A Journey in House Hunting (Part 1)

It all started in March 2020. For many people (and myself included) around the world, that was the beginning of a scary time because the news of the pandemic broke. Suddenly, everything around us was closing down and people were being sent home in hopes of tackling that new thing called Zoom. 

But for my fiancé and I, we decided to do the one thing that we had been meaning to do for a while: house hunt. Granted, we fully recognized our privilege and the level of financial stability that allowed us the opportunity to look for homes. Although we were still trying to grasp the severity of COVID-19, both of us refused to stray away from the plan that we set forth. And how could we when the both of us had been saving and hoping for our own place? There was no better time than the present. Even if that same present left me beyond paranoid everywhere that I went and my anxiety left me in tears from time to time but I digress. 

Our journey in house hunting started with a brainstorm and an excel sheet. Did I mention that the two of us were planners? If you couldn't already tell then you will have a few reminders of it. That brainstorm consisted of the five Must-Have Priorities when it comes to having a home. Those Must-Haves fell under what our home needed to have or else the place wasn't for us. The first and foremost priority was the monthly mortgage. We had to make sure the place was within our budget and defining our budget as well. How much could we afford every month without going house broke? What number did we feel comfortable forking out on top of the initial deposit? After that, we set a required amount of bedrooms and bathrooms. The two of us wanted to make sure we had enough space for both of us and a family later on. So a three bedroom and two bathroom place seemed sufficient enough without feeling too big for us. Thirdly, we needed to ensure the commute to our respective work places was under forty minutes or less. As someone who used to commute two hours and drove a total of 80 miles everyday, I understood how much time I lost in a day to traffic and being in my car. Not to mention, the amount of money that I spent on gas as well. Following that priority, both of us agreed that school ratings were important. Since we planned to have kids in a few years, it only makes sense that we find a place near good schools. As a result, we agreed that the schools should have an average rating of 5 or more. Nothing less or else the place was off our list. From there, we shared a few other house features that we hoped to have but could be flexible on. Those features included a backyard, walk-in closet, a minimum amount of square feet, garage, etc.

I thought sharing those priorities and having honest and constant discussions about our starter home would be sufficient enough for our hunt for a house. Both of us were on the same page when it came to what we wanted and needed so it would be smooth sailing from here, right?

Wrong. So very wrong.

Our journey for our first house would be a year long process full of countless offers (that tested our patience and threatened to stretch our budget), rejections, tears, insecurities, and a clash between our cultures. Particularly his strong push for feng shui and my struggle to understand that.