The House Hunt Continues....

Well, we may be about to walk away from this house we've been trying for during the last month. We have now had every single inch of the property inspected and have determined that the following things need to be repaired before we even move in:
1. The roof needs to be torn off and completely replaced
2. A large amount of the siding needs to be replaced
3. A large amount of standing water needs to be cleaned out of the crawlspace (as a result of the issues with the siding)
4. The furnace needs a lot of repair work
5. The sewage pipe leading away from the house needs to be replaced and the trench re-dug (I don't think that's a word) to make it work properly.

And, that's just the major things. Throughout the house there are dozens of little repairs that need to be made, as well as several projects that the previous owners did themselves, improperly and need to be torn down or removed.

We have submitted an addendum to the bank requesting that they completely repair the five things I listed, before closing. And, it doesn't look like they're going to. We're waiting for a final decision, but it sounds like all they would do is lower the price of the house some more. This doesn't help us, as we are 'cash poor' (realtor word, not ours, even though it's true) and don't have the money in hand to pay for all of those repairs ourselves. We had estimates done on those 5 things and it is NOT a cheap total.

Yesterday, I was pretty discouraged about the whole thing. I had a lot of prayer time with God, trying to understand why He is having us go through it. I came (once again in life, as I do almost every time something major happens...) to the realization that God's plan for us is SO much better than what we had thought was going to happen. There's something better in store in the future. This whole house buying process is totally in His hands and I know He sees the end result and I know it will be awesome!! I am having a lesson (AGAIN) in patience and learning that I don't have control. God does.

So, last night we went and looked at some more houses, just for fun, kind of, but to see what else is out there right now. (and, so the bank knows we're looking and serious about being ready to walk away) I was actually very encouraged and we found another house to put in the back of our minds. Here it is, if you are interested. I'm deciding not to get too excited yet, but it is nice to know that the world will not end if we don't get the original house. : ) And, God bless my parents for letting us live with them as long as it takes for this to work out!!!