Josh and Kristi, after mon
ths of searching, finally found their perfect first home. Still, getting to the closing table wasn’t easy.
2-10 HBW: How did you know this house was the one you’d make your home?
Kristi: We walked in and knew it had everything we wanted. There weren’t a lot of repairs needed; it was pretty much ready to go. We didn’t really have to compromise what we were looking for either: three bedrooms, three bathrooms, two car garage and a big backyard for our dogs… essentially all the criteria we had was met with this house.
2-10 HBW: Was there anything about the inspection that was making you nervous?
Josh: There were a few glaring things that the inspector discovered and recommended that we take care of immediately. First, he mentioned that the electrical panel had some fire issues and recommended that the Seller replace it before we move in.
Secondly, the house still had the original furnace … and I’d like to point out that the house was built in 1978. Again, it was something that the inspector said that we take care of immediately because it would be extremely expensive to replace if it went out.
After the inspection, the Seller agreed to only replace the furnace, which was the more expensive of the two needed replacements. We would have to replace the electrical panel ourselves.
2-10 HBW: What were your next steps?
Josh: We continued to work with our real estate agent to determine what additional inspections were needed. For instance, we wanted a certified “fireplace inspector” because we knew that we were going to use the fireplace a lot and wanted to ensure everything was up to code and safe.
2-10 HBW: What happened once you finally got to the closing table?
Josh: It felt like we basically signed our life away, at least that’s how it felt. (Josh laughs). I knew it was going to be a lot of information to take in at once, and we definitely covered a lot of things. Honestly, there were some documents I was signing that I should have asked for further clarification, but at the end of the day I was getting my dream home and I was confident my agent would be able to walk me through the questions I had after the closing.
My agent recommended a home warranty to help us with any unexpected expenses that we are bound to incur. (Josh crossing his fingers that this doesn’t happen). I hope that nothing major happens, but it’s nice to know that if something happens, we are protected.
Now we’re making plans to paint, move in and start our lives together.
