to find a job now.

First Post - An Introduction

On March 17^th 2011 I found out that I would be moving to Madison, Wisconsin.  Now, several individuals may realize right away the significance of the 3^rd Thursday in March.  No, it isn’t that March 17^th is St. Patrick’s Day.  To many people, March 17^th is the dreaded and highly anticipated Match Day where medical students from around the country find out where they will be spending the next year, or three, or even five.

It just so happens that my lovely husband really wanted to do his pediatric residency at the children’s hospital in Madison.  And that is where he “matched” on that fateful Thursday.  So in a few short months we will be packing up our house and hopefully moving into a home of our own.

This transition has brought a lot of anticipated stress, as well as stress we didn’t plan on experiencing.  Once we learned where we were headed, it was up to me to find a house to buy so that we could have some place to live.  Now most people would likely think, if you are only going to be in a location for 3 years why are you buying a house?  Well…can you find me a landlord who will rent to someone with cats and dogs?  That is the issue.

And then there is the stress of finding a job, of applying for a mortgage with student loan debt and only my husband's contract for employment, of moving on to a bigger city and saying goodbye to the place we have lived for the past eight years.

I have decided to start this blog to document the process of moving and settling into a new city where I do not know anyone.  I hope to find a job, find a home, and find some friends along the way.