"makes us happy"

It has been quite the dramatic day; actually the whole last week. We got back out there again and saw houses the very next day after cancelling our contract on the Kensington house. We saw a house we LOVED. So the next day we went out again, saw a few really really cool houses, and again saw the house we loved. This time, we brought my sister for another perspective and had both of our real estate agents with us. Christina admitted, after touring the house and deciding she also loved it, that she had come there with the agenda to talk us out of making an offer on it cause it had a shared driveway.

Our previous experience of rushing into it made us hesitant. So, we slept on it. And decided the next morning to make an offer. Offer submitted, with an expectation that they might counter offer. The next morning Christina tells us that they had gotten another offer and we were to bring back our 'biggest and best' offer. We talked a lot about what we were willing to do, and amended our offer.

Christina called this morning trying to track down our finance guys cell number so she could get a pre-qualification letter. This was a good sign and made us feel hopeful.

Then we don't hear anything. Finally BCH can stand it no longer and calls Christina. They have counter offered, and we needed to quickly sign it before they changed their mind, as there were now 'multiple offers' on the table.

It felt so dramatic, printing the offer off and signing it and faxing it to BCH. Then re-faxing it cause I did it wrong. Then faxing another time cause the fax machine missed a page. My heart was seriously racing. What if they got a much bigger offer before getting our agreement and decided to take it?

Finally, it was done. Everything signed, everyone in agreement. Under contract. I looked over the paperwork again that Christina had emailed to me, and saw the original fax cover page she had submitted to their agent. She had written, "My clients LOVE the house and hope this works out". Their agent had circled the word "LOVE" and had written below it: "Makes us happy".

This makes everyone happy :)

Disappointed

Remember when I said the home we were in the process of buying was built in the 1920's? You know when you buy a home that old, there is going to be some settling. And this home seemed to have a bit, but we were not overly concerned when we made our offer. Well, after our home inspection we have decided it has had a bit TOO much settling.

I keep going through the "shoulda"s in this process - but that isn't productive or helpful at all. I'm disappointed and discouraged; I was already tired of looking at houses when we made this offer (which I think was part of the reason I was so quick to agree to an offer) and having to look again is not encouraging to me. I need to get re-energized but I don't know how.

The other disappointment is that backing out of the contract might mean we are going to miss out on the $8,000 first time homeowners rebate. It requires you to be under contract on a house by April 30. While this is still very possible, we are not going to hold out hope on it. BCH and I also agree that we shouldn't just 'settle' on a house we don't love just to get the credit. The point of buying a house was not to get the credit, it was to buy a house. Which is what we still plan to do, its just going to take longer than we had hoped.

Jumping through the hoops...hope we don't trip!

We have been a bit hush about it on Facebook and around town (I think that both of us are a bit superstitious and dont want to jinx this - heard too many bad stories and already got one house rejection) so we aren't shouting on the rooftops about this, but we are very excited that we are currently under contract for a house. Closing date is set for April 29th, and the big hurdle this week is the home inspection, set for Wednesday. Found out today that our loan is approved (its amazing the difference between pre-approved and approved) but of course they have requested yet another round of paperwork and information from us. Sigh...

Its a 1920's Tudor, three bedroom and two bath. Its only a couple of blocks from where we currently reside, on a tidy street in the Sugarhood area that we already know and love. As our Realtor pointed out, its a good street because there are a lot of Subaru owners on the block. She cracks me up.

I am not thrilled about moving (AGAIN) so we haven't done a bit of packing yet, but I am excited that this will be the last move in a long time (as I am sure my siblings - ie: moving team - are thrilled about as well...)

The home has been updated, for the most part, so it is pretty move in ready. But of course we have already come up with a list of things we want to do immediately and in the near future. We also have the start of a needs list - things we have not owned but will need ASAP - like a garden hose of all things.

Do not fret, those of you who have asked. Despite searching and looking for one, we do not have a big porch (as seen from the picture) for infamous summer nights porch time, but it does have a nice backyard which we plan on putting a patio in. There is even a fire pit already installed, so I anticipate porch time can make a smooth transition to the new digs.

That is, if, and when, we finally jump through the last hoop and get those hot little keys in our hands.