9 Things I Learned About Buying A Home In The Quad Cities

It's official Quad Cities, like it or not, my wife and I are here for awhile! We not only purchased a home in the Quad Cities, but we purchased our first home EVER and we are so happy that it is here.

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My wife Ellie and I are officially homeowners. More specifically first time homeowners. We closed on our house on Friday which means we now get to officially call the Quad Cities our home.

Before, we lived in a few apartments in Cedar Falls, Waterloo, Dubuque and Davenport. After 1 year of calling the new and awesome apartments, The Brenton Lofts in Davenport, our temporary home, we purchased a home because of how much we fell in love with QC. Even despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we knew we wanted to live here and really experience what it's like to be Quad Citizens.

Our home that we purchased is on the Iowa side in Davenport We are absolutely in love with our new home and if I could invite everyone over, I definitely would. It has three bedrooms, a pool, big yard, and a pool! Yeah, I said pool twice, I'm pumped about it! But it is a great first home for Ellie and I.

When it came to actually buying the house, I can tell you right now, Ellie and I had a very smooth process. Every step of the way we had many people helping us, giving us advice, teaching us things, and being super kind. Of course with being first time home buyers, there is a lot of things that I learned.

If you, or someone you know is looking to buy a home for the first time, whether it's in the QC or not, here are some things that Ellie and I learned that may be of service to you:

It's going to seem like a major task to buy a house. As scary and time consuming as it is, it's not. You just need to start the process because no one will do it for you.
Find yourself a great realtor. Deb McGrath was ours and she was awesome! I would refer her 1,000 times over to anyone. If you don't know anyone who is a realtor, you want an unbiased opinion, someone who will show you a house at the drop of hat and knows the QC very well, Deb is your girl.
People say one of two things, "make sure you look at a lot of houses so you know what you want." Or they say "it doesn't matter how many houses you look at because when you know, you know." I can tell you that we looked at 4 houses before we knew our house was the one. Some people said that we needed to look at more, but we knew this was it. So my advice when you're looking at homes is "if you know that is YOUR house, don't waste anymore time looking."
Buy a house now if you can. One blessing in disguise with COVID-19 is that interest rates are stupid low. The longer you way, the sooner they will start to go up.
And to piggyback off of #4, shop around for a lender. Talk with your local bank, ask friends who they went through, or do your research. It's very easy to do, trust me.
After you find your house and you made it all the way to closing, remember to fill out the check right. Yeah, I forgot a number and our lender didn't realize it until after we left. So remember to fill out the check right!
If you plan to go straight to your new home after closing, remember to bring a bottle of champagne with you! It's your new home! Celebrate that with some bubbly and make a special moment out it!
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Finally, make sure you have great friends and family to help you move in. They want to help you with things as much as you want them to help you. If you're not a big handyman like I am, definitely get a few friends and family that can show and teach you things to fix up your home.
Make your new house a home. Embrace your neighborhood and community. Be happy!