Home Sweet Home

It has been one year since we bought our first house.

We started looking for houses shortly after we became engaged. We started in Elk River. After no luck of finding the house of our dreams, we moved on to Anoka, then Champlin and Ramsey, then Andover, and Coon Rapids. All the houses started to blend together until we couldn't distinguish between them. After 50 houses, we expanded our search west into Dayton, St Michael, and Otsego. It was the fifth house we looked at that final day that caught our eye.

Our realtor was reluctant to show it to us because it was a Model Home. Typically, builders will erect one Model Home in a development to showcase the different styles and options they offer. These houses go up for sale almost immediately, but the builder won't release them until they are finished building in the development. Our wonderful realtor was worried that the house wouldn't be available for several months.

As soon as we pulled in the driveway, Richard was sold. We had started looking at newer split level houses, but they all looked the same. Especially on the outside. This was a three level split and it looked different. I fell in love with its brand new smell and clean slate. My parents had built their house; I'd never lived in a house that had memories of other families. Richard also loved the newness, but also the unique floor plan. I loved corner kitchen sink with two windows. I love the laundry room was on the 2nd level next to the bedrooms. Richard loved the undeveloped field behind the house (but for how long would it stay undeveloped). And we both loved the quiet, family neighborhood. And best of all...we could see the stars at night.

We made an offer that day. The house was available immediately, but we weren't the only family with an offer on the table. The next day we left for Tennessee for my Grandparent's 55th wedding anniversary.

We were stuck in St. Louis, our plane delayed multiple times. Our realtor called us. The builder accepted a different offer because she could close sooner than us. We were crushed. I sat on the floor near gate B29 and cried on Richard's shoulder.

When we arrived in Memphis, we got a call from our realtor. The initial buyer refused to agree to arbitration if something went wrong, so the builder backed out. The house was ours if we wanted it.

We moved in six weeks later.