enJOY it

an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.

for the love of house hunting.

Oflove

Oofta.

We saw 17 properties in San Diego this past weekend. A little bit of everything – some places we couldn't quite afford. Some places that need a lot of work. Some places that just need a coat of paint. Some places that were totally empty and easy to visualize. Some places that were filled with stuff (so filled I have no idea how the sellers could be out in a year, much less a month!). Some places with huge yards. Some places with no yards. Good areas, bad areas, great houses, awful houses, you name it – we saw it.

It was a whirlwind. And I feel like my emotions have ran the scope. In the past, Paul and I both been pretty no-nonsense about where we live. We look through some places online, look through some places in real life and then sign off quickly. The current place we're in, I signed a lease and paid a deposit before I'd even set foot in the neighborhood.

But, of course, that's a bit easier to do as a renter, not an owner. Owning is a completely different beast. The pressure to "get it right" is overwhelming (but fun too!). We made the decision to consider buying based on many factors, but I am keeping in mind that we can always rent so it would be crazy to purchase something we're not in love with and that doesn't work for our growing (!!) family.

So I'll keep you posted. I plan on talking more about our process once things start to feel more organized and an actual plan takes shape. We have our fingers crossed about one (amazing!) place but outside of that it's looking pretty lackluster at the moment…

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39 responses to “for the love of house hunting.”

  1. Kaytie Yost Avatar
    Kaytie Yost

    This sounds exactly like our house hunting experience. Like most things in life, somehow the right house will just hit you. We had been looking for six months and came up empty handed after each search. It was now or never, must find a house TODAY and then, there it was, the perfect house. we thought we had seen everything but somehow we hadn’t seen this house yet.
    Good Luck – It can be such a grueling experience but it’s so rewarding in the end. 🙂

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  2. Myfanwy Avatar
    Myfanwy

    My partner and I are going through the same process at the moment 🙂 Is so mentally exhausting! Hope your searching goes well and you find something you both like 🙂

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  3. Misti Avatar
    Misti

    We’ve been married a little over 10 years now but we just bought our first house last summer after renting for years and years. It is a crazy system, home buying, but it feels great once moved in. The house we settled on almost didn’t make it on my list of places to visit because it was slightly higher than we wanted to pay, but I’m so glad we put it on because here we are, living in something we love!
    Best of luck! It is a fun adventure!

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  4. Mitchellkraft Avatar
    Mitchellkraft

    Good luck on the house hunt. I hope you get into the one you want 🙂

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  5. Denise C Avatar
    Denise C

    House buying is a lot of give and takes. Just remember that it’s hard to get everything on your wish list….but I truly believe the location is the key.
    When we bought our house almost 20 ears ago we bought the little crummy house in the best neighborhood. The house was not my dream house. But we could afford it and I have come to love it. Good luck
    Watch some episodes of property virgins. Lots of good tips.

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  6. Mari K. Avatar
    Mari K.

    We had a very difficult time when we went house-hunting too, I was also pregnant at the time which made it very emotional, lol. We were a family of 3 in a one bedroom looking for a bigger place- in desperate need of a bigger place. I absolutely fell in love with one house that was just slightly more than our budget. The seller’s refused to budge on the asking price. Every 2 weeks we’d put in our offer and get NO back. After 3 months we gave up and were still looking. Then when we were on vacation we got a call from our realtor asking if we still wanted the house, the sellers dropped the price to $5,000 LESS than our offer! It was a very frustrating process but it’s so worth it when you find your perfect house. Good luck!

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  7. emily hassman Avatar
    emily hassman

    Oh man, I found house buying to be super stressful. It’s just such a big decision, you know? It all turned out OK for us. We ended up in a quirky ’50s ranch that was well within our price range. Those were the important things for me: somewhere with character and somewhere that we could afford without any strain. My realtor tried to talk me out of both those things and I’m glad we didn’t cave 😉 I hope you find something you love, Elise!

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  8. Zophi Avatar
    Zophi

    I’ve definitely been through it! Our house hunting experience started in January and we didn’t find a place until April… but as soon as I walked into our house on the first visit, I knew it was the one!
    Good luck, and keep your spirits up as you do your search!

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  9. amy t schubert Avatar
    amy t schubert

    SO fun! I enjoyed house hunting and seeing all the options.
    blogged about it here
    http://thosecrazyschuberts.com/tag/house-hunting
    The REAL adventure starts when you move in of course 🙂
    Can’t wait to hear about it!
    xo

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  10. Shanon Gibson Avatar
    Shanon Gibson

    I totally get it! We bought our first home in August. My husband is going to retire from the Air Force this summer so we have done the renting thing for so long. We had some high expectations and it took us a long time to put an offer in. We looked at a lot of houses and thankfully we had a patient real estate agent. Finally, for us, it came down to a house we could live with and the best schools in the area for our daughters since my oldest started kindergarten in August. Having kids changes the way you look for a home!

