The Home Buying Process- Jonathan's Perspective

When Holly and I decided to purchase a home I knew that we would have to be aggressive. Due to the hectic schedule accompanying my occupation(Merchant Marine), we figured we would have roughly 3 months to do everything if we were to be sleeping in a new home before I went back to sea. I got off the ship on Thanksgiving morning and we started looking at homes three days later. We knew we wanted a three bed, 2 bathroom home in the Quincy area. Something that had a backyard area for our crazy little dog to run around in.

We selected a real estate broker who was a good friend of mine, who walked us through the process of what we needed to do. We visited a local bank to discuss financing and we communicated to each other what exactly what we wanted in our new home. After looking at everything in our chosen area, price range and profile, we decided we liked two properties. The home we liked a little better accepted an offer before we had a chance to bid, but not discouraged, we bid on the second house the following day. After a few days of back and forth over the price, we finally settled.

Although it was a hectic few months, it was worth it. Although this is not my first home purchase, I also jointly own a condo with a close friend, it was the first where I was highly involved from start to finish. It was interesting to see how people valued their own homes and to see how homes of similar prices stacked up against each other. Our love shack is now a work in progress. We are taking our time with home improvements and sooner or later it will also come together. My next big project when I come home this May is re-building a deck in the back. Until then...