love this blonde boy a latte 🤍☕️ Having a m love this blonde boy a latte 🤍☕️ Having a mom & son Sunday today while dads gone ☺️ 

Outfit Details linked here: https://liketk.it/4afVn  or direct link in bio! #ltkstyletip #ltksalealert #momandson #mommyandme #pinterestaesthetic #summerstyles #minimalstyle
Vacation outfit inspiration ✨✨ Swimsuits + out Vacation outfit inspiration ✨✨ Swimsuits + outfits I wore on vacay! 

All items linked in my LTK- tap link in bio to shop 

#vacationstyle #vacayvibes #whatiworethisweek #newmom #postpartumbody #outfitsoftheweek #pinterestfashion
summer wellness goals / things I love is on my blo summer wellness goals / things I love is on my blog (if you still read those😉) 🫶💧🥗🏋️‍♀️ 

outfit details in my storefront + LTK (in bio!) #wellnesslifestyle #healthygoals #balabangles #amazonfashion #croppedtee
It’s been awhile since I’ve introduced myself It’s been awhile since I’ve introduced myself / my family on here! If you’re new here, hi! So happy to have you 💗 I’ve been “blogging” / sharing my life here since 2015.

You’ll find mainly fashion + random lifestyle content here but my family is always in and out of it so wanted to share a little bit about us!😊 

(my outfit details are in my LTK)

Hi from the Martinez fam! 👨‍👩‍👦🦋 
1. My husband, Josh, and I got married in 2019 in Austin, TX! 
2. We met in college, on spring break 🥲 Both of us went to Texas Tech 
3. We live in North Dallas area 
4. We had our son, Ezra, this past December! He just turned 5 months ☺️ 
5. We are an animal-loving household! We have 2 cats, 1 dog currently
6. We love to travel & see new places- something we want to raise our son to love too 
7. Contrary to the above, we’re also big homebodies! We love to be home, cook at home, we’re constantly cleaning / working on our home. 

We’re loving our new life as parents and I ADORE getting to share small parts of this journey online! Thanks for being here 💗💛🧡
spring home details >> 🌸🌿🌷 Setup for a Sp spring home details >> 🌸🌿🌷 Setup for a Spring dinner party with me! This was so fun to put together with @macys 🦋 

Shop all details in my LTK! direct link in bio 

#springhomedecor #macyshome #springoutfit #neutralstyling #dinnerparty #pinterestinspired #thatgirl
cabo archives 🫶 cabo archives 🫶
Traveling with a baby was much better than i antic Traveling with a baby was much better than i anticipated 🙌🏻 Definitely a little more unpredictable + stressful but these products helped make the experience better! Have you traveled with your baby before? Any other tips!? Leave in comments for people to see! 🤍

SHOP- All items shared are linked in my bio under ‘MY LTK’ + in a highlight called ‘baby travel’ 

#babytraveltips #travelmusthave #travellingwithkids #4monthsold #babysfirstflight #traveltipsandtricks #amazonmusthaves
the best weekend mems 🌷💐💚 Got our best f the best weekend mems 🌷💐💚

Got our best friends married, showered more besties and celebrated Mother’s day #weekendmemories #husbandandwife #lifelately
‘Mama’ - my greatest title yet 🤍 This lit ‘Mama’ - my greatest title yet 🤍 

This little boy lights up my world and I can’t thank God enough for the blessing of motherhood. 

Happy Mother’s Day to ALL the moms out there 💐🌼🌷
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
  • Codes
  • Amazon Shop
  • MY LTK
  • About
  • Contact
  • Fashion
  • Lifestyle
  • Beauty
  • FAQ

Audrey Madison Stowe

A Texas-based fashion and lifestyle blog

  • Fashion
    • Summer
    • Fall
    • Winter
    • Spring
  • Beauty
    • Makeup
    • Hair
    • Skincare
  • Lifestyle
    • Wedding
    • Travel
    • College
    • Active
    • Blogging
    • Home
    • Health
    • Baby

His and Her, Home, Lifestyle · July 1, 2021

We Bought Our First Home! Our Journey Finding it

Where do I even begin on this!? A little over a month ago I announced we bought our first home! I think we closed May 28 and the last month has been so fun doing a few reno projects. We are moving in about a week I can’t believe it.

We bought our first home! Experience buying in 2021 market | Audrey Madison Stowe

When Josh and I got married we made it a goal to buy our first home in the Summer or Fall of 2021. Ideally, early Summer due to our apartment lease being up July 31. Back in January, we started reaching out to lenders our realtor recommended to get an idea of down payment and how much house we could afford with our current income and savings (we already had an idea which was what we had been saving towards too).

