The Homebuying Story of Amy & Doug

A Walk Down Memory Lane

“Home is where the heart is.”  The proverb couldn’t be more accurate.  It is the place that houses all of our childhood memories.  That’s where we grew up, where we became the people we are today, where we learned some of life’s most basic principles from our closest family members.  A lot of times, the dream home a buyer envisions is something similar in design and/or size to the home they grew up in.  When out looking at homes, they are making mental comparisons between the home they are walking through and the home they walked through every day of their young lives.

Amy and Doug are a newly-married couple—both twenty-seven years old—living in the same apartment for the last two years in the Eltingville neighborhood of Staten Island.  Now that they have signed their marriage contract, they are ready to sign a mortgage contract.  It is time for them to go house hunting!  Out of the two individuals, Amy is the picky buyer and wears the pants in the decision-making process.  The reason: she has had this image of the perfect home in her mind since she was about seventeen years old.  Her first and biggest stipulation was that she wanted a wrap-around porch, similar to the one she spent most of her summer nights on with her father, as they rocked back and forth on the porch swing reading storybook after storybook from when she was a toddler up well into her teen years.  Of course, later on they sat in silence and read different novels to themselves, but they shared in the peace and the nature around in.  Her house was in a wooded area on Lighthouse Hill, with beautiful greenery on all sides, including across the way.  The giant backyard—equipped with a big deck great for hosting their annual extended family barbeque—and an oak tree strong enough to sustain a tire swing are amongst the desired home attributes on her list.  Then there’s the wood-burning fireplace to make s’mores, to sip hot cocoa by on cold, snowy nights, and to hang each child’s stocking on in alphabetical order during the Christmas season.  The beautiful, wood floors throughout the house are perfect for a late-night dance practice when you’re a week away from recital and can’t seem to keep still in anticipation.  Mom’s amazingly immaculate, bright white kitchen always smelled of home-cooked Italian delicacies and melt-in-your-mouth chewy, chocolate chip cookies.  Amy wants a beautiful home, but not just any beautiful home—one that captures her heart with the potential for her own children to have similar beautiful memories.  In this situation, the home buying process may be more emotional and detail-driven in order for Amy to find a home that can compare to her childhood residence.

Your home is meant to be your safe haven.  It houses not only your physical body and your personal possessions, but also your most prized memories.  Buying your first home is a huge step and the biggest material shopping experience you will endure.  Be sure to think carefully about where you can see yourself building a life together with your partner, and maybe even building a family.  Think about the life you want them to be able to live and the opportunities and later memories you want them to enjoy.  Where do you want to establish your family traditions?

Finding your “Home Sweet Home”: Where does one begin?