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The White Picket Fence (Only With Out The White Picket Fence)
Andy Borgmann's First Home - 26 Regency RdThis week, I all but finalized the next step in my pursuit of the American Dream: I successfully negotiated and came to terms on my first home. We close on November 8th.

According to every stress test I have taken, changing jobs and buying a home are about as stressful events as most people experience in their lifetime (minus getting married and having a death in the family). I decided to do both within 15 days of each other. Put another way, as my friend Jared put it in a recent e-mail, "Wow, new car, new job (sorta), new girl, new house. What's next??" Let's hope nothing is next. Or maybe best put, according to CLiving.org, I have a stress score of 313. I have to admit, I feel it. Usually I thrive under stress. This month has been a bit much.

But I did it. I finally bought my first home. I have only been seriously thinking about it for the last year. There are four huge lessons I learned from this whole process. If you have ever bought a house before, you can feel free to stop reading, but I know a lot of 20-somethings hit up this blog so I offer my two points of advice below.

#1 - Ask questions. I am a pretty proud guy. I don't like asking questions. Whether that is looking for a product at Target or when "lost" and in need of directions - I usually have enough confidence in myself that I will figure it out on my own. You cannot approach buying a home like that. I can't tell you how many times I used the phrase: "I have never done this before, so I apologize if this is a stupid question, but..."

#2 - Do your research. Even after I asked as many questions as I did, and the fact that I talked with a lot of "experts," it still doesn't mean there aren't mistakes. I found a fairly large mistake that my loan officer missed and that ultimately cost me close to $1000 bucks at closing. Now I would much rather find that out now before the shock at closing of trying to find and extra Grand. You cannot do enough research, and in my opinion get freaking good at Microsoft Excel.

#3 - Do what you are comfortable with. If you are like me, once you even hint at buying a place, everyone and their mother will come out of the woodworks and tell you what they think. While a lot of the time this is a GREAT thing, it can get tempting to do something you aren't comfortable with. This is ultimately what happened to me last year about this time. Renting isn't always as stupid of a decision as those who own homes make it out to be - especially if you aren't sure you can stay somewhere for at least three years.

#4 - Everything is negotiable. For some, this is fun. Me personally, I hate this. But it is important. Not just the purchase price, but everything is negotiable. The closing costs the seller picks up, what is left in the home, what is fixed before buying the home. Heck, even what the bank charges you in closing costs. It is all negotiable. Make sure you have options, as that is the best way to "pit" them all against each other.

Well, that's about it. Before I go, I would like to thank
  • Mike Durden - a great realtor
  • Brian Cueny - a great loan guy
  • My father for some great advice
  • Marty (Molly's mom) for coming and viewing all the prospects with me
  • Mitch of WIN Home Inspection - for educating me so much on my home in only 2 hours
  • Joel - for being such a great and flexible roommate.
  • Probably most of all Glenn - your generous offer really saved me some money in the long run.


Anybody up for a house warming party?
Comments
Sarah Elwer
Wednesday, October 17, 2007 05:18:37 PM    Quote Selection | Permalink
Gravatar.com Sorry about all the stress... if you add a wedding into this year you may have a heart attack! ha ha ha!!!!


Andy Borgmann
Wednesday, October 17, 2007 06:50:44 PM    Quote Selection | Permalink
Gravatar.com
if you add a wedding into this year you may have a heart attack!
Tell me about it! I already go home every night from work feeling like my heart is exploding from my chest. I don't see the stress of a wedding happening anytime soon - at least for a year - we'll see ;)


Marty
Wednesday, October 17, 2007 09:32:07 PM    Quote Selection | Permalink
Gravatar.com It was fun to be part of the process! I won't take the comment about "everyone and their MOTHER coming out of the woodwork" personally :)!!! After all, I am not everyone's mother...only Molly's!! And yes, I am up for a housewarming party. I have the perfect gift. I will stock your freezer with a year's supply of vegetables. :) Vegetables do wonders for stress!


Molly
Wednesday, October 17, 2007 09:42:25 PM    Quote Selection | Permalink
Gravatar.com And you forgot to tell everyone that I am the House Warming Party Planner so they must contact me about coming to the party, that would be great.


Andy Borgmann
Wednesday, October 17, 2007 10:52:34 PM    Quote Selection | Permalink
Gravatar.com
I won't take the comment about "everyone and their MOTHER coming out of the woodwork" personally :)!!!
Yeah, you shouldn't take that personally. Just a saying I have. No reference to any actual mothers out there.

And yes, I am up for a housewarming party. I have the perfect gift. I will stock your freezer with a year's supply of vegetables. :) Vegetables do wonders for stress!
Except rule #1 for parties I throw is no presents. Too bad ;)

And you forgot to tell everyone that I am the House Warming Party Planner so they must contact me about coming to the party, that would be great.
That is still up for debate baby.


pmccarty
Thursday, October 18, 2007 01:29:21 AM    Quote Selection | Permalink
Gravatar.com Lucky bastard. :)

Congratulations... Miss you!!


pmccarty
Thursday, October 18, 2007 01:30:37 AM    Quote Selection | Permalink
Gravatar.com Aww.. gotta wait for approval.. thats too bad, I guess that means you wont be posting my rants from now on.