My girlfriend recently got her real estate license (she’s an amazing apartment locater… helped us find our apartment for a good deal!) so I knew I wanted her to help us with our first home. It was nice because I could text her all day long, voice text her, complain, be dramatic, and ask weird questions and know she didn’t care haha.

The lenders in January gave us a pre-approved home loan to give us an idea of what to expect but recommended we don’t start the process until March after I’ve filed my second year of self-employed taxes. So we waited until March and then reached back out (ended up switching lenders to a group who was able to get us approved for a little more) and started our home buying process.

I think around April 15 was the day we started actively looking at homes with our realtor. We looked at 7 the first day and put an offer on one I was IN LOVE with. Like, seriously still my favorite house out of all the ones we looked at. We didn’t get it and that was just the beginning of our next month lol! We spent everyday for a week looking at 6-7 homes and offering on 1 or 2 a day. They all had 40+ offers or were gone within the hours. I was drained, pissed, and over it. It was taking up my whole work day and I get attached to things easily. We switched up our map to expand further north into suburbs and started again.

I’d say a couple weeks went by of the same situation. Looking at a bunch, offering, starting again haha. I was just about done with the whole process when two in the same neighborhood (area we originally wanted) came on the market in the same day. Josh convinced me to look at them and we offered on both. Josh loved the other house more and I loved our home! The first was declined and the other (one I loved) called us and said there’s 2 other higher offers but that they’re investors and the homeowner used to be an appraiser and hates the race of the housing market this year… That she loved our letter and asked if we could come a bit higher. We did and she accepted!! I was soooo excited and mainly just relieved to be done.

Then we went through the closing process for four weeks which was quite the learning experience for me haha! But it went really smooth.

We bought our first home! Experience buying in 2021 market | Audrey Madison Stowe

What we offered: (due to the market as well)

  • Appraisal waiver
  • Over asking price (but not to where the house would be appraised under or we couldn’t profit when we sell)
  • A heartfelt letter about our family and why we’re buying a house
  • Offer to pay title
  • In other home offers we offered to give them a free leaseback if they needed one

It’s extremely annoying when I think about how our first home buying experience was like this. Of course I got over it and realized this was just our current reality but it was frustrating as a young couple trying to fight for a home up against investors and families from other states with more money who could offer cash, much more over asking, and other incentives we couldn’t. I pictured our first experience being much easier, more fun, and calmer but unfortunately it wasn’t the case for us. If you’re looking currently, y’all got this! And don’t lose hope because all it takes is one seller who wants it to go to a family or young couple.

About our home:

We plan to be in this home for about 3-5 years depending… It’s 1800 sq feet, 3 beds and 2 baths, and the perfect little starter home for us and our animals. It has a back yard we’ve always wanted, and we are closer to family which will be amazing when/if we choose to have a baby in this house. We’re moving about 30 mins from the city of Dallas where we currently are as well. The home needs QUITE a bit of work in certain areas but we’re ready to make it OUR home and make it special. We are sooo excited and can’t wait to bring y’all along our first home renovations and new home decor.

Check out the empty home tour if you missed it. (There’s already been a ton of changes since that video)

Lender Company Used: Homebridge (we worked with Justin Wood closely)

Realtor: Kaitlyn White with Simoson Real Estate

It’s honestly so cool to me that I’ve been blogging/ sharing my life for 6 years. WOW! This blog has posts dating back to my Freshman year college dorm, to getting engaged, and now buying our first home. It’s been so fun to bring y’all along the different life stages and I’m so grateful you’re here. XO!

In: His and Her, Home, Lifestyle · Tagged: home

join the club

Youll Also Love

Non Toxic Pans I Love in my HouseholdClean / Non-Toxic Household Products I Use
Pantry Organization | Amazon organizationPantry Organization
Home Office Studio Inspo | A Light Neutral Space - Audrey Madison Stowe a fashion and lifestyle bloggerMy Neutral Home Studio | Office Inspo!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Next Post >

Scalp Health + Hair Products That Won’t Strip Your Hair

Search for Previous Posts

Join the AMS List!

Join the list for weekly emails including exclusive content, weekly encouragement, favorites, and more!

Thank you for subscribing!

About Me
Hi friends! SO happy you're here. My name is Audrey and I'm a twenty-something gal living in Dallas, TX. Stick around, I share a little bit of everything around here!

