Purchasing Our Home, Sight Unseen

My husband and I owned two houses before this and rented several others. We knew what we liked and what worked for our family. My husband only had four simple preferences for our next house: a new build or a walk-in ready home, in a subdivision, with a porch, and not on a busy road.  I know you already know how this story ends.

We originally decided to build a house in a new subdivision. It was beautiful. The lot was tucked into a private corner of the subdivision, backed by mature trees. It was just blocks away from the neighborhood pool and playground and gathering center. The home layout was functional. We drove by it every week, watching it get built step by step. The process was really fun to watch.

But, deep down, something was missing.

I was always browsing through old homes, imagining how I’d bring some of their features into our new build. I wanted character. I wanted the house to tell a story. But then, I came across this house and something about it just felt different. And I’m not sure what it was, because it wasn’t particularly beautiful or anything. It was just as if a clear sense of knowing washed over me. We were living in Florida and this house was back in Ohio, where we moved from. My husband was on a work call, so I called my mom. “Mom, I’m sending you a link to a house. I don’t know what it is about this house. It’s not even in the same state!”

While I was talking to her about it, I texted a friend and realtor, Jocelyn Huff, and asked if she could go look at it for us (because we were living out of state). The market was hot, and neither of us could get to Ohio on such short notice.

from the mls listing

When my husband got off his call, I showed him the house too. And I told him that I already had Jocelyn scheduled to walk through it for us. He just laughed. I’m thankful to be married to a person who goes with the flow. The next morning, we sat together and watched the walk-through videos that Jocelyn took of an almost 200-year-old home, in a historical district, without a porch, on a busy road. Sorry, Kyle! But somehow we both agreed - it felt like home. So we canceled the contract for the build and put an offer in. And if everything went as planned, we were moving our family back to Ohio.

Because we were living out of state, we purchased our house before seeing it in person. This isn’t something I recommend.

But I trusted our realtor, and her videos were extremely detailed. We also went beyond the traditional inspection by having structural engineers and other professionals check out the house too. Everyone who looked at the house complimented its upkeep, assuring us that it was in great condition for its age.

Waiting for closing was nerve-racking. What were we doing? Were we really buying a house, sight unseen? Were we really moving back to Ohio? Were we really buying an almost 200-year-old home? What were we getting ourselves into!?

When we arrived back in Ohio, it was so tempting to go drive by the house while we were waiting for the closing! But I really, really, really didn’t want to see it until after we purchased it. There was something so exciting about the thought of not seeing the house until we had our keys in hand. I’m not a naturally patient person, so this was definitely a test of my character.

But we did it. We held out. We closed on the house and then drove out to it. To be honest, the drive wasn’t as full of excitement as I thought it would be. We were all actually pretty silent… and with five kids in the van, that doesn’t happen often. We were driving to a town we’d never even been in, to live in a house that we already owned but had never even walked through. I think we were all questioning our decisions, wondering what was to come, realizing how bad this could actually be, but hoping for the best. We had to pass through some tiny dying cities, and I can clearly remember a point in the drive where I actually felt nauseous. Was this the type of place we were moving to?

But as soon as we entered city limits, all that worry lifted. We drove through tree-lined roads and well-kept historical homes, and pulled up to the house.

Our house. Our home.

I’ve heard theories that when a person is intuitively drawn to a home, either they’ve had a past life there or their ancestors are leading them there. I don’t know what I believe. But I do know, with certainty, that this house was meant to be ours.

This house is a love story. This house is our love story.

December 2022

Are you in the Greater Cincinnati area and looking for a realtor who is knowledgeable, efficient, and honest? I highly recommend working with Jocelyn Huff. Email: jocelyn.fairchild@cbrealty.com