APPROVE THIS

(or not.. I guess Im ok with that too.... Kinda done with the whole rejection thing at this point :P)


pmccarty
Thursday, October 18, 2007 01:31:22 AM    Quote Selection | Permalink
Gravatar.com SPAM SPAM SPAM

What? I gotta wait 30 seconds too!?!?! this sucks.

yep. sucks.


Jared
Thursday, October 18, 2007 09:26:39 AM    Quote Selection | Permalink
Gravatar.com Andy, so happy for you, hope I can get down and check out your place sometime. I am looking forward to gaining some knowledge from you in the next few weeks if all goes right.

My stressed out Andy, oh yes, I miss those days. BTW, Vegetables?? Does McDonald's sell those? Since when do you eat Vegetables?


Andy Borgmann
Thursday, October 18, 2007 10:08:25 AM    Quote Selection | Permalink
Gravatar.com
Aww.. gotta wait for approval.. thats too bad, I guess that means you wont be posting my rants from now on.
SPAM SPAM SPAM

What? I gotta wait 30 seconds too!?!?! this sucks.
I have to approve all comments. Although I am a little dissapointed pmccarty that you of all people haven't figured out a way to hack around the system!

You better watch yourself, or soon I will make you actually give me a valid e-mail address for submission. I doubt andy_kicks_it@his_new_pad.its.delicio.us is your actual new e-mail address ;)

BTW, Vegetables?? Does McDonald's sell those? Since when do you eat Vegetables?
Sure McDonald's sells vegetables. You can get a Quarter Pounder with lettuce. Of course, I don't get it with lettuce, but I COULD!

I don't eat vegetables, don't worry. Your world hasn't fallen apart. Molly's Mom is trying to get me to eat vegetables. Which every other girlfriend's mother in the past has tried that and failed. But Molly's mom seems a bit more persistence, so we'll see.

On a side note, I actually use to tell one girlfriend's mom that I do eat vegetables because Doritos are made of corn - that statement was wrong on so many different levels.


CJ
Saturday, October 20, 2007 03:02:07 PM    Quote Selection | Permalink
Gravatar.com dude - a wedding isn't stressful AT ALL - Andrea did all the work - I just asked for an invitation...


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What's Andy Up To?
Andy Borgmann - TwitterAdd Notre Dame, Alabama, Georgia Tech, Georgia, Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts, and Pittsburgh Steelers to the iPhone calender: check!
Andy Borgmann - Twitter"Ice Is Back With A Brand New Invention... Ok Just A YouTube Video" - http://is.gd/eRLS0 - I am back on the blog baby! More to come.
Andy Borgmann - TwitterI opened up my to-do list pad and what did I find? Drawings by Jadyn. It made me smile. Thanks Jadyn I needed that http://twitpic.com/2ka5uo
Andy Borgmann - TwitterLet it be known: the first official act of my 2022 IN Senate campaign was today when Lisa Blosser officially changed her name to Borgmann.
Andy Borgmann - Twitter@and_elf Greedy Capitalist :)
Andy Borgmann - TwitterForgot my phone at home today: saved by GMail phone - love that feature of GMail. Another reason that @EricaKJustice should drop hotmail.
Andy Borgmann - TwitterJust bought 2 things I have never bought ever. Advil and rubbing alcohol. If my ear is still there in the morning it may be time 2 see a Dr
Andy Borgmann - TwitterI find this to be a fascinating read of the human condition: http://is.gd/eM26J - even though it sad, I agree the findings are accurate
Andy Borgmann - TwitterHot damn the Broncos are playing the Steelers on Fox. Change final destination from home to Jenny's. Her Steelers are going down!
Andy Borgmann - TwitterLeaving the Fort. You guys are the best. Thank you so much!

Description
Andy's blog aims to be like a Scrubs episode, mixed with a Chuck Klosterman column, centered around the topic of faith. It is open, honest, raw, and a little embarrassing. It is a place to discuss religion, politics, ministry, pop culture, and well, just life - especially focused on the time of life we call our 20s!

Andy is the Executive Producer of The Allen Hunt Show; a progressive (in the literal sense), talk radio show based in Atlanta, GA aimed at bringing faith back into the public discussion. Andy enjoys travel, aviation, web design, politics, friends, and faith. He holds that the secret to a full life is loving God and loving people - which he fails at constantly.

Andy grew up in Fort Wayne, IN. He now lives in Alpharetta, GA.

More information about Andy can be found at www.2timothy42.org or Andy's Facebook.

P.S. As has been mentioned on air, Andy is horrible at grammar and spelling. Please excuse any mistakes, trust me, he's sorry.



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