Buying a House: A Rookie’s Perspective

Well, you all know that I plan on moving. I’ve wanted to for a while, but now it’s happening. Soon. I wanted to write an update on my thought process, choosing a city, and next steps (like thinking about buying a house). Because things are happening quick. Which is both exciting and terrifying!

First, some real talk. In my wonderful locations spreadsheet, the top 5 locations (if we count Minneapolis/St. Paul as one place) ended up as follows:

Cleveland

Pittsburgh

St. Paul

Cincinnati

Minneapolis

Boise

Here’s the thing. On this list, Cleveland is the only city where someone I love lives (the incomparable Lyra, who you met in her guest post…about Cleveland, naturally). She just moved there and really likes the city. And while I’m super excited to move, it’s less intimidating knowing I’ll already have a good friend there. Starting over can be hard.

In a few weeks, I’ll be going out to Cleveland to scope things out. To figure out if I can see myself living there, and if so, which neighborhoods I want to focus on. Basically, unless I hate it when I go (which I don’t think will happen), I’m probably moving to Cleveland.

And, because I needed to set a moving date for the sake of my sanity, I’m probably moving to Cleveland in January (or sooner…). Which means A LOT has to happen before then.

I’m Buying a House

So part of me thinks I’m crazy for buying a house right when I leave my job and move to a new city to start this business. But I promise this decision has been extensively thought out. I don’t tend to rush into things (in case you had any doubts after the location spreadsheet example). Here’s my rationale for buying as soon as I move:

1. In Cleveland, based on what I’ve seen and for what I need, a mortgage, including taxes and homeowner’s insurance, will cost much less than rent.
2. If I don’t buy a house before I quit my full-time job, I’ll likely have to wait two years because self-employed homebuyers typically have to show two years of tax returns to qualify for a mortgage. Homeownership is something I’ve wanted for a while; I don’t want to wait two more years. Especially when I have the money now. So, I need to buy something before switching to full-time entrepreneurship.
3. Chances are if I decided to rent, I would have quite a bit of trouble finding a suitable rental that allows three pets…
4. And speaking of. StarDog wants a backyard. And SunCat wants a catio. StarCat has yet to make any specific requests, but he’s pretty extra, so I’m sure he’ll have a few too.

My Criteria for a Home

Me being me, I’ve been spending a lot of time on Redfin. And even more time reading books about home buying. I have a general sense of what I want, though there are also several factors that I’m undecided on.

Must Haves

• A neighborhood that feels like a community. Ideally where I can walk to things and won’t need to drive EVERYwhere.
• Ditto one where I feel safe living as a single woman…
• Space for a garden. And for StarDog to play.
• A suitable room on the first floor for an office to meet clients in.
• Something that won’t be an albatross around my neck when I want to move. Meaning it will either sell well or rent well.

Maybes?

• I’ve been thinking about buying a multifamily unit (like a duplex). On the one hand, I love the idea of renting out the second unit to help cover my mortgage, but I’m not sure I want to deal with being a landlord on top of all the other changes this move will bring. And I would only really want to do Airbnb if it was a separate unit vs. a bedroom in my home I think.
• There are some really cheap homes out there which would qualify for Ohio’s renovation mortgage program. I like the idea of buying cheap and then turning it into exactly what I want (plus, bonus, I know that any renovations previously done weren’t just done to mask other issues…). But also, I have no clue what I’m doing with renovations, so that approach might feel a little overwhelming. Unless someone knows the Property Brothers and they want to help a gal out…
• I’m having some trouble narrowing down neighborhoods to focus on. I’m hoping that visiting will help. I’ve heard wonderful things about Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights, but they also have the highest property tax rates in the area. Which is a bummer and means from a cash flow perspective, I can afford less.

Next Steps

When I’m in Cleveland, I’ll be meeting with a realtor and a lender to discuss my options. After checking with the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, I verified that I qualify for the first-time homebuyer benefits even though I don’t currently live in Ohio (I just have to use the home I buy as my primary residence once it’s purchased). They have some nice options for down payment assistance and mortgage tax credits, so I want to explore that route. That means I have to talk to a qualified lender who works with those programs. I might decide that any trade-offs make it not worth it, but I at least want to consider those options.

I also need to narrow down my search criteria (I currently have 390 favorites on Redfin…it’s a problem). Finally, I really need to nail down my timeline with regard to buying/moving/quitting my job.

Tangent: A Job Update!

I officially have a new boss. And it’s someone I know and respect. Also someone who already knew I was looking to leave, which meant that I could have a conversation with him about my plans without it being awkward. So far, he’s been really supportive, so here’s hoping everything goes smoothly when I do give my notice and talk about transition options.

Housing Unknowns

There are a number of things that feel pretty daunting right now. One is that I have never lived in a house that was more than 10 years old (my mom liked buying new construction when we moved). Most of the places I’m flagging are closer to 100 years old, and I don’t even know what I don’t know. I’m not sure what warning signs to look for, what kind of things to consider, and what kind of costs to budget for. I know that I need to find a good inspector to help with some of that when I do make an offer, but I’m not sure how to screen those either. If anyone has any resources or recommendations on any of these fronts, please let me know!

Additionally, the move will be…interesting. I want to close in January, but that’s right after the holidays. If I closed in December instead, it would be right after a 2.5-week international trip. I don’t want to delay the move too much because honestly, setting that date was a huge relief, but I don’t want to rush it either if waiting a bit would be better. Or stick to that date if moving it up a month would be smarter. Which is a whole other thing; I need to talk to my CPA about tax implications to consider and if it’s better to purchase this year or next year (when my income will presumably be much lower). Basically, my life is chaos and even reading this paragraph during editing made me start to hyperventilate.

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So, this is essentially everything that’s going through my head right now. Not a lot of answers, and a whole lot of questions. My hope is to continue writing about this home buying process in real-time so y’all can see the good, bad and ugly (for those of you who haven’t purchased) or laugh at/point out my mistakes for those of you that have (hopefully in a constructive way because we’re all friends on the internet, right?). Either way, get out the popcorn because the next few months are going to be wild!