To understand how we ended up here – we have to go back to June of 2015. We just started to discuss the possibility of fully “adulting” and buying our own place. At the time, we were living in a condo in Falls Church, VA. We knew what our immediate real estate options were, and that left us wanting a few more options. DC real estate doesn’t exactly have an entry-level housing market. We decided to explore what the surrounding areas offered. One Sunday, we decided to drive around the College Park, MD área – following the lead of a real estate app, and knew pretty quicky it was not our idea of home. The following weekend we drove south to Fort Washington, MD.
Still not convinced, we were about to give up our Sunday drive and head home. Before doing so, we decided to look at one more house. The app led us onto a dirt road and into the sticks! About a half mile down the road our eyes were fixed on a wide open five-acre pasture hidden in the woods. On the pasture sat a large (in DC terms) brick house and a picturesque red barn. We drove up to the gate, looked at each other in disbelief, played around with big dreams, then drove away wondering “what if?.” That day came and went after the house went to contract with another buyer and we didn’t think twice about the house for about 2 months. Then, one evening, preparing for the work week, our real estate app kindly advised us that a house we flagged went back on the market. Once again, we revisited the big dreams and floated creative ideas, and set up an appointment to check out the property. Six weeks’ worth of negotiating, inspections, and paperwork later, we were handed the keys to what we would endearingly call #HaciendaBarrera.
