Owning a House at 24 is Pretty Sweet

I know it's been a while since I updated my blog.  I've been rather busy buying a house, getting a higher education, trying to get back in shape, and working full time.

Hubby and I finally closed on our very first house this past weekend.  I also turned 24 yesterday.  We spent the weekend moving into our new house, painting our bedroom, unpacking the kitchen and living room (because those are the only rooms that really count, right?), and then yesterday evening we had family over for a birthday dinner, compliments of my parents' house warming gift to us: a grille.

While owning a house can certainly be a pain, and expensive, and a huge responsibility, I am so grateful to live in a house that is ours.  I am grateful that the sale went through and that Hubby and I have been blessed with the opportunity to own a beautiful young house with a great backyard for our 2 little furry children.

So now I'm happy to be looking to the future while making sure to enjoy this wild ride.  Hubby and I have so many plans, and thank goodness we have enough time to do any and all of what we want to with the right planning.  As my focus turns a little more domestic, I hope to post more blogs about home improvement, decorating, use of space, etc.  I'm far from done with my spiritual discovery, and my education comes absolutely first, so I may be a little slow to update my blog sometimes, but I promise I haven't abandoned it!

When You Buy a House...

When you buy your first house you have to buy all sorts of little things you didn't need or have room for when you were renting.  My husband and I started talking about what small things we'll need to invest in once we move into our first house:

• a hose
• a ladder
• a shop vac
• at least a small tool set until Hubby can get a nice set
• wall-mounts for cleaning tools like the broom and mop
• an outside laundry line

Plus there's the big stuff that can cost you a small fortune, like:

• a washer and dryer (hopefully a set)
• a new couch (maybe)
• a guest bed and bedding (which may end up being the first child's bed)
• a breakfast nook table and chairs
• another TV for Hubby's man-cave (if the money is there)
• etc.

In conclusion... buying a house is expensive!

Goodbye, 2012

What have I accomplished this year?  Let's see...

• I became fully Pagan and performed a personal dedication ceremony to the Goddess and the God.
  
• I shift-skipped between days and nights before finally landing a Monday-Friday position doing a job I really enjoy so far.
  
• I met a new Wiccan friend who I've performed ritual with and loved it.
  
• I lost a friend to disagreements about where our loyalties truly lie.
  
• I learned more about myself.
  
• My husband and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary.
  
• Hubby and I put in an offer on a short sale house, and are waiting on the bank to give us their reply.
  
• I applied to go back to college and will be starting in January.
  
• I purchased a very large and very beautiful custom Book of Shadows, and I've begun creating the pages that will go in it.
  
• The world did not end!

All in all, this year has been rather eventful.  The biggest shift has been in my spiritual life, although many of the other events I listed are rather...eventful.

Here's to the close of 2012, and to the fresh start that a new year always brings!

Happy 2013!

Mobile Home Living

So the hubby and I have decided to buy a mobile home as a sort of starter home or stepping stone to owning a "real" house. My grandmother is going to rent us a plot of land for free and we'll buy a trailer to put on it.

Steps to moving in to a mobile home on my nana's land:

1. Mobile home shopping! Yay!
2. Find septic tank. It's already there, we just have to stick a metal pole in the ground until it goes, "ting!"
3. Replace power pole. Again, there is one already in place but it's old and in need of replacement.
4. Clear surrounding land and decide exactly where the home will be placed.
5. Check/drain/certify septic tank and well. We don't want any nasty surprises when we move in!
6. Decide on mobile home and get financing.
7. Finish up extraneous details.
8. Mobile home gets delivered.
9. Someone said the home has to sit for about 2 weeks...
10. Move in!!!!

This is a really exciting step for my hubby and I. We decided to start looking around at homes this past weekend and found 2 that we really like in our price range.

The day we looked, Hubby and I agreed we liked the layout on the less expensive model better. The one thing I liked better in the more expensive one was that it had an awesome walk-in pantry. Since the price difference was about $4k, we decided a walk-in pantry wasn't worth that much.

On the other hand, I believe peace of mind is worth an extra four grand. I did some research on the 2 brands of mobile homes. The less expensive one was Scotbilt. The more expensive one was Townhome. When I looked up Scotbilt mobile homes on google, I immediately found a large number of consumer complaints and more than a few class action suits pending. Meanwhile, Townhome mobile homes seems to have a good track record, more customization options, and the factory is located nearby! The Townhome model we saw also had better construction and that explains the extra $4000 tacked onto the price tag.

Hubby might've liked the layout of the Scotbilt better, but I think I'm going to try and talk him into the Townhome. The other option we have is to visit the Townhome factory since it's located close by and view other floor plans and models to see if another layout sits with Hubby better.