The House Hunt

Yesterday we went and looked at three more houses. We liked all of them, but our favorites have shifted again. The house that we previously liked the most has now dropped, basically just because they are asking too much, won't help with the realtor fee or closing and won't come off the price. Our number two house is still the house that was number two before, but we have a new number one. Confused? Me too.

The new number one. Very nice neighborhood. We like the older neighborhoods with the mature landscaping. The entire two subdivisions right there - every house and yard is kept up and clean. 13 year old house, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, new roof (as of April of this year), MIL suite (which makes it....drumroll please.....a FIVE BEDROOM THREE BATH), HUGE 28x14 sunroom (one of our favorite parts of the house). A good sized backyard with LOTS of landscaping all around the fenceline and house. It has a floating deck, two patio areas, a big arbor with a swing under it covered with wisteria. It has recently been renovated with new floors all throughout the house, the bathrooms have been redone, and new appliances. I must say - the only thing missing to make this our dream home (in our price range of course) is a pool/spa in the backyard.

Here is what is going on with it. We had decided early on that we were NOT going to do contingent offers. If it was meant to be for us it would still be there when our house sells. So far, all of the houses we liked are still for sale. Last night we offered to put a contingent offer on this house. We told her we would go as far as putting down money. So, what we decided to do was to see if we could do a sale-pending. Put down some money (not doing a contingent offer), they would not be able to show the house, and make our closing date for four or six months down the road - unless our house sells earlier than that.

The number two house is empty, and has been for a while. We had talked about seeing if the owner would rent it to us or do a lease to own type of thing until our house sold. BUT, we really don't want to settle for number two. So, our realtor called their realtor and told them the offer we were wanting to make. She told us that the family was on vacation until tomorrow (today), BUT they accepted a job in Florida and they were moving regardless of the house selling. They also are not buying a house contingent on this house selling. We may get to do the PURCHASE AGREEMENT with the down payment AND get to move in until our house sells.

Obviously, there is the downfall of two house payments, utilities, etc. However, one of my BIG stresses lately has been the fact that school starts in less than a month. I cannot register them ANYWHERE at this point. I have no mortgage or proof of rent here, no utilites, etc. I called the school yesterday to find out what all I needed to do, paperwork, etc. so that when we can enroll them, I am ready. I told her our situation and she said that since we were in the process of moving from out of state, all they would have to have (instead of proof of mortgage or rent and three utility bills) would be a PURCHASE AGREEMENT!

If the sale-pending offer is accepted and even if we cannot move into the house until we close on our house, I would be able to enroll them in the correct school and drive them back and forth (which would REALLY suck right now because we are a good 30-45 minutes away).

Is this things starting to fall into place for us??? Let's all keep praying that our house sales VERY soon, though!