Inquiry sent

I've been the proud owner of two houses (the current one with a co-signer) by the ripe ol' age of 27 thanks to my parents' kindness and generosity.

Our current home is 960 sq ft. So with two dogs, a cat, and gobs of accumulated stuff, we've quickly outgrown it. Honestly, we probably could live with it, but because we like to have kick-ass parties, it's not enough space for us.

We've gone back and forth about whether to pursue purchasing a new home (biggest question: how long are we planning to stay here?) and have ultimately decided to at least look into it and see what we could afford. And there's two sides...it's a buyer's market...WOO!...seems like home sales have stalled...BOO!

Even though I've been through the motions twice, home buying is still confusing as hell to me. Do you see a realtor first? But how do you know what you can afford, if anything?? Do you go to a lender first?

I decided to email the woman with whom I worked previously, to see if 1. we can afford it 2. what we can afford and 3. if we will qualify for a first time home owner tax credit (or whatever the heck it is they're offering right now). It may be that I can't be included if we're to qualify for the tax credit--which means C would have to qualify for a loan all on his own I think.

At any rate, that's kind of exciting and I just wanted to share that with you. I'll be SO glad to get out of this little home. I'll miss it, but yet, I won't. And if we don't qualify, well then I'll be sorely disappointed and just have to learn to live with our humble abode.