One Year of Homeownership in Missoula
Sometimes you have to take a look in the mirror and ask yourself “What did I do right or wrong?”
After helping clients buy homes across Missoula and the Bitterroot Valley, going through the process myself gave me an entirely new perspective on what buyers experience.
That’s how I’m feeling after one year (and two months) of homeownership. I had to put myself in my clients’ shoes and be both the buyer and the realtor at the same time.
To be honest, I was my worst client. Emotional to no end. I lost out on a deal and thought my life was ending. Then, I found myself in a multiple-offer situation, making some pretty wild judgment calls for myself—decisions I typically don’t let my clients make because my job is to protect them. Things like taking the house “as is,” with no ability to back out based on the inspection.
Worst-case scenario? A major foundation issue or an attic filled with mold. If that had been the case, it would have been on us to front the bill.
I found myself making super snappy decisions and riding the wave of a wildly emotional tide. I put a lot of this on Peter—because who can realistically be both the realtor and the buyer at the same time and stay sane?!
But going through the whole “getting the house under contract” part of the process gave me some great perspective. If you know me well, you know I’m about 85% data-driven, Type A, do-everything-by-the-book. But there’s also about a 15% “woo-woo” voice in there that I listen to more than I probably admit.
And that’s where my biggest takeaway lives: I truly believe it’s important to fall in love with a house.
It’s that feeling when you walk in the door and immediately want to run from room to room to see everything as fast as possible—then walk through it again really slowly—then rush back to the office to write an offer. That spark matters. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted for my clients, honestly.
Lately, I’ve had a few clients ask me, in so many words, what the right house is. And quite simply, it’s not something I can fully answer for them. Sometimes I think I know exactly what a client is looking for, and then they turn their criteria completely on its head and buy something that’s the total opposite of what we started searching for.
I love when that happens. I’m laughing on the inside.
So, to all my future clients, do me one favor: make sure you love the house—and I’ll make sure we get it under contract.
Beyond the emotional reflection, here’s some other basic advice I had to relearn—and I’ll share it here:
Have a cheesy movie moment. Order a box of pizza, buy a bottle of champagne, and eat dinner on the floor of your new house.
Do a deep clean before you move anything in. It’s well worth hiring a professional cleaner, especially if you’re already stressed or hate cleaning. If you’re lucky, the sellers will have done an amazing job—but that’s rare. When we bought our last house, we were up until 1 a.m. washing the walls with bleach and Clorox (at least twice) to get rid of a cat pee smell. Trust me when I say you did not want to see the water in the mop bucket when we were done. Washing walls is wildly underrated. I’m a clean freak—it’s a blessing and a curse 🙂
Do the move all at once. If you live in town and think you’ll “just bring a few things over every day,” you’ll quickly be fed up with the endless car loads. Rent the U-Haul for $50/day and get it done. Ask friends to help with the big pieces and repay them with pizza and beer.
Don’t rush into projects (unless they’re critical) or order a bunch of new furniture right away. Take time to get to know the space. Ask friends and family for opinions, flip through decorating books, and think about what you want—not what you think you’re supposed to do. Paint samples are your friend. Throw up five shades of white—or even the full rainbow—and live with them for a few days. Morning light versus afternoon light can completely change your mind.
Speaking of projects, keep a running note on your phone with ideas for the house, along with short-term and long-term goals. Getting it out of your head and onto the page helps clear your mind—and shows you just how ambitious (or unrealistic) your expectations might be.
Make sure you have extra funds set aside for house-specific things you didn’t know you needed. When we moved in December, we thought we could shovel our steep, 30-ish yard driveway by hand. Not so realistic when Peter needs to be at work by 7 a.m. Thank you, Facebook Marketplace, for the snowblower.
Use community resources! I’m shamelessly plugging MUD (Missoula Urban Demonstration Project) here—because who doesn’t love a tool library? They have amazing kits for home projects (yes, you really should clean out your dryer vent), plus just about every tool under the sun. Their workshops are also fantastic and very reasonably priced—well worth the membership. While you’re at it, check out Home Resource across the parking lot. This year I scored a Kohler sink and touchless faucet for $50. My plumber said it would retail for $700–$800 new. A friend of mine found a beautiful Rejuvenation light for $40 that retails for around $300. Simply amazing.
Try to meet your neighbors. You know they’ll be watching you anyway, so you might as well break the ice. We met our three surrounding neighbors within the first month, and it gave me so much peace of mind. They plow our road and driveway, let us borrow their lawn mower for a test run, and keep an eye on the house when we’re out of town. Face-to-face connection pays off.
Lastly, a bit of admin advice: create a dedicated folder for everything related to your house. Store documents from the real estate transaction, your inspection report, and receipts for any work you (or the previous owner) have done. Future-you will be very grateful when you don’t have to dig through Gmail or your office to find something.
If you’re thinking about buying a home in Missoula and want guidance through the process, feel free to reach out anytime. I’m always happy to answer questions or help you explore your options.
Leah Whitney is a REALTOR® with Keller Williams Western Montana who helps buyers and sellers throughout Missoula, Ravalli, Mineral, and surrounding counties.