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  11. Jessika Avatar
    Jessika

    Congratulations! Don’t settle. It doesn’t sound like you are, but we’ve had a few friends do this and hugely regret it, so I’ll say it anyway. I love our house. It’s perfect for us and in a great neighborhood (one of the most important things). One of my measures was always “will I continue looking at other houses once I buy this one?” With this house: NO. But, there were a couple others we were really thinking about putting an offer on, and this thought kept me level-headed. As a result, we’ve never had buyer’s remorse. Don’t get me wrong, our house isn’t perfect. I remodeled the upstairs. There’s no interior staircase to the garage. The backyard has some rock. But these are overcome-able, the category of things that you’ll find “wrong” at any house. But, you can’t fix a neighborhood. You can’t shorten commutes or convenience (if that’s important to you). We’ve found that friends who bought fixers had great intentions, but since they weren’t willing to live in the house long-term during renovation, they quickly became frustrated (and ran out of money faster than expected and renovations are always more complicated than expected).
    All that said, it sounds like you’re on the right track. It is a super-exciting experience!!

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  12. Liz Navarro Avatar
    Liz Navarro

    Rent for now I say!!!
    After the baby comes, it will become crystal clear to you what you really need out of a house and a neighborhood.
    Also, I know this is really thinking ahead. But school districts matter – big time in CA
    (I live in LA). If you rent now, you can “shop” school districts in the future. A lot of young couples make the mistake of buying a hip neighborhood, thinking in the future that they will just do private school. Find out how much the tuition of a private school is in an area you like. Now add that to your mortgage and taxes. Five years from now, that tuition will only be higher. The difference in NOT paying for private school, can make a difference where you can afford to live.
    Good Luck!!

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  13. Angie Avatar
    Angie

    We’re planning on boat hunting, hopefully a sailboat. Possibly a houseboat. It’s what we have always, always, always wanted. Maybe it won’t happen this year, maybe it will, we don’t know but we’re excited! House hunting is hard on Section 8, it’s so confusing and even WITH Section 8 we wouldn’t have enough for utilities let alone food, clothes, etc. Blah!
    I hope you guys find the perfect little space. ❤ Looking forward to hearing more!!!

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  14. stee Avatar
    stee

    I gotta wonder how much sense buying makes for you the fact that you could be moving in 4 years. What if you can’t sell that house quickly or for your asking price? That seems like a lot of money to sink into a maybe. I know everyone says oh buy a house, you have to to be a grown up and have kids. But it’s good to hear you are keeping renting as an option. There are plenty of people who had to move and couldn’t sell their houses now renting so you could find something move-in with a great yard but without the financial burden.

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  15. AniKohar Avatar
    AniKohar

    good luck! just remember – it’s always best to have the worst house in the best neighborhood than the best house in the worst neighborhood. especially with a little one on the way!

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  16. Carrie Rosalind Avatar
    Carrie Rosalind

    I do not envy you…the homebuying process is brutal!! Best of luck to you and Paul and I hope you get the house you want! It’s all worth it in the end! 🙂

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  17. Ashleigh | Love Stoned Avatar
    Ashleigh | Love Stoned

    House hunting can be soooo much fun!! Dont feel too much pressure and definitely dont settle unless you’re in love!! Renting isnt bad…just try to get into a house before the market turns around too much and you lose out on all the good deals 🙂 Good luck!!!
    xx Ashleigh
    http://www.ashflynn.blogspot.com

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  18. elise blaha Avatar
    elise blaha

    I hear what you are saying. This is the number one reason why I should not talk about home buying on the blog. We have to make the right decision for US and that involves a lot more issues, concerns and thoughts than I would like outside insight on. 🙂

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  19. Briana Avatar
    Briana

    Soooo excited to hear more about this! Ive always been fascinated about house buying even more so now that your moving to san diego! I think it will be very special to not just be able to decorate how you want but to actually call that place yours… 🙂 What a big year for you guys. Congratulations!

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  20. Chrystina Avatar
    Chrystina

    When I saw the house that I’m in now for the first time I absolutely knew it was it (after only about 12 others shockingly). I had a BIG hunch from the pictures but I tried not to get my hopes up until I walked in. Then I walked in, and I fell in love. I loved the kitchen, and I knew that I needed that master bedroom to be mine. I hope you guys find that. Sooner than later 🙂

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  21. elise blaha Avatar
    elise blaha

    that was how it was for us on this awesome one. 🙂

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  22. pamgarrison.typepad.com Avatar
    pamgarrison.typepad.com

    Trust your gut, do what’s right for you two (three :))…and only you know what that is…(and if you don’t know yet, you will). From my experience of buying in So. CA: I wish we would have bought our first house in a buyers market, and I didn’t realize that I was choosing a neighborhood/community/school district that we might be in longer than we planned; I thought we’d move often and easily but were in that first fixer upper for years and years,& we were lucky it was a good neighborhood etc for our growing family. Fingers crossed for your one amazing place!

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  23. Kat G. Avatar
    Kat G.

    I’m so excited to hear about your home hunting journey and cant wait for your next post. We’re just starting to look too!
    Ps. I loved living in San Diego, we were in University Heights which has super cute coffee shops (Mystic Mocha), fish tacos (El Zarape), and running routes through Balboa Park…it was a long run mind you. I hope you love it as much as I did! I’m looking forward to finding the same kind of community now that we live in the Bay Area.

