by Karen Zortman-Loos

Created on: March 05, 2009   Last Updated: May 17, 2009

Buying our first home was such a whirlwind experience! Luckily, we had a very patience realtor who held out hand through our first buying experience. We had always lived in an apartment since we had been married, and felt it was time to get our first home. We wanted a neighhood where our daughter could feel safe, with a big yard, sandbox, and other kids to play with.

Drew, our realtor, had just started working in the business, and he worked in the same department as I worked in at Citibank, so I felt comfortable in asking him to be our realtor. We had some pretty good ideas what we wanted, and our town was just nominated as the number one place to live back in 1993. There were people swarming into our city because of the status that Money Magazine just had rated Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Well my husband was a person that made sure our list of things was meant for our new home. He would indulge us with his ideas, and when he found one he liked he would "fret and stir" over the house that he liked. We found out that if we took too much time in considering a home it could be gone in a flash.

But we finally found a home after looking since January. We learned what it would take to buy the home. First we put down $500 to show that we were confident that this house was the one we wanted. We signed paperwork with our realtor for our offer to the sellers. The sellers came back with their accepted terms within a day or so. We got most of the conditions we wanted, and the price of the home. We meet with our mortgage banker to start the paperwork for our new home. The panoramic view of the community was just beautiful. We could see the hospital, the lights of the city, and we eventually learned it was a great place to view fireworks.

We were young, and didn't have a down payment. My parents were okay with giving us a gift letter, and the down payment. We closed pretty quickly, and were in our new home within a month or so. We had friends and family who helped with our new journey. We served pizza and drank beers around our new bar in the basement.

We started to change things in the house: changed the paint, carpets, and removed such relics as mirrored tile in a bathroom. We put in a new air-conditioning unit, and some other numerous things. When that project was done, my husband started on the yard, trimming trees, cutting down trees, and giving the place a wonderful curb appeal.

Unfortunately, we had to move from our first home, and the new neighbors and friends we had made. In the summer of 1994, we had to start the process over again.

We sold our home pretty quickly, and made some money from our home improvements. This time we had money for a down, and we began the search once more. The comical thing about selling the house was that many people wanted to buy our house. We had made many upgrades, and they saw the value of those upgrades. Two couples were fighting amongst each other to get the house. They weren't throwing fists at one another; they wanted to be the first to make an offer. Our same realtor sold our home. He had to watch others go through the pains of selecting our home, and making it their own.

These buyers must have been more seasoned at selecting and buying a home; then my husband and I were the first time around! They knew what they wanted, and they acted on it quickly!

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