6 Things to Expect When you Buy Your First House
Well, I did it guys. I moved out on my own and into a townhouse that I bought for myself. In the midst of pure excitement (I own something now, I’ve invested!), I also get rocked time-to-time with some nerves. Through it all, though, what I’ve learned is that buying a house is huge, but your life will largely just continue to be your life. Here’s what to expect when you buy your first house.
1. Your friends will match your excitement.
Some days, I’d just show up glowing to work because my home inspection went well, or my loan processed, or another step in the process happened as planned, and my friends would support me through every minor accomplishment.
When my closing got closer and I needed to think about the not-fun part of buying a house, i.e. moving, I was shocked at how many people volunteered to help me move. No one wants to move shit up and down stairs for a day, yet six of my friends turned up to help me (with a bit of coaxing with free booze, snacks and pizza). When I said something to one of my friends about how generous they are with their time and strength, they said something along the lines of, “It’s a big day for you. You’re moving into your first home. Of course I’ll be there.”
Those are the kind of people I’ve surrounded myself with, and those are the people I can’t be thankful enough for, especially when I'm doing something like buying my first house.
2. You’ll realize how little you own.
In hindsight, I probably didn’t need six friends to help me move, as I own very minimal amounts of furniture. Past the two couches, bed frame, bookshelf, a coffee table, kitchen table and a dresser, I really don’t own anything. Once I put all my furniture in place, I almost giggled. I can barely fill any of my rooms because I only had enough stuff to furnish one bedroom and assist at filling one living room in my previous living arrangements.
I’m living sparse, but thankfully #3 will also happen when you move.
3. Established adults will want to help you.
After I moved into my house, I had an outpouring of support from coworkers looking to unload their unused furniture. People were fast to offer up old furniture that they grew out of or needed to replace and strategize about how to maximize my space. My heart warms every time people ask me what I need and can't be thankful enough for my new chairs and water glasses.
4. Old flames will hit you up.
On the Friday of my close, I laid on the floor in my empty house, crafting a social media post about my monumental day. It was a big moment for me, and being a blogger, I needed to post about it. I thought it would get some attention online (babies, engagements, wedding, puppies and houses are social media gold), but didn't realize how much of the past it would dredge up.
Not but five minutes after posting online (I’m at this point laying on my back in my empty house and chatting with my mom), and I get the first text, “Hey.” I catch myself in an eye-roll because he then continued to pretend like he didn’t just see my new home pop up in his feed, and after over a year, I just happened to cross his mind at the exact same time I bought a house. A few more hours go by, and I get another congrats text. Then after I posted a Snapchat of me opening the champagne my realtor left in my refrigerator the next day, I got a few more texts about the new house from guys I at one point talked to.
At first, I was annoyed at the resurgence of my past at a time that I felt like I was really settling into my future, but then I realized for at least 50% of the them, this was just a big enough moment to make a nice gesture at a reasonable time after we stopped talking. One in particular seemed to want to smooth things over. Maybe I’m getting more mature from owning this house, but I found these texts as nice little olive branches from people who I did hold some resentment toward at one point in my life.
5. Drink up!
You’ll get a ton of champagne from everyone. I like champagne a lot so this really works for me, but for a while I had three bottles of champagne, two cases of beer and salsa with nothing else in my fridge.
6. Your family will suddenly love you more.
I kid, they probably love me the same, but they sure are more willing to come see me now that I have my own house. Now they can sleep in the spare room (aka my golf club and blanket room) without having to navigate all my roommates. This weekend my sister and puppy brother will come, directly followed by my parents and brother.
Who knew all I had to do to lure people to Richmond was make a large investment!?