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...

Planning a Garden Part One

Now that the snow has finally melted away, I am getting my first good look at the shape of my new yard. The winter certainly took a toll on the yard and since it is still pretty early in the season, the trees and shrubs are bare and the grass is in rough shape. I know its barely even spring yet, but I am excited to start planning my garden and flowers! I really want to revamp the front garden area bordering the front side of the house, as well as start a flower garden and vegetable garden in the back yard. I have started looking at types of flowers and shrubs I would like to plant in the front using my delicious online bookmarking account to save everything that I like. I also used the Better Homes & Gardens website (http://www.bhg.com/) which gave me some good advice on what types of plants and shrubs do best in areas that are in both the sun and shade and the degree of maintenance different types of plants require.

There are currently no real large shrubs in the front and after inspection they appear to be flowering bushes that do not hold foliage/greenery over the winter. I would like to plant something that is not so bare come the fall and winter months. I am seeing some green bulbs pop through the soil already and I can't wait to see what type of flowers those are! Other than replanting some new shrubs in the front, I would also like to re-mulch the flower beds as well as outline the beds with new grey brick to separate it from the grass. As for the back yard, there are currently two gardening plots in the middle of the back yard area to the right of the pool. We plan on removing those are replanting grass in that area to open up the yard. I would like to move the garden to the side along the left fence which still gets a good amount of sun. As for the the right side of the yard, I am researching some good flowering vines that could grow up along the fence. Stay tuned for part two where I will detail what specific types of flowers I have narrowed down on my list to plant, as well as the vegetables I will be growing. Any suggestions in the interim would be much appreciated:)