The House Hunt Continues…

Somehow this is the only room that stays neat lately. It’s embarrassing, but true. We’ve been up and down with the whole house hunting process, getting so close, and then having to start over again from square one. Part of our living room and dining room are in boxes. Yes, we got all the way to that point, where it seems like you can begin packing, only to have to turn back. Having our bedroom as a fresh and calm place to wake up to has been a major help throughout all this. We’ve been trying to put everything into perspective, and not stress about this very long, drawn out process.

Back in late August, after seeing about a dozen houses, we found one that seemed perfect for us. It was a little 1940s ranch with a lot of windows on a cheery little street. It checked off most of our wants and needs in a home and was only listed for a few days. Knowing how quickly everything around here has been going, we put an offer in the night we saw it. There was a bit of back and forth and negotiating (which we know is normal, but man was that a stressful 24 hours), and then our offer was accepted! We were over the moon, nervous, excited, and ready for the next steps. Our inspection came back great, which was a sigh of relief. You never know what you’re going to find with a house that old, but hearing our inspector have nothing but great things to say about the place made our hearts even more full about moving into that house. Not too long after, our loan was completed and we received the preliminary thumbs up of approval. Naturally we began envisioning where we would place furniture, ideas for the bathrooms and kitchen. It all was looking good and then somehow with each next step, things went sour and the process became more difficult. The appraisal came back with some issues, the mortgage insurance company was having trouble obtaining documentation on the historic tax rate, the list went on and on and on. It went on for well over a month. The morning of our closing date came and that was pushed back as well, three times. After doing everything we could possibly do with this house, we decided to finally walk away from it after 50 days of uncertainty.

Towards the end of it all, it was something we knew we had to consider seriously, but it definitely stung signing those papers. We had visions of holidays and birthdays in that house…plans for the yard. You can imagine where our heads were at. My family moved around a lot when I was younger and after going through this whole process, I could not imagine how they did it, especially with three kids. However, everything happens for a reason, right? Well that’s what we keep telling ourselves. We know everyone’s experience with buying a home is different and it’s something we have to keep reminding ourselves. When we lay down at night and find our way to various listings on Zillow and Trulia, scrolling through picture after picture, we can’t help but think maybe after all, it just wasn’t the right place for us. Maybe the process was that difficult, because it wasn’t meant to be the place we “settle down” in.

We’re keeping our heads up and our eyes open. This week will be a fun one with Halloween parties, puppy play dates and a birthday thrown in there too. We have a lot to be thankful for and know this is just a bump in the road…a long and winding road.

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