So far we’ve looked at 9 houses in Irving. We immediately rejected 4 of them because they
needed far more work than we want to invest (floors that slope, complete remodels, etc). The other five are still in the running, but each one has one or more significant drawbacks. Fortunately, we’re not in any hurry and can be patient. We want to be able to stay in the new house for many years and raise our kids there, so we want a house with enough space for that, but we also want it to be easily affordable on my income alone. It’s a lot to consider, but we’re having fun looking.

I am intrigued by people’s different approaches to house shopping. When I told my parents and sister we wanted to move, they started driving around looking for FOR SALE signs and pulling flyers. They also assumed that our realtor was finding us houses to see. They still seem surprised when I tell them we’re finding all of our houses ourselves through the Internet instead. We tell our realtor which ones we want to see, and she makes it happen. We might drive around a neighborhood or a specific house we’ve found just to see what it’s like, but not to look for houses. Many, if not most, houses in a neighborhood don’t meet our criteria, which is why we search online. I track the interesting ones in Excel spreadsheets that show prices, size, and amenities so I can compare them more easily. I don’t know whether it’s a generational thing or just the fact that I’m a geek. =)