Wednesday, May 20, 2009

WE GOT THE HOUSE!!!

No further details than that we got the house, but, man, it takes a huge load of worry and stress off of my back. Yes, I know houses are all sorts of work and I'll have plenty of homeowner stress, but, damnit, I won't be homeless.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

More waiting...

So, the house isn't a done deal yet, that's not the good news. In fact, the news on that is a little disheartening, if not unexpected. There were more offers than just mine put in on the house so the bank asked for the "highest & best" offers yesterday. We added another thousand bucks to our offer and are waiting to hear back again. I am so anxious about this. I'm trying to come up with a backup plan, but it's not so easy.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Waiting

My realtor, Bev, said that I should hear from the bank today regarding my offer on the house. I am so nervous! Seriously, if this falls through we are screwed. M and I did the math the other night... good news is that he got an offer to become a full fledged employee of the company he's been doing contract work for. Bad news is that it's about $20K less than he was making at his last job and about $10K less than we can afford. But the security of him having a job, and a job that he likes, would be nice. It's not me that is the expensive one, either. Between his $900/month child support and all the legal fees and whatnot it just adds up very quickly. But if we get the house then we should be able to cut our monthly housing bill in half. And if his job will allow him to work from home 2 or 3 days a week then it shouldn't be too bad.

But I am just waiting today, waiting for Bev to get in touch with me. The way this whole thing came about makes it seem like fate, and as much as I would love to be all rational and everything, I am not. This *feels* right, even though it's scary and nerve-wracking. Here's the thing: the house was being listed at $14,900. I am offering $15000 cash for an as-is REO sale. I will live in the house as my primary residence (I hear that makes a difference for some reason, as does the fact that I am a first time home buyer). How, then, could the bank say no? Unless they got a better offer? The house was only listed maybe a week ago, and I think mine was the first offer. Since it was above asking price and is a cash offer, surely they will accept it, right?

We have such plans for the eventual renovation of the house, too! Money is going to be an impediment for a while, but in 6 months or so we should be doing better financially. And once we have paid back the friend who is fronting us the money for the house in a couple of years we will be in a much better position to renovate. The house doesn't need all that much work to be habitable, at least on the right. The unit on the left is in considerably worse shape, but we are even considering renting it out if we get it up to code.

Then there are the appliances. We have none. But I still just feel it will all work out. Dare I say that I am optimistic?