2 Br, 1 Bth

"I have been receiving emails from Spencer lately."
"Spencer?"
"Yes, Spencer."
"Spencer who?"
"Spencer M."
"Who is Spencer?"
"Spencer is the random real estate agent that was assigned to me when I checked out Houses.com."
"Oh... Wait! Houses.com?"
"Yes, that's right."

It's true. My intent to purchase a home is quickly solidifying. I have spoken to the bank and golly gee, I've been pre-approved for a certain amount of money to start making my own monthly payments on a dare-I-say-it mortgage.

I feel like I'm 18 again and thinking, "I'm an adult now!" Just wait until the day I actually purchase my own furniture. What a sign of mature adulthood that will be.

In a little less than 12 hours, I will be meeting my real estate agent face-to-face for the first time. We've exchanged emails for a couple of months now and spoken on the phone twice (this may be the longest "relationship" I've had in years) and I'll be meeting him at some location in the afternoon on Sunday with both of my parents.

There are six properties on my shortlist now of houses to view. I'm excited about two of them, but the other four are interesting enough to spend a little time looking at. Over the past few weeks, I've been contemplating the real possiblity of owning my own house. The stress actually reduced when I spoke to the bank last Monday and received the pre-approval in less than 25 minutes of cellular phone time. The exciting part was that once the representative actually sent the information in about the possible mortgage, the response was practically immediate. I emailed Spencer as soon as I hung up and had an appointment with him for Sunday at 4:00 PM within minutes.

I'm not looking for a big house. I don't want a really big house. I'm single and affording this on my own. There will be yardwork and maintenance that I'll deal with, but that's a reality of owning a home. Maybe in a year or so I'll get a puppy.

But right now, I'm excited for so many reasons. Parking the car full of groceries within 30 feet of the door is a wonderful thought. Being able to put clothes in the dryer (or hang them on a line!!!) and not having to sit and wait for the cycle to be over to make sure no one moves my underwear without my consent is relieving. Having a kitchen where the stove isn't additional counterspace for scrapbooking memorabilia seems more logical. Having room to put up exercise equipment makes me happy (as odd as that sounds). Not listening to the jerk living above me scream about his personal problems and hearing his girlfriend sobbing in pain is a nice perk. Being able to customize my walls (color) and making a place mine is thrilling.

I'm sure I'll be busy in the next few months. If I find a place I like, I hope to move in June and be out of my apartment when the lease is up at the end of June. There is more happening at the same time (school, work, life, etc) and I'm going to try and write about my experiences a bit more in the upcoming months.