I have been rejuvinated! I was starting to feel like maybe this homebuying thing was not for me, and I wasn't going to be able to get what I want. Today changed my thoughts! I've changed Real Estate Brokers! I'm SO HAPPY with this decision. I LOVE This lady and know I will have someone who is going to get what I want. And I'm happy...I think she likes me! :) Seems silly I know, but this lady is normally selling and helping people buy half million/million dollar homes, so it means quite a bit that she'd take me on at my MUCH lower price point! :) Our personalities just click...looking at homes today was FUN with her! :) And she gave me some GREAT tips/pointers!

We looked at 6 houses today! 2 of them I liked...

1st one is in Valley Ranch right by the Canal...no canal view though. :( I'd describe it as kind of a garden home. It is 1700 sq ft. with 3/2/2. The home was at a level that would basically require very little remodel...only little fun things I'd like to change for me. It has a pretty small back yard, but I could get creative with landscaping! :) I'm only including the pic from the outside, because the inside photos didn't turn out great.

The other one I liked was in Grapevine. It is a HUGE house...definitely more than I need. 2400 sq ft with 4/2.5/2 Even though it is big, the layout is GREAT! Wonderful foyer entrance with formal dining, great living room open to breakfast nook and kitchen and half bath. With the Master Bedroom and Bathroom on 1st floor. 2nd floor has a small loft area overlooking the foyer, a game room area and 3 bedrooms and a full bath. The other cool plus is a walk in attic! Way neat. My realtor gave me great tips on how to capitilize on that space and essentially build out my square footage with that. Could be REALLY neat!!! It had a nice sized backyard and the owner has done some nice landscaping. So although it is fairly large, it is set up for me to do all my living downstairs. I have concerns on this property...we are going to have to look into. Just looking we can't figure out what may be wrong with the property...They have dropped the price $15,000 and it's been on the market 85 days. Hmmm. The outside is stucco, so we are wondering if it is faux stucco, which here in DFW is known to cause problems with mold and rotting.

Then there was also a 3rd house. What a difference. First let me just say we were laughing because it was TOTAL Bachelor's pad! Poor guy NEEDS a woman! :) We were thinking of asking if the deer over the fireplace could stay along with the Red Bull Mini Fridge instead of a FULL size Fridge, that, hmm was MISSING! :) Wow! Okay so looking beyond that. The house needed QUITE a bit of upgrading and work. My realtor was actually shocked that another realtor would let it be shown/be on the market in its state. Why am I mentioning this house? Because the backyard is ON the Canal in Valley Ranch! PERFECT for me. I LOVE that. But the house could definitely use some TLC and I think for the layout to really make since there may need to be some remodeling done. Overall it would need some work that is FOR SURE. We are going to kind of keep an eye on it and see what happens. His asking price is a little high and may start coming down. I just LOVE the idea of being Right on the Canal! :) But NOT at that price when the home is like it is. It is 1600 sq ft. 2/2/2

The view straight out the backyard...it has a side yard as well. That's a jogging trail on the other side! LOVE IT! Even saw a couple of runners! :)

It was a good day. From here I'll just look at homes as I see things come up. I really liked those 2, but nothing that said I GOTTA have it TODAY! I'll keep my eye on them. One tip she gave me is that I need to wait until later August because I'll start to see home prices drop a little. I'm looking in areas with good schools, so right now LOTS of people are trying to buy into these areas to get kids into better schools before school starts. She thinks if I'm patient some of these houses may drop in price and new things may even pop up as options for me. So we'll see! :)

And the Hunt is On...

And the hunt is on! My apartment lease is up and I'm busting at the seams in this one-bedroom place. It's time to find me a House! It's always been a little scary for me to think of venturing out into homeownership. Does this mean I'm finally deciding to settle in the DFW area? I'll tell you No! For the time being though it seems like I've made this place home. Who needs a prince-charming and his castle?!

I'll chronicle all the HIGHs and lows of house-hunting with the idea of posting pics for some help along the way. I've secured me a mortgage pre-approval and I've got me a 15 year licensed realtor specializing in the Irving/Valley Ranch area. I'm ready to go!

I've been scouring the internet like CRAZY. Man are there a TON of homes. My realtor seems to think otherwise and I'm a little frustrated with that. I'm not going to be your half-million/million dollar home buyer, but I believe we can work with what I've got! I'm interested to see what these houses are going to look like once you get into them versus what I see on the internet. The first walkthroughs should happen on Friday, so I'll be sure to post the results!

Keep your Fingers Crossed!