March Madness

Well, the title can have many meetings. The first that come to mind is the NCAA Tournament, which is a pretty big part of our house every year. We're not obsessive, but we always do brackets for fun and Nelson usually enters a (small) office pool. Last year we let Kalaya choose a bracket and we're doing it again this year. Last year she was given identical blocks to choose from to represent her choices. This year she can actually give answers, so it's pretty cute!

We had a crazy weekend the last weekend in February. Nelson and I both came down with the worst stomach flu we have ever had. It was AWFUL!! I've never felt that sick, except when I had mono in high school. And at least I could eat then. We had problems at both ends and could barely move without getting sick. By the grace of God, it was a snow day for my mom that day and she was able to watch Kalaya and keep her away from us. Some how Kalaya didn't catch it, THANK YOU JESUS. All I can figure out is the nursing antibodies from me. My mom wasn't so fortunate and caught it. Luckily, we had our meds to give her and they worked! Nelson and I were so dehydrated we ended up in Urgent Care. He needed a full liter IV and I had to have 2! It helped a great deal and we ended up sick for only about 48 hours, but that was long enough. I hope no one else caught it!!!

We have some exciting things going on! Whew, this house hunting thing is going by sooo much faster than we thought it would! We spent the last month working back and forth with our mortgage banker (who my parents have worked with since 1988, so we totally trust him), finalizing our application to get pre-qualified for an FHA loan. Turns out we have amazing credit, who knew??? So, we then started talking with and meeting with a realtor (Tammie). We really like our realtor, who was recommended to us by our mortgage guy. She has been so helpful and going out of her way to help us begin to understand this process. It is very overwhelming, but very exciting too!!

Everyone has been telling us what a great time this is to buy. And, it is. However, not quite as much in our price range. With (basically) a one-income household, we are in a limited market. And, since we live in one of the highest priced states in the country and are looking in one of the most expensive parts of that state, we are fairly limited. We know we want a detached home as well (no condos or townhomes), which narrows it even more. We've also discovered that in our price range, investors with CASH IN HAND (that blows me away in this economy) snatch up these properties very quickly and rent them out. We've learned that most of the 'houses' in our range are the type where all the houses around it look exactly the same, with a teeny or no yard, basically condos that aren't attached so they can call them houses. We aren't apposed to these houses, but we really want something that feels more like a home.

We started seriously looking at houses online and with our realtor 2 weeks ago. Such a short time, but we quickly discovered if there's something you're serious about, you have to move FAST. I'm not exaggerating. Example; I sent 10 links to properties we were interested in to our realtor on a Monday. Tuesday she set up viewings for us for the upcoming Saturday. By FRIDAY AFTERNOON, all but TWO of the properties had 1-2 offers. And, since most of the houses in our price range are short sale (I had to google what that meant), it could take 4 or more months to hear back from those offers.

Needless to say, we were getting nervous.

Tammie managed to find 6 houses for us to view on Saturday. (as in 2 days ago) Several of them were ones that I had seen with no interest or weren't in areas we wanted. We were frustrated to say the least. 2 of them were awful and 2 were cookie cutter cheapies. One was alright, but it was really, really out of the way and not nice enough to justify living that far away.

HOWEVER, we found one we LOVE. Here it is. The pictures do NOT do it justice. That horrible fence around the front yard makes it look condemned, it's going to be the first thing to go if we get it. (we are starting with an offer of FAR less than asking) The pictures of the inside do not show how nice it is either. If you look here, our realtor found the previous listing and it looks much nicer. I don't like the current colors, including the exterior, so we may change that. I wish the bank hadn't changed the colors, I like the old ones so much more!!!! Oh well.

Things we love: 4 bedrooms (almost unheard of in our range), 2 bath, the rooms are HUGE, the yard is nice and big with big trees, plenty of room for a garden, lots and lots of storage, GORGEOUS newly remodeled kitchen, covered patio (VERY necessary with young kids in Oregon) which is not attractive but we could redo someday, large garage, cul-de-sac, corner lot, good schools, quiet neighborhood, close to MAX for Nelson to commute, near everything we need!! I am really trying to get my heart set on it, but I think it's too late.....

We made an offer yesterday. I can't believe this is happening so fast. It was too good to pass up! We're keeping our eyes out for anything new or better. If we get an acceptance, we would close the last week of APRIL!! It can possibly happen so fast, I can't even begin to comprehend it. One thing at a time, right??? God is so awesome, I know this is totally in His hands and I know His plan is best and it awesome!!! We'll know by Wed evening if they accept our offer. PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!!!