we are trying to buy a house. trying. we have looked at 19 houses and finally settled on the first house i saw. so we made an offer. and the owners made a counter offer. and we responded to their counter offer. and that is where the trouble began...
sadly, the people selling the house are getting divorced. sadly for them, and sadly for us. because, for them, coming to terms on the sale of this house is not just about selling a house--it's also about the end of a relationship. and sadly for us, because until we come to terms, we don't have a house.
we really like this house. it is spacious. it has had some pretty extensive updating--wood laminate floors, new windows, cherry kitchen cabinets, granite counter tops, and a huge covered area in the back yard. it has four bedrooms and three bathrooms, a living room and a family room. the location is good, and if they agree to our price, then it is also a good deal.
if they agree to our price...
because even though house prices are down, housing is still not what you could call "affordable" in southern california. the bank has agreed to loan us an adequate amount to purchase a home, but those funds are not unlimited. this house has been on the market for several months. they are anxious to sell it. i'm sure their realtor is anxious to sell it. we are anxious to buy it. we are their first serious offer. the wife has signed off on it, but the husband thinks they can get more money. and maybe they could, if they didn't need to sell it fairly quickly. but they do. they are out of resources. they are supporting separate households, as well as this house. they need to sell it.
and yet, the husband hangs on...
the wife has had enough. she wants to sell the house and be done with it. she is taking the husband to court to force him to agree to our offer. on friday, the realtors said if we could just wait a little bit, they thought it would all work out.
and so, we waited...
they went to court today, but the husband's attorney didn't show up. so they scheduled a second court appearance for next monday. in the mean time, the husband wants to send us another counter offer, but the wife won't sign. she doesn't want to play his games. she wants to sell the house and be done with it.
and so we wait some more...and hope that no one else makes a higher offer while we are waiting...
we said we were not going to fall in love with a house until the papers were signed. we said we could walk away if our offer wasn't accepted. we said when we found the right house, everything would work out.
and that was all true. at first...
but now we have been thinking about this house for a couple of weeks. as we were deciding if this was the house for us, i started mentally arranging my furniture in it, and choosing colors for the bedrooms, and thinking about what kind of plants i wanted to put in the backyard. i've driven past it after school and clocked how far it was to t.j. maxx (which, btw, is dangerously close...) and so now, it kind of feels like it is supposed to be our house. it feels like home.
but maybe it isn't...
maybe there is something we don't know about this house. maybe the plumbing is about to fall through the ceiling. or maybe the neighborhood is filled with obnoxious teenagers (i'm not saying all teenagers are obnoxious, but you know that some of them are. and what if they all live in this particular neighborhood. with their obnoxious parents. and their obnoxious cars. and their obnoxious pets... wait, i guess i'd better back off on the obnoxious pet part--we have two noisy dogs...) maybe when the big earthquake hits, the gigantic pine trees that the city so "graciously" planted in front of the house are going to fall over onto the house and destroy it. maybe there is a dead body buried under the deck...
i trust God, even when it comes to buying a house. i know He has a plan, i just don't always know what it is! but i trust Him. so i am trying to be patient and philosophical about it. i'm trying not to worry. i'm trying to pack up my emotions until monday. i'm trusting that if this is our house, He will protect it for us. i'm trusting that if this isn't our house, He will help me to let it go. i'm trusting that if someone else comes in with a higher offer, i can keep from second-guessing our decisions.
patience and trust. two virtues that are not natural to my personality.
yeah, i am not loving my life right now...
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