we're homeowners!

We first went to Augusta on March 17 to look for houses. We looked at probably 12 different homes. And I naively assumed that one of those 12 homes would jump out at us, and we'd fall in love with it right then and there. After we viewed the last house I honestly thought to myself, "That's it?!" We really felt like buying a house was the best thing for us. It's so much cheaper to buy than to rent right now. We're going to be in Augusta for the next four years, and over that period of time we'd save so much money by actually owning the house we lived in. But I couldn't believe that we didn't just LOVE one of the houses we'd seen. 

All along the way I had been taking notes on all the houses. I even had a little heart system going on - 1 heart meant we liked it and 2 hearts meant we really liked it. There were 4 houses that had hearts, so it was pretty easy to cut 3/4 of the homes out of the running. After lots of deliberation and going to back to see 2 of the houses again (thanks to a wonderfully patient real estate agent), we finally made a decision.

That day we made an offer. After some counter offers and lots of negotiating we finally signed a contract. 

Then the wait began.

I guess the closing could have come much later than it did. But the 51 days from time we found the house to the time we actually owned it seemed like an eternity.

I felt like I was constantly on the phone or always responding to emails and always sending tons of papers to work with Brad so he could fax them. And I had to go down to Augusta for home and termite inspections.

But in the end it was all worth it. And the house that we weren't completely crazy about in the beginning we absolutely love now.

During those 51 days of waiting we couldn't stop thinking about the house and how we would soon own it. I was (and still am) constantly brainstorming how I would decorate each room, and with the help of pinterest I think I've got a pretty solid plan.

We drove to Augusta yesterday to sign all the final papers to make the house officially our's. We took some boxes and picture frames that would fit in our car and left them in OUR new house. We spent some time cleaning while I washed and dried a load of laundry. The house came with a washer and dryer, but we have both of those currently that we had to buy for our apartment. So I wanted to make sure that I liked how they worked so we could sell the ones we have now.

We aren't moving for another 2 weeks. Brad can't go virtual with his job until then, I have a final, and we still have to finish up packing.

My family is fantastic, and they're coming down from Tennessee to help us pack up our moving truck and then unload it at our new house.

So I guess what everyone is really wanting is to see the house! Here's a little video Brad made from when we first went to see the house back in March.

Also, if you've never bought a house before, here's what it looks like:

Lots and lots and lots of paperwork. Millions of signatures, thousands of initials.

Anyone is welcome to come visit us in OUR brand new house (so it was actually built in 1999, but it's brand new to us) just as soon as I get it all together in, let's say, June.

Brad and Courtney