it was a fabrication shop that is pretty reputable in the area. i think the quote was off, cause i told him that i already had all the material, but from what he replied with, it sounded like he worked that into the deal. would it be cheaper if i corrected him? probably, but what other seemingly simple details would he miss when working on my jeep? anyway, found a friends brother-in-law who is a surgical stainless welder, so it sounds like we're gonna work out a deal for just a bit less than that original quote.
the lender will certainly be an eye opening experience. we've been lookin on our own, but havent done anything official until now. we know that we don't nearly enough. so we're gonna talk to the lender, (who was suggested by multiple friends of ours who have gone through her) and we'll see where we end up. We have a realtor in mind, but we havent done anything more than a few email exchanges with him. we know what neighborhoods we like and which ones we don't like, so thats a decent starting point in my eyes. we also know what is most important to us in the house itself. the biggest thing we have going for us is that we're currently living with family, so theres no lease to worry about; time is on our side, and we don't need to be out by a certain date.