Homebuying  

Well, I bought a house! When I initially moved to Colorado, I had no plans of buying or renting. I had a travel trailer and just “camped” in a trailer park. The cost of living here is just so high, I couldn’t in my almost 30 year Oklahoma mind spend house payments on a 1 bedroom apartment. So I figured I’d be fine for a while til I decided to revaluate my situation. I constantly looked at local homes online, but never thought seriously about applying for a mortgage. Well my situation evaluated for me at the most inopportune time. While I was away on a ski trip to Steamboat (which was amazing by the way), the pipes froze and burst my plumbing in the trailer. Now, yes I never winterized my trailer, but I had been there for 0*F days and everything was fine. Well I hated using the trailer parks showers/bathroom and was already feeling cramped and over my lack of space. So I decided that’s it, I’m getting a house! Well everyone else and their mom decided they were ready to buy a house too at that exact moment! Like things I saw on realtor 2 months ago were a fantasy now. Prices are doubled and jacked up, I’m getting outbid (even though I over bid on asking), people are getting double and triple what they paid for their homes just a few years prior, houses were under contract the same day they were listed (like my realtor got texts while we’re walking thru a home that just opened saying they are already under contract), it was ridiculous! Even new home lots were sold out. My realtor was eventually able to find me a new build, and at this point my initial budget had legitimately doubled, and I was so over it. I walked through the model home and said it’ll do and signed that night. Once I was under contract, I was able to pick the finishes for my house as it wasn’t too late in the stages to change things. I added a fireplace, some a/c (and glad bc this year was a hot one), fans, and all of the flooring, countertops, finishes, cabinets, etc. Even though I customized what I could of the house itself, it still needed that “Colorful Colorado” flair. I spent weeks painting, wallpapering, scouring for cheap furniture and appliances, building things, all to make my vision come to life. My housewarming party is set for January 23 (1-2-3), and I’m excited to unveil all that I did to really make this home mine. There’s a few more things I would like to do, but so far I’m still DIYing everything to save myself a few grand, but my vision is still pretty clear.