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  24. libbywilko Avatar
    libbywilko

    Wishing you all the best, hope you get the amazing house or you find an even more amazing one next time you look 🙂

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  25. Tiffany Avatar
    Tiffany

    Got my seafoam core kit in the mail today, it gorgeous! Thank you so much for designing it! :]

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  26. Robyn :) Avatar
    Robyn :)

    We bought our house back in September. We looked for about a month or so. We looked at the one we bought about 3 times. Originally we wanted an older home, but this one was just 6 years old!! But it had an open floor plan, big bathroom and 3 car garage. That is what sold my husband on it. It turned out to be a perfect fit for us. You will find the right house for you.

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  27. iris Avatar
    iris

    Oh man, I can’t even imagine house hunting in California. Although, I’m assuming San Diego is a different market than San Francisco, where all my friends have ended up.
    It’s nice that you can always rent, so you can wait until you find what works best for you. For us, just looking for rental places required a decent chunk of compromise. But only two more years, and then who knows where we’ll be!

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  28. natalieweber Avatar
    natalieweber

    Elise, I totally don’t want to be a downer because house hunting is so fun but I was in the Navy for eight years (Navy Nurse), at 2 of my three duty stations we bought homes. Our first home we bought for a steal and sold it in three years and made a profit (yay). The second house we bought in a seller’s market and I still own it….I’ve been out of the Navy for four years. I rent it out now but I live in Wisconsin and that house is in Washington. It’s the biggest bummer ever. Just something to think about because I wish I could just unload that house and move on but I’m stuck until the market turns around. I wish I would have rented. But if you plan on living in SD for more than one tour it could be worth it.

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  29. Brianna Avatar
    Brianna

    Great photo. I’ve never house hunted before so I can’t even fathom how stressful it must be. Maybe y’all should go on House Hunters. 🙂

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  30. Erin Avatar
    Erin

    If you need any info on San Diego neighborhoods, I’m happy to give you some! I live in SD and have a three year old so have learned which areas have the best parks, schools, etc 🙂

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  31. creole wisdom Avatar
    creole wisdom

    Hang in there. I can imagine that it’s challenging.
    I house searched for a bit this summer until I felt a strong prompting to stop, and I did. I found that it felt so overwhelming for me and I couldn’t begin to fathom making such a big decision.
    Good luck and know that you’ll end up in the place you need to be (cliche, but true!)
    And we say “Uffda” in MN 😉

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  32. Karen Freeman Avatar
    Karen Freeman

    Very sensible Elise. Just wondering did hubby commit to taking photos for you while he is away from you on deployment? I ask because when I was on a chat with you I was the one suggesting go for the Christmas Birthday present guilt. Huge congratulations on your growing family and big hugs for the decisions ahead. Love that you keep it real. Karen/Mudgie

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  33. TracieClaiborne Avatar
    TracieClaiborne

    Too bad you can’t go on “House Hunters” on HGTV! Then we could all watch! 🙂 Personally, I had to build a house because I had only ever lived in a house built by my parents (six, to be exact) and when I bought a house already built, it felt like I was living in someone else’s house! I guess I’ll live in my home until I die because nowadays, I couldn’t afford to build what we have now. We were blessed. Good luck with your house hunting process!!!

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  34. Renae Avatar
    Renae

    Like someone else said, when we found “the one” we knew it the minute we walked in the front door and saw the kitchen and open floor plan. Funny enough, it was one the realtor convinced us to look at, the pictures online we horrid so we had crossed it off our list. We’ve been in our house for a little over three years and are now in the process of moving & selling d/t my husbands job situation. A little premature to say since we haven’t sold it yet (hopefully we won’t loose a ton of money) but I haven’t regretted buying it one bit so far. This is the most awesome place we’ve had together and we have so many wonderful memories of our first home together! (sorry that got a little long winded…) Good luck with your house hunt!!

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  35. Kara Avatar
    Kara

    I looked at 26 houses in one day, after narrowing down properties online. It was both wonderful and horrible. I ended up purchasing the very last property we looked at and I love my house still today. However, I often wonder if I would have found something better/different/that I liked better, if I hadn’t been in a position where I had so little time to make a decision (a self imposed deadline I now realize was dumb). Good luck in your hunt.

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  36. Michelle Bostinelos Avatar
    Michelle Bostinelos

    buying a house is always stressful and exciting! Good luck and I hope you find something that is perfect for your family!

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  37. elise blaha Avatar
    elise blaha

    Sort of!! Going to bring it up again once he is settled there. 🙂

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  38. Christine N Avatar
    Christine N

    Very excited for you! I’m happy to hear that you are coming back to San Diego. 🙂

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  39. Kelly Jean Avatar
    Kelly Jean

    My hubby and I have always rented. We looked at houses at the end of last year, but decided to give up buying for another year because we weren’t really sure what we wanted (and financially, we can save more renting again). I’m kind of sick of renting, but we’ve learned to make rented properties our home. Good luck!

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