Buying our first Home

Jeff and I always knew we wanted to be homeowners. From the moment we got engaged we started thinking about where we wanted to live and lay down roots. Jeff grew up in NYC and he’s never lived anywhere else. I grew up in NYC as well however my mom bought her first house in New Jersey where I lived for a few before going to college in Rockland County. I was definitely more open to venturing out to new cities to find a home whereas Jeff really wanted to be in or as close to the city as possible! We ended up renting our first apartment together in Bergen County, New Jersey which we loved. It was as close to the city as you can get and very convenient for us to get to work. Jeff finally agreed that staying in New Jersey was a go! Yesss!

And The Search Began

The search was not easy. We originally only wanted to stay in the area we were renting. But, buying in Bergen county seemed impossible for all that we wanted in a home at our price point. We looked for 2 years finding absolutely nothing that suited our wants and needs. Some people would tell us to just buy something ‘for now’ and get the house we wanted later. But I didn’t want to take this big step just to be unhappy in the home and counting the days till we move again. So the search went on and on. We started to get discouraged.

A Break In the Clouds

A friend of mine from nursing school bought a house in Sparta, NJ. She raved about how nice the town was and how it was so family friendly. I decided to look into it myself and it was just an hour outside the city where we work. I know that to some this would be really far but we were willing to take a longer commute for a house we loved. At that point we were even considering upstate New York as well. I preferred to stay in Jersey to be close to mom :-). We used Zillow and Trulia to look at available properties and we were pleasantly surprised! We saw several homes that had everything we wanted and great price ranges. We decided to get a local realtor (our previous realtor did not go up that far lol) and started exploring what the town had to offer.

Here Come The Spartans

Our realtor Gloria from Century 21 Geba Realty made the search so easy. She accommodated our late evenings and weekends and within weeks we found a home that we loved! It’s like finding true love….when its right, you just know! I must have visited the house like 4 times before we made an offer just to make sure (most people only see the home twice!). And of course I had to bring my mom- its always good to have a fresh set of eyes. After some negotiating, our offer was accepted and the rest is history. The process was not bad at all and you don’t need as much money to buy a house as some people think you do. Just make sure you have good credit and you’ll be fine.

Home Sweet Home

Closing day was a dream come true. We did it! We became homeowners! And we truly feel like we are living the American Dream. We feel that the two years we spent looking at houses all cumulated to this very day, to buy this very house, in this very neighborhood. Good things are always worth the wait. We can’t wait to fill this home with so much love and laughter for years to come. God’s plan is always the perfect plan!