#Projecthuis has ended: I managed to buy a house! I can finally shout it from the rooftops – and from now on, from my own one too: I finally bought a house! After responding over 350 lottery, Funda and direct-sale houses, more than 50 viewings, and being outbid countless times. I’ll tell you here about the moment it finally happened, openly and honestly, just like I’ve done in all my previous blogs about #projecthouse. And even now it wasn’t all fun and games…
It was a gray Wednesday morning in October when I got to see what has now become my house. To maintain a bit of privacy, I’m not sharing the exact address, but it’s in a neighborhood in Eindhoven. Honestly: if I had a choice, I would have bought something in a quiet village. Eindhoven has become so crowded and busy that I’m longing for some peace and quiet and nature. But at the same time, with my budget, you literally have no choice. You have to be happy if you can buy a house anywhere. So, when I had the opportunity to view a former rental house for sale on the outskirts of the city, of course I went.
Blessed with a kind friend who’s an architect and wanted to come along to see the construction, I rang the doorbell. Imagine: in this price range, viewings are held all day long, sometimes as walk-in hours, otherwise new people every twenty minutes.
Fifteen minutes
We were quickly given a tour of the house by the real estate agent, and honestly, it was a run-down mess. In the house I learned I was the first one who responded to this ‘first-come-first-served’ house ad and that means that if you want it, you may buy it for the asking price. I had fifteen minutes (!) to decide. “You can call me later as well, but chances are the person after you will have already bought it. We sell the houses in no time,” she ensured me. That hit me: I had fifteen minutes to decide on the biggest purchase of my life. Spending 360,000 euros minus a 20 percent ‘discount’* in fifteen minutes. I felt panic in my body, along with many other emotions. I hadn’t even seen a building report or completed seller’s questionnaire, and I already had to say whether I wanted it.
And honestly? If I had a choice, I would never have bought such a dilapidated building. There’s no kitchen, it seems like it’s never been properly aired out, weeds are growing into the living room, and the parquet flooring has been violently ripped out. Just like the gas fireplace. That hole has been filled with a plank and foam. Aaaarghh, what am I doing to myself if I buy this and have to renovate and arrange it all by myself? But at the same time, I also thought, ‘Bridget, you only have one chance. You can’t say no. You should be grateful you’re finally getting a chance. You have to accept that with your budget, this is the only thing you can buy in this market.’ My friend, who was with me, didn’t see any immediate red flags in the construction, and that gave me some peace of mind.
Saying yes
And then, then I said yes. You know what was most bizarre? Immediately afterward, I felt terrible for the person who came after me and missed out. Probably missed out again, because I’ve been that person many times myself. I felt sad. The man got a call and wanted to come for the viewing anyway. Our eyes met, and he looked cold, accompanied by his—I think father—who had a similar expression. I’m Sorry. I really hope you get your turn too, and better than this.
With all the emotion and excitement, I forgot to take pictures. I’d taken two in the living room, and that’s it. Not a good idea if everyone wants to see it afterward and it’s no longer online. But that’s a worry for later.
The stressful period that followed was getting the mortgage. As an employee and an entrepreneur, it takes longer anyway, but the investigation you have to undergo for an income statement as an entrepreneur feels like you’re getting an internal financial echo. And you start to question everything, ‘did I do it right?’ But after a few weeks, the income statement was awarded. Then the bank still had to approve it, and after a bit of a back and forth, they agreed to the mortgage. The final stop was today: the notary. I now have a house and can hardly believe it. I want to thank everyone who supported me in this quest; thanks to you, I’ve maintained a little hope even during the difficult times.
Love and endless gratitude,
Bridget
P.S. To renovate this dilapidated building, I think I’ll have to work even harder to earn some extra cash. Do you have any interesting (temporary) freelance projects in communication, research, or journalism that I could help you with? Let me know! 😉
*The discount I’m writing about isn’t an actual discount, but a sales concept where you can buy a house at market price minus a percentage—in my case, 20%—depending on your income. If you sell the house again, that percentage determines the profit or loss share. You don’t have to overbid, but these are almost always former rental properties, so they often require quite some work. Sometimes you’re lucky and that’s not the case, but those houses are almost always sold to one of the lottery candidates, not through ‘direct sale’ as in this case.
