I got it!

This is my little house. Well, it is if the home inspection goes well next Tuesday.

We had a weekend of really miserable weather here, but my realtor called me. She did a super job of helping me negotiate.

The loan I qualified for was an FHA loan - and there is a program where you can ask the seller to donate the down payment to a 501 (c3) non-profit organization which provides the down payment for the property. The seller gets to write it off on their taxes and as a result, I got a no money down loan. Now if the seller hadn't gone for it, I would have been required to come up with the 3% required by the loan. However, the seller accepted. I'm over the moon!

Now I just have to come up with earnest money and the money needed to pay for the house inspection. Fortunately, I can scrape that up. Be sure to check with your realtor if you're house hunting. This option is a REAL life saver for those of us without a lot of money for a down payment!

I'll keep you posted about the results of the house inspection.

Oooops, I did it again!

I made an offer. Again. But this time it wasn't quite so terrifying. Two of my friends met with me and my realtor to look through the house with me. They like it. I like it.

It's not nearly so scary this time because it really feels like the RIGHT house this time. So of course, this time I'm on pins and needles because I haven't heard yet whether they'll accept the offer. They have until noon tomorrow.

The house is very cute. Smallish - but anything in my price range is. It has an enclosed and heated front porch. Brand new windows. All the appliances stay. A back deck and there are wood floors. The wood is probably pine - but for me (and my cats) anything in which carpeting is not involved is a very good thing. Unless you steam clean monthly, carpets gets disgusting. I want FLOORS! The living room/dining room has carpeting but there's wood hiding underneath.

I really hope I get this house.

Buyer's Remorse

I offered for a house on Friday. I was in low level panic all afternoon, because I began to realize it wasn't the right house for me. There's nothing scarier than hoping someone WON'T accept your offer!

It's a really cute house at a very good price, but it just wasn't right for me. The tough thing was that there was another offer on the property. I felt internal pressure to make an offer or lose the house. My realtor didn't pressure me at all and she has been SO great in all of this.

But I have some tips for other house hunters:

• Do NOT let yourself fall into the "Me, too" feeling if you're not sure about a house.


• Do NOT talk yourself into a house because it's cheaper than another house you'd looked at. Not good.


• DO set a short deadline if there's another offer. It may save your life.

How does a short deadline save your life? Let me explain. Because there was another offer, my realtor set an 8pm the same day deadline for the offer. If the sellers hadn't responded by then my offer was off the table unless I CHOSE to keep it there. The sellers decided they needed to consult a lawyer but couldn't talk to him until Monday. I was off the hook. I've never felt so relieved as when 8pm passed on Friday evening. I thought about my decision and let the seller know today that I wanted to pull my offer. This gave them the opportunity to accept the other offer if they chose to, but I was clear of the deal.

I may still be house hunting, but I survived the weekend.