I ♥ Cherryhurst

Amongst my colleagues at John Daugherty, Realtors, I am considered young in the business. Maybe so, but there's an opportunity being young did afford me recently: stepping into the shoes of a first-time homebuyer. This, my husband Chad and I accomplished at the end of last year, when we stumbled upon and purchased our first home in Cherryhurst, an adorable subdivision tucked quietly inside of Montrose.

It was an uncertain time in the economy. Houston was just starting to feel what we did of the recession, which they say has maybe turned a corner now. If it is in fact turning a corner, Houston did not experience it like the rest of the country did. We had a mild case of the recession. But at the time, interest rates were low--not as low as they got, the house fit the bill and we were eager to become homeowners. Fortunately, we were eligible for the $7,500 first-time homebuyer tax credit that is paid back over the course of 15 years. Unfortunately, we missed the cut--by seven days--for the new-and-improved $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit that never has to be repaid!

We already knew we liked Cherryhurst. Its location cannot be beat. It has culture and an urban vibe with a twist of traditional neighborhood feel. Cherryhurst is about four streets wide by five streets tall with Cherryhurst Park at its center, offering tennis, a community center, a field to throw a football or run the dog (future dog for us...one day!?) and a playground. While we haven't made use of the park on a regular basis yet, we have enjoyed walking to nearby restaurants (our favorite: Hugo's), shops and bars--something you can't often do in Houston, whose walk score is the definition of average at 51/100. Montrose ranks second within Houston for walkabilty, with Downtown ahead at numero uno.

While I could go on about how I ♥ Cherryhurst, learning a few things about the home-buying process would probably be more worthwhile to my loyal readership. So, here are a few tips:

• Get organized with your lender sooner than later. You don't want to fall in love with a home you can't afford. You also don't want to drag on getting your loan approval and have your earnest money up for grabs if you don't end up getting the loan approved in the time prescribed.
• Don't worry about bothering the sellers during the option period. The option period is your time to bring in all kinds of specialists, not just the inspector himself. Get everything suspect checked out and know what you are buying.
• Try to keep it friendly with the sellers. You never know when you'll need to ask them a question about the house down the road.

Buying your first home is both exciting and scary. Trust your instincts and you will make the right the decisions. And expect to keep learning about home ownership every day.