Back in April I mentioned that Brian and I were going to be looking at houses to buy soon. We had been living with Brian’s mom for over a year, we had saved up some money, and, well, it was time.

And we did start looking at houses shortly after that… with some pretty specific criteria. We were really looking in only two towns – Bristol and Warren, RI – because that’s where Brian’s landscaping business does most of its work. Obviously, we were also looking within a certain price range. There were plenty of single family houses in these two towns within our price range… but Brian really wanted a multi-family.

His parents own quite a bit of property, and he has helped manage them for a number of years. So he wanted to make our first home purchase one with at least two units, with us living in one unit and renting out the other. Then, down the line he wants to purchase a single family and use the multi-family as an investment property.

As it turned out, there weren’t a ton of multi-family homes that matched our town(s) and price range criteria, so we decided to move in to an apartment and continue to look for houses.

Wouldn’t you know it – a few weeks after we moved to the apartment, Brian happened upon a house that had just come on the market – and totally matched what we were both looking for (my criteria included living in a neighborhood that felt like a little community, and this house was on a street with cute sidewalks, within walking distance to the downtown Bristol area).

We went to see the house with our realtor (my cousin Donna) and my Dad. It was clear that the house needed some interior work, but nothing that Brian, with the help of a contractor he knows, couldn’t fix (you’ll remember that Brian is a do-it-yourself kind of guy).

It also had a nice backyard for the doggies – and a shed for Brian.

After a little back-and-forth on price negotiation, and figuring out some construction loan stuff, it seems like we are going to be homeowners – and landlords! – rather soon! If everything continues to go smoothly, we will close on August 31!