Wednesday, March 18, 2009

always, always, always read the fine print

(and new owners manuals but thats a whole different can of worms)

So right after I posted my last post, I went over to my in-laws to hang for the evening. And we got a suprise! the bank had called. (DUN DUN DUN!!!). Pause for dramatic affect... and we didn't get it. Haha, with all the drama that comes with buying your first home, its no wonder that there are multiple TV shows about it. But according to our mortage broker Jeff, the only logical reason we were denied was because there must have been something bad about the house that made it not qualify for our FHA loan, like plumbing, electrical, flooring, roofing. All that stuff and others I don't remember have to be functioning properly and stuff.



But don't feel sad for us, because we've already made another offer on another house thats even better (this one has a 2 car garage and a fireplace&woodstove and livable flooring-meaning we could live with it). It just came on the market 2 days ago, is FHA approved, and it would be just perfect for us. So we're hoping that this is what and where the Lord wants us to be and we can be done home hunting.



But, I just have to smile and keep trying because sometimes life gives you no choice but to live by faith. And the sooner I came to realize that house hunting is just one of those times, the sooner the stress and worry of whether our offer would be accepted or not was lifted away. It reminds me of the 'Flying Solo' CD by John Bytheway where we give up the airplane controls to the Copilot (by listening to the Spirit), and let Heavenly Father direct our lives, instead of trying to do it all ourself.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

From Best to Worst

House Hunting! Oh such fun and joy and sadly sorrow.

Janelle Solomon is officially a realitor! and not just any realitor, she's our realitor (so there). And after months of looking at houses online and visiting a few to take a peek in their windows, Rial and I have now went all the way and actually gone inside and toured some of the best mesa had to offer (that was in our under $85,000 price range).

The biggest heart break for me was seeing the most adorable little house on 6th ave and then having to force myself to put my dearest husband and darling children-to-be first and not buy it.









and yes, the entire house was just adorable and had every bell and whistle I could ever want in a house. But the downsides were just to big to be overlooked. Things like the attic someone decided to convert into two bedrooms and a bath had poor ventilation and very creaky floors when you walked. Which means Rial wouldn't be able to have a room to record his music unless he wanted to make music with scary creaky noises in it. And any future children would be sadly hot at night in the summer and cold in the winter :(. And there were a few other small things wrong that kinda come with a house built in the 30's, that weren't important to me.
But we did find a house on emerald to put our offer on and here's the pics:




And yes the house is pink with pink counter in the kitchen, the carpet is that dirty and worse in the livingroom and three bedrooms, there are mouse droppings in the clossets, nasty linolium in the kitchen, no fireplace, and has none of the charm the other one has. but, and its a big but, the layout is wonderful, tearing out the carpet and replacing it (the linolium with woodflooring) will be easy and guilt-free, I can change the cabinets to have glass in them, add beautiful moulding everywhere, and it has a nice backyard and a garage.
So with our tax refund in hand (assuming our offer is accepted, we find out in a week) and some elbow grease, lots of patience, and living a humble life to save money to finance said projects, this house will make a fine home. And Rial and I have decided that if our offer isn't accepted, it just means the Lord has bigger and better plans for us. And so with faith as our ally, we will press forward and continue to put the Lord and our family first in all things.