I Didn’t Think Homeownership Was For Me

Some of you may have seen my Tiktok where I talk about buying my first home so I wanted to tell the full story here.

It started with a random Zillow scroll.

One day I was scrolling through listings and came across some really nice townhomes that I realized I could actually afford.

Before that moment, I had convinced myself that the housing market was basically impossible. I thought homeownership was completely out of reach and something I’d maybe do years from now — if ever. Once I actually started looking, things became a lot clearer.

So I scheduled a tour.

That first tour taught me a lot. It helped me figure out where I wanted to live, what I cared about, and what I was willing to compromise on. It also helped me realized that I would probably need to increase my budget to get what I want. Sometimes you have to start before you know exactly what you’re looking for. After that, I kept working with my agent and we started sending each other Zillow listings.

Then I found the townhome.

Toured it almost immediately. It had only been on the market for three days. So my agent asked, “Do you want to put an offer in?” I was completely in love with it. I talked it over with my aunt and decided to go for it. Then immediately thought “Oh shit. This is actually happening.” I ended up not getting the house and that’s okay.

Then I found another townhome. Same area.

It wasn’t as updated and definitely needed some TLC, but it felt right. So we put an offer in and this time I got it! That moment felt surreal. I never saw myself as a homeowner. I thought it was too much responsibility. I didn’t think it was worth it, just not my thing.

The moment my offer was accepted, I had to accept something too.

I was becoming a homeowner. That feeling felt amazing. Not just say I owned property, but I had accomplished something I never even pictured myself doing within 3 weeks.

The entire home-buying process is something I’ll save for later because trust me, it’s a lot but I learned a valuable lesson in all of this.

You’re never really ready. Being ready is a decision. I know people usually say this about having kids, but I think it applies to other milestones in life too. Starting a business, moving somewhere new, buying a home. At some point, you stop waiting to feel ready and decide you’re going to be ready. You know what I always say, stay ready so you don’t got to get ready. ;) You got this.

If You Only Do One Thing

Stop deciding what’s impossible for yourself before you’ve actually looked into it.

You might be closer than you think.