Setting Roots

I am an active duty member of the U.S. Navy, which caused me to have some experiences in my home-buying adventure that are unique to military men and women, now as a homeowner I am about to have another one of those experiences. I will soon be deployed to the middle east in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. As a single (unmarried) homeowner, I am facing some unique challenges in how to prepare my home for a long time away.

My mother will be living in the home, so I do not need to worry about mail delivery. However, she is elderly and will not be able to do many of the chores. I have winterized my pool, basically by putting in a lot of Chlorine and Algaecide, and instructed my mother on how and how often to run the pump to keep the water somewhat filtered. Last winter I found I was able to get away with just having my pump run 1 day a week for about 10 hours, and the pool remained clean enough to keep it easy-to-open in the spring. I am not as worried about ease of re-opening this year, because when I return I want to re-paint the pool, which should be an interesting project to write about here at Setting Roots.

I have my bills set-up for auto-payment, and I will be paying my homeowners fees in advance. My homeowners association was kind enough to give me a deployment discount too! I have amazing neighbors who assist my mom with getting to the store, and one who will be caring for my lawn while I am gone.

Additionally, I have set-up an emergency fund to pay for anything else that might arise. If someone were not going to be living in the home, I would also turn off the breaker to my hot water heater and my kitchen appliances. I wish I did not have to go, I would love to be able to stay and finish projects around the house, and document them here, but alas, duty calls. I intend to continue documenting my experiences and offering advice to first-time home buyers when I return. Until then, please feel free to leave comments on existing posts, and please feel free to send suggestions for future posts.

Wish me luck.

Wow… so one lesson that I definately learned the hardway is that it is very difficult to work a full-time job, find a house, close on the house and try to keep a blog about it, all at the sam time. Especially when your job involves a good deal of traveling, as mine does. So I decided that I do still want to maintain this blog, but now I will simply back-fill on my experience with buying the house, and what I learned along the way.

I also intend to document my adventures as a first time home-owner, and the projects I undertake along the way. I also would like for people to leave lots of feedback in regards to their own experiences. Advice is also always welcome. So with that in mind, I hope you’ll join me as I continue writing about my experiences, Setting Roots.

I officially started visiting homes yesterday. I have been looking at online listings for months now, and I have a good idea of what is out there, and what I want. Finally getting out there and looking at homes was incredibly helpful. It’s one thing to read that a place is 1,500 square feet, it is another thing entirely to see what 1,500 square feet actually looks like.

I am single, and I grew up in inner city apartments, so 1,500 square feet is a lot of room for me. I am a pretty handy guy, I know how to do most any minor home repair, and I can do a lot of major ones also, so the house being completely finished is not a major concern for me, but it certainly is a perk.

I have decided to retain the services of a Real Estate Agent. A lot of people have told me that I may be able to get a better deal without the agent, but I find it helpful to have someone who knows the market assist and guide me. Since I am new to the area it is also nice that she is familiar with the neighborhoods as well. The general reason you may be able to get a better deal without an agent is because of how their comission works. As a home BUYER, the agent is free to you. She takes half of the SELLING AGENT’S commission. Needless to say, the selling agent will probably try to get the owners to favor a person who is not retaining the services of another realator so that they can keep 100% of the commission.

It’s important to remember though, that the seller’s agent ultimately works for the seller, and she is looking out for the sellers best interest. It’s her job to move houses, so she may not have your best interests in mind. Purchasing a home is a MAJOR decision. Don’t let anyone rush you or try to make you settle. If you are not completely satisfied, keep looking. Especially the way the market is right now. Remember, this is a BUYER’S market right now. Take advantage of it!