House-Hunting

Dan and I just got back from a quick trip to Las Vegas for our first house-hunting endeavor. This weekend was simply about looking at layouts and narrowing down what we really are hoping for. We met with a realtor recommended by our friend, Scot Bayles, who also rode down with us. It was a rough start! Despite me having emailed back and forth with him with criteria and even some specific houses I wanted to look at, the realtor seemed completely ill-prepared. We spent the first hour trying not to tear the keyboard and mouse of his hands! It was like he had never used the internet or a computer before with how slowly he maneuvered through email and the house listing data base.  At one point when he took his hand off the mouse and looked out the window at something, I did, in fact, take the mouse to speed up the process! I couldn't take it anymore! We had a good laugh about that one. Anyway, we had many homes we would have liked to see, but most of them were not vacant and people wouldn't call back to let us in, so we really only saw a handful. But it was still very helpful.

I think I'm easily pleased because from one house to the next I'd say, "Ooh, I love this one", and then at the next home say, "Nope, never mind. This one is way better!" Having recently just purchased a 2010 Hyundai Sonata, Dan already knows how quick I am to just jump on a good option when I see one, instead of patiently pursuing all avenues like he is willing to do! I am trying to slow down and be calm and realistic with the house-hunting process, though, so we did not have the mentality of making any offers this trip. Besides, while we saw elements of different houses that we loved, we didn't find a house that had all of those elements in one. Actually, I take that back. We looked at one model home that Dan and I fell in love with: Two-stories, spacious downstairs with a beautiful kitchen and guest-bedroom and full bath, with a cute little yard. Upstairs, there was a loft big enough for couches and a study area, as well as three more decent-sized bedrooms and bathrooms. It was about 2500 square feet of beauty in a fabulous neighborhood and within 15 minutes of Dan's law firm. Unfortunately, it is brand new and way beyond our price range! If we could find an older home with all of that, I'd be thrilled. So, let the process continue for the next few months!

We are actually going to stick with our realtor because, despite the less than impressive start to our day, he is the most chill, laid back realtor we've ever met. He was not pushy in the least and just let us walk around the homes and make our own opinions. He only asked me "how many stars" I'd give each house and quietly took notes. Dan and I really appreciated him giving us space. It must have just been an off-day for him because our friend, Scot, says he isn't normally how he was when we first met him! Makes for a fun memory though as we just laughed through it and waited for the experience to get better, which thankfully, it did. See you in March, Las Vegas!