It was a very fun and pleasant experience.  Our agent was very nice and not at all pushy.  He gave us just the right amount of space to look around, but still answer questions.

The homes we looked at were a bit depressing though.  We looked at 5 that we had previously driven by and ended up only liking 1 of them.  It’s very different going inside then just looking in the windows.  We realized a lot of problems that we didn’t notice from the windows.  One of the major issues for me was the layout of the living room or no bathroom on the main floor.  But, HUD updated their listings today and I have found several new houses to look at.  The houses are all selling so quickly though!

Still haven’t heard about our preapproval.  Keeping our fingers crossed.  The mortgage guy said it would probably be a week to a week and a half before we got an answer.

I am a bit disappointed that we have not had more showings.  I see all the homes I want to look at selling like hot cakes, but we haven’t had any offers on our home.  I am sure the price is good and it’s a very nice home for the money.  I think it’s downfall is it has a car port and not a garage.  Also that the school levy failed in this city and now there are a lot of problems because of it.  We are running out of time.  We are going to miss the deadline for the tax credit if we don’t find a buyer soon.

I spent a lot of time scouring the Internet for homes for sale that we like.  At one point in the beginning, I had over 80 houses in my list of potentials.  After a while, I realized exactly what we can get for our money and now know EXACTLY what houses to look for.  It’s interesting to me because when I started out, I really thought we would have to settle for not so great houses.  To my suprise, we can get so much more then what I expected.  I am very excited and not at all disappointed in what I have found.  I have narrowed my list down to 17 houses we want to look at.  We start physically going in them tomorrow!  How exciting!  We are using a realtor from ERA who has helped my parents buy and sell several homes.

These houses are selling fast.  Many of them are gone just as soon as I discover them.  That is a little sad, but there are still plenty more to choose from.  Of course, keep in mind, I am in Ohio.  It’s not going to be the same everywhere else.

I check the HUD listings daily for new houses.  I would like to watch sherriff sales and things like that, but you have to have 10% down before bidding.  No way we can do that.

That’s it for now folks.  Hey, if anyone else out there is experiencing buying their first home, share your experience here so other first time home buyers can see what it’s like.