I've been at this house hunting thing for about a month. Kyle and I are probably in a little different situation the most home buyers: we have no lease ending, we're not trying to beat the first time home buyer's tax credit deadline, and we're not willing to settle (since I never want to move again :) ). That being said, I should probably apologize to every person I've ever done business with: I'm a pain in the booty! My obsessive, compulsive, anal, perfectionist personally really shines... (That's great for the clients I work with because I make sure to cross all the 'T's' and dot all the 'I's' but it doesn't make it real easy for me to actually be the client.)

In the last month we've looked at about 30 homes (the average home buyer looks at 7), changed out mind about as many times, made 2 offers (that's not all that out of the ordinary), fought like cats and dogs (again, very common when house hunting), and finally determined that we should just play 'chicken' with the homes we like.

As the buyer I want a good deal. I am willing to pay a fair price for a home but I'm not willing to pay more for a house then market value dictates just because it's 'perfect' for my family. The sellers of the two homes my husband and I made offers on have only owned the homes for a few years and bought them before the 'bust' so they really paid too much for them. That means, they have no equity in the properties and are trying pass along that inflated price to someone else (me).

Both homes we made offers on are vacant (and have been on the market for almost a year) so we're hoping that at some point they will choose to 'cut their loses' and coming down in price - or at least consider working with us.

Luckily, the 'slow season' is right around the corner. People really don't want to move around the holiday so new homes are not coming onto the market and buyers aren't buying. I would like to think that I will be able to use that to my advantage.

Until then, we are going to continue watching the market and hoping that a third 'perfect' home appears!

As some of my followers know (and if you read my first post from the YPN blog) I'm in the market for a new home for my husband and I. I have purchased a home before (my downtown condo in 2004) but my husband wasn't my husband at the time so he has not purchased a home before.

As a REALTOR, sometime I forget about the emotional side of buying or selling a home (come on - it's my job to pull the emotion out of the transaction) but this process should be a nice 'reality check'.

I thought I would write my experiences, thoughts, and emotions here to help others (first time home buyers or not) realize that even us 'old has beens' go through the gambit of emotions when buying or selling their home.

I'll start with our criteria:

• In the Blue Valley, Olathe, or Shawnee Mission school district
• Close to highway access (any highway - K7 and K10 count!)
• 4 Bedrooms, 2 1/2 or 3 1/2 bathrooms
• Daylight windows in the basement (or a walk out/up)
• Not North facing
• Preferably a 3 car garage