It’s been a busy in week in our household. We are trying to purchase our first home and our time has been consumed with the process. I’ve been seeking information on the topic from fellow personal finance bloggers. Below are a few that caught my attention:

My Favorite Articles Found This Week

$8000 Housing Stimulus Tax Credit: Requirements and Common Questions. Answers questions associated with the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit and links to the IRS Form to be completed at tax time. (@ My Money Blog)

FHA Loans, Mortgage Insurance Premiums, and My Extra Income. A guest post detailing how a first time home buyer is using an FHA loan to purchase her town home. (@ fivecentnickel)

First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit Worth The Cost? Discusses whether or not the tax credit did what was intended, both long and short-term. (@ Financial Highway)

Are you Taking Advantage of the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit? A poll is included with some interesting results about the credit and whether or not you purchased your home this year. (@ 20 Something Finance)

How To Not Suck At Blogging. This post isn’t related to buying your first home, but since I am trying to learn more about blogging, I couldn’t help but link to this interesting and inspiring post. (@ Man vs. Debt)

We Are Getting Closer
We signed the seller’s counter offer and are officially under contract.  We have ten days to back out without question. However, if we choose to cancel the deal after next Tuesday, we will have to kiss the $2000 in earnest money goodbye.  It’s time to do our due diligence and make sure we are getting everything we paid for.

Heads From Tails
It’s been an eventful two days trying to not only make the planets align, but figuring out what the alignment is actually supposed to look like.  We are very thankful to have a knowledgeable real estate agent working on our behalf.  She has 30 plus years of experience and it shows.  Not only did she help us decide what our needs and wants are, she’s given great recommendations regarding our mortgage banker, home owner’s insurance provider, and home inspector.  If you’ve never purchased a house before, I can’t stress how important it is to find a reputable Realtor to help you along your way. Really.  I know some of you out there are thinking about how much money you will save by doing this on your own.  Don’t bother.  Spend your time doing the things you already do well.  The seller will pay your real estate agent’s commission anyway.

While we are still trying to cross our “t’s” and dot our “i’s”, here’s a quick list of what has happened since signing the contract:

1. Made contact with recommended home inspector and set up inspection for Friday morning.  It’s our understanding that many inspectors prefer that you are not present as they perform their inspections.  Our Realtor only recommended insepctors that allowed us to be present during the inspection, and both my wife and I fully intend on being there the whole time.
2. Made contact with mortgage banker, American State Bank, who had previously pre-approved us when shopping for a home.  We compared the 15 and 30 year fixed rate mortgages and ultimately decided to lock in a 4.5% interest rate on a 15 year fixed loan.  We will actually be signing an 80/10/10 loan.  10% down, 10% second lien at 6%, and the 80% represents the remaining balance.  This will save us the $40-$50 in Private Mortgage Insurance each month.
3. Made contact with home owner’s insurance provider and received a quote.  We went with a reputable local provider who’s rates were roughly 30% less than some of the national brands.  We were initially concerned about what would happened if we ever had to collect, given their rates were so much cheaper.  But after finding an A+ rating given by the Better Business Bureau, we feel comfortable with our decision.

I think we have done all we can for now.  American State Bank will be sending us additional paperwork soon and we will eventually have to meet with the insurance company to sign even more paperwork.  We are both a little frightened about the leap, but we are well prepared to handle the commitment.  We’ve been saving for a couple of years now, shopping and doing research in our local market, and we have been living on a budget.  Thanks to adhering to a budget for the past several months, we are comfortable with how much money we have allocated to the house payment.  The excitement and anticipation of owning our own home along with the confidence that we are making the right decision far outweighs any other emotions currently present throughout this process!

I just finished one of my all-time favorite Christmas movies, "It's A Wonderful Life."  My wife had never seen the whole movie, so we made a point to do it right.  Popcorn, cokes, and cuddling.  This made for a great evening, but I found my strongly growing sentiments about debt, loans, and money creeping into my thoughts.  Oh to be an adult!  It appears that I've lost my innocence and ability to enjoy this movie for what it is supposed to be.  Here are a couple of thoughts that kept running through my head, no matter how hard I tried to stop them:

All Rich People Aren't Evil
Mean ol' Mr. Potter sure was cruel.  How could he steal $8,000 from the Bailey's, call the cops, suggest that George (Jimmy Stewart) had squandered away his B&L shareholders' money on gambling and women, and still get a good night's sleep?  Now I know that greedy rich people exist in the real world, but if you've read my previous post about becoming wealthy, then you know I find it frustrating that our society is so quick to vilify the wealthy.  The wealthy often have the most to give, and although I have no statistics to throw your way, I have little doubt they do so.  Take Dave Ramsey's plan for example.  His final "baby step" is to build wealth and give.

Don't Spend Money You Don't Have
Mr. Potter made the statement that people should wait and save their money before buying a home, to which George Bailey responded, "how long should they wait and what should they wait for?"  George asked, (rather sarcastically) "if people should wait until their children grow old and leave home?"  So unlike Mr. Potter's bank, George's Building and Loan provided money to people who probably shouldn't have been buying homes in the first place. Who knew that George Bailey/Jimmy Stewart was a subprime lender!?  Of course, everything works out in the end for George Bailey.  If only real life were like the movies.

It's impossible and probably sacrilegious to like Mr. Potter in this movie, but once again, I have to agree with him.  After all, we can blame a significant portion of today's poor economy on those who took out loans for bigger homes than they could afford, with little or no money down.  We can blame another significant portion of today's poor economy on the lenders who lent money to people who couldn't pay it back.  If only people had listened to mean ol' Mr. Potter's advice and saved for a down payment on a home they could afford…