This post was sponsored and paid for by SunTrust Mortgage. All opinions are my own.
About ten years ago, before Jeff and I were even engaged, we bought a house together in Jacksonville. We still own that house, though we’ve been renting it out since we moved away five years ago. At the time I was 22, and buying a house felt both incredibly exciting and a little terrifying. Neither of us had gone through the process before, so things like getting approved for a mortgage, locking an interest rate, saving for a down payment — it all seemed overwhelming.
Fortunately, my mom had previously worked as a real estate agent and had experience buying homes herself, which was a huge help. If we hadn’t had her to answer questions and walk us through the basics, I’m not sure what we would have done.
I imagine many first-time buyers feel the same way, which is why SunTrust Mortgage created a clear, step-by-step guide: Your Guide to Home Buying. The guide explains the entire home-buying process from start to finish to help buyers understand each step. I read the whole guide recently and learned a few things I didn’t even know — definitely worth bookmarking if you’re thinking of buying soon.
So what’s our (first) home-buying story?
Once we decided to buy together, we spent weeks looking at houses in our favorite neighborhood, Riverside. Probably around 20 homes. Most of the properties within our budget needed extensive work — I mean a lot of work. Growing up, my parents renovated every house we lived in, so I was comfortable with the idea of a fixer-upper and liked the idea of increasing equity through improvements. Jeff wasn’t quite as enthusiastic about taking on projects we didn’t know how to do, but he was open to the idea.
After a month or two, we found a modest house in the neighborhood we wanted that we could actually afford. It needed some updates and was just over 1,000 square feet, but the projects were manageable. The house had great natural light, a fenced backyard, and original hardwood floors — all must-haves for us. After a few days of nerve-wracking negotiation, several inspections, and a lot of paperwork, we became homeowners in about 30 days.
I remember the excitement the day we got the keys. We walked through the empty house and imagined how we’d make it ours — renovating the kitchen, painting the interior, eventually redoing the bathroom. There was a lot to do (and some projects are still unfinished), but it felt like home.
There were many things I didn’t love about the house — dark wood trim, a small dated bathroom, outdated light fixtures, and a cramped kitchen. Still, something about it felt right for us. When we moved in, we had the roof replaced (we negotiated this into the sale after the inspector’s report), painted every room, replaced the washer and dryer, refreshed the fireplace (Jeff’s dad built a new mantel and we replaced the tile around the hearth with a more neutral option), and swapped out light fixtures and ceiling fans.
About a year later we updated the kitchen on a tight budget — roughly $2,500 for new counters, a subway tile backsplash, an undermount sink, a faucet, and some other small changes. Looking back, some of our choices make me cringe (black granite and green walls — really?), and given the chance we’d do parts of it differently now. When we eventually list the house again, we plan to remodel the kitchen and bathroom more thoughtfully, so there’s still an opportunity to improve things.
Despite the imperfections, it was a wonderful first home and holds so many memories. That’s the house where we got engaged — yes, sitting on the couch after a bit of an argument; we like to keep it romantic — and where we lived when we married a year later. It will always be our first house. While it’s not a Pinterest-perfect showpiece, it was ours, and we loved it. The before-and-after photos were taken nine or ten years ago, so I’ll give ourselves a pass for some of the design choices and photo quality.
If you’re thinking about buying a home, check out the SunTrust Mortgage home-buying guide. It’s designed to simplify the process and give first-time buyers confidence by explaining what to expect at each stage.
Do you own a home? What was your first home-buying experience like? If you don’t own a home yet, what would your dream house look like? I’d love to hear.
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