Several years ago, I was offered the opportunity to transition into a job in a larger city. This opportunity came by way of my current company being bought out by a larger company and locations being consolidated. Needless to say, we weren’t exactly seeking this change.

My husband and I had been living in a suburb 60 miles outside of Chicago. He has always commuted towards the city for his job(45 minutes each way since he was 18), but I have always worked locally. We had wanted for years to move closer to his job and experience life outside of our small town(and life with a shortened commute).

So we moved out of our tri-level home and into a beautiful loft rental. It was love at first sight. High ceilings, polished concrete walls, exposed duct work and large windows. Renting was fun for a while. But, after a few years we started to crave owning a home again.

We defined financial goals for ourselves and worked towards one day purchasing again. It would take several years to get to the point where we were ready. However, now the dream was there, and each year it became more real. I needed to some how be connected to that dream in a new way other than just a goal off in the distance. So, I became a Realtor.com junkie.

I mean total junkie. I was like a new, relaxing hobby. At night, I would scour listings and pour over pictures. I started to discover what I wanted out of our next home, the neighborhoods that seemed appealing and how much work we would be willing to put into renovations. Through the picutres, I started imagining how I would redesign the spaces and if that matched up with our skill set and budget. We knew that the home didn’t need to be in new condition. We loved the idea of personalizing our home. Frankly, if you have rented for more than five years, you know exactly what I am talking about. Free reign to do what ever you want: no more landlords!!

It’s funny how the road to your goals and dreams seems so long and drawn out. Yet, suddenly you are in the thick of exactly what you had set out to accomplish. Before we knew it we were in the pre-approval process and hiring a realtor.

A 1947 Dutch colonial in historic neighborhood was the third home we toured with our realtor. It was love at first sight. But, you’re instincts kick in and you start to analyze if this is right. A thousand questions ran through our minds:

• Are you comfortable with the payment?
• Can you see yourself loving living here?
• Can you see yourself being comfortable here for a long time?
• Is there room to grow?

It was a huge purchase. We knew this was going to be a long term purchase for us.

Then my realtor.com junkie skills kicked in. I knew the market, the neighborhood, the other options on the market, and the average price of the homes in our preferred town and the surrounding areas.

Because of all this information that had been burned into my mind over the last few years, I knew a few things right away; it was a great price for the square footage and there were not many other houses on the market at the time that we would even consider.

So, the very next day after our first tour of the modern colonial we wrote an offer. And, it was accepted. We never questioned our decision(Though, our realtors response was, “Are you sure you don’t want to see a few more homes?”).

We both say all the time that we have never spent so much money and been so sure that absolutely ever dollar we will pay to have the pleasure of living in our Modern Colonial is TOTALLY worth it.