Q&A

Hiya homeowners/seekers,

I hope you had a FABULOUS weekend! I got in plenty of house puttering-around time, and unpacked our LAST BOXES!! WOO HOO! Such a great feeling. However, we lost our camera last weekend so no pics to share/document the progress yet...but give me a couple days and I'll hunt a new/borrowed one down!

In the meantime, I promised I would share my answers to the questions that were sent to me since I started this blog. Below is a full list of the Q&A, enjoy!

Q: Cute house! Where is it?
A: Kirkland! Makes our commutes easier without paying Seattle real estate prices.

Q: You mentioned something about cheap cleaning products -- what do you use?
A: I love love love the simple mixture of bleach & water -- just look on the back of the bottle to make sure you get the right ratio. You can add a few drops of essential oil to the mix if you don't like the smell. And it's super affordable. Also, Dr. Bronner's soap, which you can find at any health food store includeing Trader Joes, is a great alternative and can be used for almost any clean-up job; plus it too is affordable AND its organic/biodegradable.

Q: How many houses did you look at before you bought one?
A: Oh gosh.... in person, actual walk-throughs? Probably about 30. Including drive-bys where we would assess a house's potential just from the outside without dragging our agent along, probably about 60. But if you include searching redfin.com (great for offering tons of pix inside and out) and windermere.com, that number would probably jump to a couple hudred.

Q: How long did it take you to find your house?
A: We were looking for about a year, however there were a few month-long stints during that time where we were unable to due to life stuff that came up. We did make some offers earlier in the game, but they either fell through becuase someone outbid us or got their first, or we took a second look and decided to pull the plug.

Q: You mentioned that you bought the house in pre-forclosure. Did you look for that kind of sale, and if so, how did you find it?
A: We had heard a lot about buying houses in pre- and forclosure, primarily because there were so many people with homes in that situation. We didn't look specifically for this deal, but we were certainly open to it given you can get a great deal and sometimes even score instant equity. But, I will warn you: buying a house like this is not for the faint of heart. It took us 4 months to close and there were a ton of roadblocks along the way. I'm still amazed our real estate agent and mortgage broker stuck with us.....(Thanks Arron & Ransom!!)

Q: How was it paying your first mortgage? :)
A: Ha, this is a GREAT question! To be honest...kind of anticlimactic, but in a VERY GOOD WAY! My husband and I have been building our savings by paying a "practice mortgage" every month while we househunted; this way, we learned what we REALLY could afford and how our lives would look with that much money going out (versus our pretty cheap Seattle apartment rent). If you can do this, I HIGHLY reccomend it -- I think it saved me from not only passing out when the first mortgage bill came but also from buying more house than I could afford. (Note: As some of you know, we sucked it up and moved into my family's basement apartment for a year in order to save up. If this isn't an option, just count your rent into your "practice mortgage" payments and stash the extra in savings. This way, you pay your rent, but also pad your savings).

Q: Did the colors of the house's interior scare you?
A: I had learned from touring many a home that paint can be changed, while many other former-owner "mistakes" cannot. For instance, you might find a house that has all the latest designer colors that you love, but if you hate the layout of the home or the neighborhood it's in, you're better off moving to the next house on your list.

Thanks, guys, for all the great Q's -- KEEP 'EM COMING! You can post them on this blog or e-mail me at shahler@hotmail.com.

Your Fellow Craigslist "Furniture" Section Addict,
Shanti