Some of y'all remember that we got married in April 2020, right in the midst of that thing we don't mention around here. Went from having a LOT of people invited to the wedding (mostly by her parents - I think they invited the whole town, LOL), to 10 total... And instead of flying to Costa Rica (which was a recommendation by
@Quattro Pete), we ended up doing a road trip through Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, which actually turned out to be awesome.
Then she got pregnant almost right away, our son was born in Jan. 2021, then our daughter in Dec. 2021 (2 mos early, but she's fine now), and, now, she's expecting again, and we found out last night (through an early blood test) that everything looks normal, and we're having another daughter! She's due in March.
We have been in a 2BR, 2BA apartment (with attached garage and driveway) in a nice, gated complex, that was about $1100 when I moved in 9 years ago, had climbed to $1452 as of last renewal, but they decided to raise rent by a staggering $430 (to $1880/mo) if we chose to renew again, and it was the impetus that we needed to finally make the decision we've been needing to make anyway, and get in the market for a house.
I wasn't in a rush, but needed to make a decision semi-quickly, because I gave the required 60-day notice to our apartment complex management co. to avoid a penalty of 1 month's rent. So, we have until Oct. 21 to be out.
I found a house we liked on Thursday, went and looked at it that night, and made an offer Friday. They counter-offered Saturday, and we accepted.
Sucks that interest rates are so high. But it can't really be helped. We're blessed to have more than 20% to put down.
It's not huge by anyone's measure. 3BR, 2 full BA, 1450 sq. ft. It will be cozy for a family of 5. But that's OK. And it sits on a 1.1-acre corner lot, in a semi-rural area, but only 5 minutes from I-40, and a few minutes from Walmart, Kroger, etc. It's in ****son, TN. A little too far west of Nashville to be considered a suburb. About 15,000 people in the town. We drove around and did some exploring, and it's a nice town with a cool downtown area with nice little shops and restaurants, etc.
The house has a detached 2-car garage, detached carport, paved asphalt driveway, covered front and rear porches, and a fenced back yard. That detached garage even has a little storm shelter built into one corner. We're going to enjoy being able to let the kids loose in that backyard. And I'm going to enjoy that carport for vehicle detailing and maintenance!
Home inspection is tomorrow morning! Luckily I'm off work and will be able to show up at the tail end of the inspection to go over his findings and ask questions. Thankfully, from the appearance of the home, the owner was conscientious. And it's not that old - built in 2015. So I'm hoping for no major issues. What I'm concerned with is the bones of the house - the foundation, frame, roof, plumbing, and electrical.
Lots of things I'm going to have to think about. And buy! I'm going to need a riding mower, weed eater, and blower, for starters! Wondering what brands of lawnmowers are decent (I'll probably go used), and whether to go gas or electric on weed eater and blower. I know that the lithium-ion electric stuff has come a LONG way in the last few years. And the car detail guys are big on the electric blowers.
Also wondering how often to have pest control come out.
Anyway, just excited, and wanted to share with you guys.
Any tips, advice, etc. is welcome and appreciated!