Tuesday, July 5, 2016

For Rent

We bought a house.

We can't post a picture of our smiling mugs in front of our new house with a "SOLD" sign though.
We actually haven't been in it yet, but we bought it. So there's that.

It's one of those big life things you usually do at some point after your married, as you dream about the future and the memories you might make in between those walls...

But, ours didn't really go like that.
Let's back up a month and some change. My husband has his birthday. I ask him the birthday questions. Question #2: "What's one thing you want to accomplish in the next year of your life?"

I want to invest our money.
It wasn't a new sentiment. It's something we had been talking about since before we were married, but we hadn't figured out the best way to do it. Little did I know how quickly this accomplishment would play out.

The following day, we placed a bid on a house in an online house auction in Missouri. It's one of those things you let your husband do because it's not actually going to turn into anything real. Although we hadn't seen it, others (trusted others) had. It seemed like a good deal- you know, with all of my real estate knowledge that I don't actually have. But, I went with it (my husband had done his research). Minutes later, through a few clicks of a button, we "won" a house that is 865 miles away.

Within a few hours I began to process through the entirety of everything that meant. A house. A house means mortgage. Utilities. Property tax. Refrigerators, washers and dryers. Things I've managed to escape for almost all of my adult life. A house means responsibility. And piles of paperwork I would sign my name to that I don't actually understand. Naturally, I began to freak out. It's one of those things you do and then suddenly the weight of it begins to sink in. My former debt-free life is now committed to paying off a 15-year loan. What were we thinking? Our dogs won't even live that long.

We'll probably never live in this house. But hopefully lots of other people will. My mom took us on a FaceTime tour of our new digs today... and I actually got pretty excited about it. We have a house. A cute, little house. A house that means a lot of things for us-- but, above all, it's this new journey my husband and I are on together. Now we can fight about mortgage payments and disagree about which brand of fridge to buy. Now we can be "real" adults with "real" life issues. I can hardly wait.

All joking aside, I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with this house. The people we'll meet, the renters we'll have. The things it may lead to. The ways it could impact our future. I'm excited about the things we'll have to learn and what being a homeowner in a different state might entail. It'll be something... that's for sure!

So no, we ain't pregnant (I know you're wondering)- but we now own a house. And that's pretty neat.

Let us know if you know anyone who wants to rent a house in Columbia, Missouri. Great school districts, great neighborhood (am I saying all the right things?).

I can't even show you a picture of the front of the house because I don't have one.
How's that for crazy?

Here's to new adventures in house ownership and landlord-ing!
Pray for us :)


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