Surprise! I Bought a House + Before Photos

I did a thing. . . I bought a house!

It was kind of on a whim, but I’ll explain more below.

Well I actually bought my home a few months ago, but I put off sharing this milestone because I wanted a chance to get settled in first and really enjoy it as my own.

Crazy Story: I honestly had not planned on buying a house anytime soon. My plan was to move to Dallas and back to the city life. But then something changed and I decided to stay in Oklahoma close to my parents and my family.

And then the question came up: should I rent or should I buy a house? I had planned on renting for the next nine months to a year and I wasn’t going to buy a home until Q3 or Q4 of this year. So I started looking at homes only to get a feel of what part of town or Oklahoma City District I wanted to live in. Then in a hazy slumber, this home popped up out of nowhere on Zillow. Kind of like how I bought those plane tickets to Fiji on a whim half asleep in the wee hours of the morning. Recognize a trend here?

I saw this home later that day and I loved it so much that I put an offer in that night.

And get this, because my home sat completed on the market for a little while I was actually able to purchase it at a great price which in turn was instant equity. Boom! Cha-Ching!

mel drake signing closing documents title company new home owner www.thisismeldrake.com

New Construction Home vs. Older Home: My History of Home Buying

After years of remodeling and fixing up homes, I just didn’t want to do it anymore. At this point in my life and being a single female, I truly just did not have the bandwidth to remodel another house by myself.

I didn't want to tile another floor or backsplash.

I didn’t want to hang another sheet of sheetrock.

I didn’t want to change out any more electrical sockets and switches.

I didn’t want to sand and paint anymore cabinets.

And I didn’t want to hire contractors and subcontractors only to supervise, worry about deadlines, expenses and all the stuff that goes with remodeling an older home. I’ve been there and done that and no thanks (for right now).

So for me a new build home was the perfect solution. I just didn’t want a cookie cutter home. And fortunately, I found a custom home builder.

What are the Benefits to Buying a New Construction Home?

As a single woman, making my dollars count is super important to me. So when making my decision, the following were a few advantages for buying a new construction home:

Energy efficiency

Low maintenance

New home warranty

New technology

Move-in ready (Most important)

What’s Next?

Decorating (of course). Y’all, I have no sense of home decor. I’m serious. I can’t decorate to save my life. We all have our strengths and fashion is definitely more my thing. So if you have any decorating ideas, Pinterest boards I should check out or Interior Designers I should follow on Instagram, please help a sista out by sharing and commenting below.

Check back soon for more home updates.