Reader Favorites

  • Nashville Outfit Ideas | What To Wear in Nashville | Cowgirl tee 48 Hours in Nashville + Outfit Roundup
  • My Bachelorette in Las Vegas | Audrey Madison sTowe a fashion and lifestyle blogger My Bachelorette in Las Vegas | Wedding Wednesday
  • Wedding Guest Dresses From Amazon | Audrey Madison Stowe a fashion and lifestyle blogger Wedding Guest Dresses | From Amazon

trending now

  • Nashville Outfit Ideas | What To Wear in Nashville | Cowgirl tee 48 Hours in Nashville + Outfit Roundup
  • My Bachelorette in Las Vegas | Audrey Madison sTowe a fashion and lifestyle blogger My Bachelorette in Las Vegas | Wedding Wednesday
  • Wedding Guest Dresses From Amazon | Audrey Madison Stowe a fashion and lifestyle blogger Wedding Guest Dresses | From Amazon
  • Dallas Bridal Shower Outfit | Audrey Madison Stowe a fashion and lifestyle blogger Girly Dallas Bridal Shower

instagram

Follow @audreymadstowe

love this blonde boy a latte 🤍☕️ Having a m love this blonde boy a latte 🤍☕️ Having a mom & son Sunday today while dads gone ☺️ 

Outfit Details linked here: https://liketk.it/4afVn  or direct link in bio! #ltkstyletip #ltksalealert #momandson #mommyandme #pinterestaesthetic #summerstyles #minimalstyle
Vacation outfit inspiration ✨✨ Swimsuits + out Vacation outfit inspiration ✨✨ Swimsuits + outfits I wore on vacay! 

All items linked in my LTK- tap link in bio to shop 

#vacationstyle #vacayvibes #whatiworethisweek #newmom #postpartumbody #outfitsoftheweek #pinterestfashion
summer wellness goals / things I love is on my blo summer wellness goals / things I love is on my blog (if you still read those😉) 🫶💧🥗🏋️‍♀️ 

outfit details in my storefront + LTK (in bio!) #wellnesslifestyle #healthygoals #balabangles #amazonfashion #croppedtee
It’s been awhile since I’ve introduced myself It’s been awhile since I’ve introduced myself / my family on here! If you’re new here, hi! So happy to have you 💗 I’ve been “blogging” / sharing my life here since 2015.

You’ll find mainly fashion + random lifestyle content here but my family is always in and out of it so wanted to share a little bit about us!😊 

(my outfit details are in my LTK)

Hi from the Martinez fam! 👨‍👩‍👦🦋 
1. My husband, Josh, and I got married in 2019 in Austin, TX! 
2. We met in college, on spring break 🥲 Both of us went to Texas Tech 
3. We live in North Dallas area 
4. We had our son, Ezra, this past December! He just turned 5 months ☺️ 
5. We are an animal-loving household! We have 2 cats, 1 dog currently
6. We love to travel & see new places- something we want to raise our son to love too 
7. Contrary to the above, we’re also big homebodies! We love to be home, cook at home, we’re constantly cleaning / working on our home. 

We’re loving our new life as parents and I ADORE getting to share small parts of this journey online! Thanks for being here 💗💛🧡
spring home details >> 🌸🌿🌷 Setup for a Sp spring home details >> 🌸🌿🌷 Setup for a Spring dinner party with me! This was so fun to put together with @macys 🦋 

Shop all details in my LTK! direct link in bio 

#springhomedecor #macyshome #springoutfit #neutralstyling #dinnerparty #pinterestinspired #thatgirl
cabo archives 🫶 cabo archives 🫶
Traveling with a baby was much better than i antic Traveling with a baby was much better than i anticipated 🙌🏻 Definitely a little more unpredictable + stressful but these products helped make the experience better! Have you traveled with your baby before? Any other tips!? Leave in comments for people to see! 🤍

SHOP- All items shared are linked in my bio under ‘MY LTK’ + in a highlight called ‘baby travel’ 

#babytraveltips #travelmusthave #travellingwithkids #4monthsold #babysfirstflight #traveltipsandtricks #amazonmusthaves
the best weekend mems 🌷💐💚 Got our best f the best weekend mems 🌷💐💚

Got our best friends married, showered more besties and celebrated Mother’s day #weekendmemories #husbandandwife #lifelately
‘Mama’ - my greatest title yet 🤍 This lit ‘Mama’ - my greatest title yet 🤍 

This little boy lights up my world and I can’t thank God enough for the blessing of motherhood. 

Happy Mother’s Day to ALL the moms out there 💐🌼🌷
I need a vacation from the vacation 🌴 JK! So ha I need a vacation from the vacation 🌴 JK! So happy to be home for awhile 🥰 

swim 1 or 2!? 🐆🧡 Love both of these fun prints from @shopreddress , great high waisted bikinis 👙 (postpartum friendly too🥹)

details in my bio under ‘MY LTK’ or head here: https://liketk.it/491NW #ltkswim #highwaistedbikini #realbodies #postpartumbody #vacayvibes #poseideas #pinterestgirl

Work With Me

  • About
  • Contact
  • FAQ

join the club

Shop My Favorites

  • Amazon
  • Wellness Faves
  • Latest Crushes

Copyright © 2023 Audrey Madison Stowe · Theme by 17th Avenue