On houses

If you've been listening to the news, reading the paper, or generally doing anything that is not living under a rock for the last six months, you know that right now is the time to buy a house if you can. Especially if you're a first time buyer. Especially especially if you want to get it cheap.

It is a buyers market, they tell you. So, if one should have a down payment available (we do) and qualify for a loan (we do), you can find the house you want!

That's what they will tell you at least. But then comes the hard part. Not how many bedrooms or bathrooms you want. Not what town you are looking in, but what you want. The nitty gritty. The little stuff. The details.

We know the basics. We want a starter home. We plan to live there 5-6 years, let the economy rebound, and then have steady income so we can "move on up". American dream, yes? So then, what is there to take into account?
1.) Budget (we are, after all, not yet raking in the big bucks. Or much bucks at all, in fact)
2.) Resale opportunities (what will resell best? How will we get the most out of a resale?)
3.) Details!

That last one, it's a doozy. The fundamental problem is that Doug and I have different likes and dislikes when it comes to houses. I grew up in a home built in the 1930's. He grew up in a more modern home. I look for character, he sees home projects. He likes subdivision neighborhoods, I see cookie cutter.

Kind of a problem, yes? Yes. Twice, we have come down to 2 houses. We both agree they are the top 2 houses. We do not agree, however, on which is at the top of the list. They end up being two completely different houses on our list, which makes it hard to compare between them. It really comes down to the character vs. (in my opinion) cookie cutter. We understand they will attract very different buyers when we resell. But since both of us are fuzzy on our crystal ball predictions, we don't know which one will be more beneficial in the long run.

So imagine my surprise today when we saw a house built in 2004 that is (literally) days away from foreclosure. In a subdivision! And now we are putting an offer on it. It's nothing that I thought I wanted, but even I have to admit, we won't get a better bang for our buck.

The bad news is there's already a cash offer. And an IRS lien. It also wants to be closed in 2 weeks, or else it goes to foreclosure and auction. That's a whole lot to do in 2 weeks. And very little of it is in our hands. More is in the hands of the banks and mortgage companies. Blargh.

We made an offer lower than the asking price, with an addendum saying we'll pay the lien. You know, sweetening the pot.

But there's a good chance that they'll take the cash either way. At this point, we've done all we can, and we have a few ... tricks(?) up our sleeves that might make it more enticing. Maybe. As long as they don't reject us outright. Man, I dislike gambling. Oh well, I suppose it's one vice I won't fall victim to.

Deep breaths and happy thoughts, yes? Yes. Hopefully, we'll hear something tomorrow. We have to deal with the bank approving the sale and the seller, so hopefully we'll hear something tomorrow. If not, we have to wait until Monday. Which also means less time for the closing to fall into place. Oh man, I will need to think about other things if I want to sleep tonight.