Went to a first time buyer's workshop last night. It was an interesting mix of useful info and doubletalk. The Long & Foster realtors pointed out that the problem in the housing market was based largely on the media focusing on the negative, and that the market was great. At the same time, we could hope for closing cost help. I love the idea of closing cost help because the seller gets screwed out of money, but the realtor commissions are still based on full selling price.

Sunday in the Shed

After spending Saturday looking for houses, Sunday was a day to punish ourselves.  I took a ride up to Frederick Watershed with Tris and Mountainbike Dave. The weather was perfect, and the shed rarely disappoints. We discovered that someone's been busy building some new trail that snakes its way over, under & through some wild boulder sections. We had one of our best rides with a few exceptions: Tris had some shifting trouble, bent her brake lever in a tumble, and I flatted. Despite the setbacks, we kept up a great pace and finished the loop in just over 2 hours riding time.

After a big weekend of house- hunting, we are slightly more optimistic than we were. It looks like a townhouse is our best best for a comfortable amount living space within our price range. On the downside, we'll likely be moving farther out than we had expected. 

A little more about me: I just got married last April, and now my wife and I are looking for our first house. Right now, we live in an apartment in DC thats in between our two jobs. We've discovered that any house we buy is going to involve major commute changes.

Well, I just spent two hours driving around Montgomery County lost. The bad news was that I wasted my time, but I was impressed with some of the terrain up there. Its greener, and more interesting up there than down here in DC. Maybe I'll look for a place to live up there.