martypunker

Hey guys, if you're looking for something to read, why not check out Eithe's Way by demonlight? You can pick it up on Amazon. It's a great read. I even left a review on the American site! www.amazon.com/Eithes-Way-Rhia…

And, when you've read that, you can enter into this contest for a chance to be a character in one of her stories! www.deviantart.com/journal/Do-… How cool is that?

Anyway, has anyone else read a book recently they'd like to share?

I could really go into depth about all the houses we pined over and considered looking at and the pain of the fact that the bank took forever to get back to us, but I feel like jumping to the end because it won't lead you along.

We finally reached someone else at the bank and she was very nice and helpful. She gave us some good news, namely that we would be approved for more money than we originally thought. Then, she gave us bad news, namely that the wifefayse doesn't have enough credit for us to be approved for a loan and that we should work on that before considering buying a house.

So, this may sound like bad news to you, but surprisingly, both of us were actually really happy about this. I know that the desired end result was to have a house, but truly, it feels amazing to not have to look for houses anymore, regardless of the reason why. We have, however, decided to start looking at different apartments because this one is really starting to annoy us. So, that won't take too long, but we won't be able to move until early next year, which is fine. We'll just be happy to not be here anymore.

On the credit front, we're going to give the wifefayse a credit card for her to buy gas on. We'll get where we want to be eventually and when we do, we'll have money and credit saved up and we'll be ready to look at nicer houses. She'll make more money (either by raise or new job), and we'll have had some experience with looking at houses. We'll also have a realtor, so there's that, too!

Anyway, this is the last post about this nonsense for a while. We celebrated by buying new phones (for $35 each! Woo!) and we look forward to not stressing for a while.

So, the last journal I wrote, we were looking at a house, someone had made an offer on it, and we were going to the bank to get approved so we could make a better offer. Well, we had originally gone to the bank a couple months ago and been told we would be approved for a certain amount of money. It wasn't an official approval, but he went through all the steps of one to give us a really good estimate. Turns out it wasn't that good of an estimate, as when we went in to get officially approved, he said he couldn't do it for that amount of money.

We had to pass on the house we wanted, but right as we were coming to that decision, the house literally across the street from the one we liked went on sale for less than the first one, putting it within our new price range. Knowing we liked the neighborhood and the layouts of the houses there, we decided that, if we looked at it and it was in good condition, we would put in an offer. What ensued was a run of ridiculousness that was quite frustrating.

We tried to arrange to see the place, but there were still renters living there and they didn't contact their realtor...ever. So our realtor couldn't arrange a time for us to go. Meanwhile, we're contacting our banker trying to get an approval form and he's dragging his feet, not returning my calls, and when he does, he says he's going to email it to me and still hasn't, to this day. We figure we'll keep trudging along, anyway. Finally managed to see the place yesterday. Wow. The description says, "Well maintained..." but I didn't see one bit of that. The entire place needs new flooring. They've nailed cheap door framing to the wall in a very poorly done DIY attempt at a chair railing. There are two planks missing from the utility door. There are giant holes in the screen on the porch.

So yeah, we're not getting that house, either. It's ok, though. We're not attached to it and we're moving on. We've identified three more houses we want to look at and we're still "patiently" waiting an official approval letter from the bank. Great fun, this house hunt!

I hope this stuff is informative for anyone who wants to house hunt for the first time. It's not a quick process like buying a car. There's a lot of high hopes, misleading posts, and frustratingly long waits (which is weird to say, considering the waits we had for the immigration process). A couple days feel like a week when you're doing the house hunting thing. But you have to remember that rushing into a house is a bad thing, as you may not like the result, and being patient will eventually land you in the house you really want for a price you can afford.

And that's my thought for the day, kids.

UPDATE: Realtor called me and said there was an offer on the house we want. BUT, we're still going to get pre-approved tomorrow and then make an offer ($500 more than asking) with condition of appraisal and 90 day closing. That will satisfy the bank's need of an appraisal and our need for a little bit more time to get just a few hundred dollars more for down payment (bank is covering closing costs). Crazy frantic arm waving time! Crazy frantic arm waving time!

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The wife and I looked at houses on Saturday and we think we found one that we really like (and not just in pictures this time)! Tomorrow we're going to the bank to be pre-approved and to see if the money I accepted from my step dad will actually be usable. Then we have to go through the whole actual process of appraisal, offers, and inspection. That is, if the house is still there! Scary stuff is the listing was removed from the realty sites we look at, but without a reason!

So yeah, stress levels might be running a little high right meow.

So while we've been looking at houses, the wifefayse and I came across one that's more like a condo (though, I made the observation at work today that it would totally be considered a house in other countries). It's not exactly what we were initially looking for, but it actually seems to suit our needs more. And the price dropped on it. Well into our price range.

At that point, we were thinking, "Yeah, it's nice. We'll keep saving, see if it's still there or whatever."

Then the price dropped again.

We're not exactly panicking because we don't have the money and we now really want this place, but we've decided to take some extra steps to get us closer to buying a house. I'm now borrowing a sum of money from my step-dad. The sum covers the difference between how much we had already saved up and how much we need as a down payment on this one particular house we really like.

Oh, and we're viewing the house tomorrow.

ALL THE EXCITE.

So all of that is super awesome and stuff. And, on top of that, after the viewing, the wifefayse's parents are landing! WOO! So tomorrow's going to be super fun.

(What's that? You want pictures and stuff? Hmmm... gainesville.bosshardtrealty.co… )