I Think We Might Be Home

Our entire family has spent the past many weeks on the house hunt. It has been a challenging, frustrating and exciting experience. My kids have been made to tag along for day-long outings (which they hate) all in the name of finding home.

Last weekend was no different. We had a lengthy list of houses to see. Of course, as so often happens, our list was quickly shortened to seven. Some we were anxious to see, some we were seeing just because they were in our price range. They varied from brand new model home to 1960s fixer and everything inbetween. One house had been added on to a couple of times and had three family rooms. On top of that, to get to one of them, you had to go down some stairs, through the craft room and then the laundry room and up some stairs. Oh, and to get to the backyard, you have to go through the door in the master bathroom. Weird. I truly got lost in that house and couldn't figure out how to get back to the front door.

Our second to last house was in a different community than we have been focusing our search. This house was the model home. It was new. It was pretty. It had granite and hardwoods. It was fresh and clean. It had absolutely no yard. But, it became the house to beat. We went back again later in the day and talked to the neighbors. It was a serious contender. We decided to pray and sleep on it. The next morning we both woke with the same conclusion: it wasn't the home for us.

That is when my frustration level grew. We are under a bit of a time crunch. The family buying our house, despite the fact that they would be willing to give us the world (love you guys), need to move in to their house - which means we need to leave.

I started this same frustrating morning with only a cell phone as a resource to find my next home. I tried the library but they wouldn't grant me internet usage. So, I sat in the car in the library parking lot, while my kids watched a movie in the back seat. It was there I stumbled upon a house that looked surprisingly familiar. I texted the realtor and told her I wanted to see it TODAY. She took some time to find out more about it - it was a short sale and had some considerable repairs that must be done before move-in. But, I still wanted to see it. So, she took me to it. It had everything we wanted (no, we didn't want the repairs or back-aching work). It had enough bedrooms, enough garages, enough backyard space, enough storage room. It was in the ward we wanted, the schools we wanted. I boldly told the realtor we were going to put an offer on it - even before JP had a chance to see it. I think she thought I was joking. I called him and told him about the house and he laughed. It was the very same house he had stumbled upon four weeks ago and called me from the backyard. He proclaimed it was the house we should buy - but someone put an offer on it before we had a chance. They backed out because of the problems found during the inspection.

So now, we have a signed offer and are waiting for the bank to approve the short sale. This could take forever or it could take just long enough for us to get there. That timing is out of our hands. But, obviously, it is all out of our hands anyway and I am so glad someone with more knowledge and power is in charge, because then it always works out. Now we just have to pray the Lord doesn't want us to be homeless for too long.

(Pictures to follow)