The Hunt to Find the Perfect Fixer Upper

With the condo sold, and a closing date of July 12 quickly approaching. We are seriously on the hunt for a home. We have been perusing homes since last fall, but in the current market we did not have the luxury of finding our home prior to selling. So on the house hunt we are!

We wanted to give you a preview of our journey thus far....

House #1

Our Model Home. This 3/2 1900 sq. ft. home fit right in our price range and slipped through our fingers just 24 hours before we sold our home. We have been looking back ever since! But for real, we are sad this one didn't work out but it has shown us that what we would like is attainable. This home needed some updating, but the footprint was sound and it met all of our "wants."

Speaking of...

1. Around 1600 sq. ft
2. Brick Exterior
3. Within the budget
4. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms (3/2)
5. Located in our top 3 areas
6. Needs Updating...no Major Reno (like an addition!)

House #2

This is a beautiful Victorian home. The only downfall: it is super small. We would have to add a master suite addition to make it a good fit for us. Enlarging the footprint of a home is not where we want to start on our FIRST HOME. 

HOUSE #3

Another close fit -- 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, in a top area, 1600 sq. ft. Only downside, We need to be able to live in the space immediately so gutting and renovating is not an option for us. The inside layout had some updates but the layout was super quirky and poor upgrades in the upstairs portion of the house left us with a total gut job on our hands!

HOUSE #4

This little gem is just about perfect! Brick exterior, well maintained, in an excellent location, 3 bedrooms.... I know, I know what could be wrong right? This beaut boasts of only one bathroom in its 1200 square feet. Again, we would be looking at increasing the footprint of the home.... 

not on the To Do List for the Dilbecks in 2013. 

HOUSE #5

Break my heart. This home has great potential and I really thought it might be "the one." Listed as FOUR bedrooms, TWO baths, I was sold. BUT, when we got inside the 2nd bath is in the garage...

 along with a lot of the square footage of the house. It's a NO GO.

HOUSE #6

This home was SO DIFFICULT to pass up because it is in our #1 area to live. 

We love the beautiful tree-lined streets, the old homes, and the close proximity to our LIFE that it provides. This house was 1 bedroom, 2 bathroom in 1800 sq ft of awkwardly laid land. The exterior was SO GORGEOUS with a screened-in front porch, two car garage, and AMAZING garden. 

We contemplated every which way to make the space work... 

but at the end of the day we could not obtain peace over 

spending above our budget for a 1 bedroom home that needed a LOT of renovation.

We are learning SO MUCH through this house hunting experience. 

Getting two people on the same page takes so much time, effort, and work. 

C.O.M.M.U.N.I.C.A.T.I.O.N. 

We are growing as a couple in that area tremendously! 

God is teaching me a lot about laying my requests at His feet, and then... oh wait, that is it. Being STILL! 

He has asked that our steps be SLOW and MEASURED. I am still learning what that means. 

We are learning that this journey is not about the HOUSE but the journey along the way.

 Please pray that we find our new home soon!