House-iversary

Yes, I did just make up a new word in honor of the anniversary of when we bought our first home. I quite like it actually.... house-iversary. Tomorrow, June 14, marks one year since we became homeowners. And if I've learned anything in the past year, it is that home ownership truly has its highs and lows.

Let's rewind a year. June 14, 2009. Dave and I had jumped through hoop after hoop to get the house we had fallen in love with more than 6 months earlier. After numerous counter-offers, filling out thousands (okay, so that may be an exaggeration) papers verifying our incomes and ability to pay for the house, and several old fashion breakdowns (by me, not Dave, in case you're wondering) we woke up on June 14 with boxes packed and hands ready to sign our lives away. If only it were that easy! We were told mid-morning our loan was not approved because of complications with my student loans (those things aren't good for anything!!). The sellers couldn't close on their new house (also scheduled for that day) until we closed on ours. The bank wouldn't cut our down payment check until we had proof of financing. I learned so much that day about finances and mortgages. Finally, by 5pm, after jumping through more hoops and running around town gathering signatures and checks, we finally had approval to close! Phew! Not so fast. We may in fact close that day, but no keys were to be given. The banks had closed and the check couldn't be deposited. So, while we became homeowners on June 14, we didn't get our keys until the next day. When you're both living with your parents and you're exhausted from the paper chase of purchasing your first home, one night seems like eternity. But we survived. And on June 15, Dave and I went to work and came home to our new house where all of our boxes were so neatly moved in and organized by room. Thank you mom and dad Anderson! We thought we were excited to move out.... my parents were so happy to have their house back and to have all my "junk" (as dad so fondly called it) out of their garage and dining room that they moved all our stuff without us even there. They even picked up the keys for us. Hey, I won't argue with free movers :)

So why do I tell you about our home buying process? Because if you've never bought a house, you ought to know that it's not always rainbows and butterflies. And if you are a recent first-time home buyer you can appreciate the effects today's economy played on our buying process. While we've certainly dived right into home ownership in the past year, we have a ways to go on making our first house feel even more like home. The honey-do list is still a mile long, afterall :)