That's just crazy talk!

Well we were supposed to hear back about the house by Wednesday and we have not. I wasn’t horribly disappointed that we didn’t hear back by Wednesday because I know that since it is a short sale, the process takes much longer than usual (sometimes up to 6 months!). We were forewarned that even though we asked for the acceptance date to be a week after our offer was submitted, we probably wouldn’t hear back by then. We do however know that things are moving forward. We know that the owner of the house has accepted our offer. The bank has also forwarded us more documents to sign as well that protect them. So right now we just wait.

It has been very hard to wait! I need to call my landlord about us moving out but I don’t know for sure when that will be so I’m delaying in calling him. However, they need to know at least 30 days in advance so I need to call them soon but I don’t have any sort of answer yet! I guess I just need to hope that they will be open about the move-out time.

There are a ton of things that we need to do and we can’t until we know we are for sure getting the house. We need to buy a lot of expensive things that are necessary for the house. The house doesn’t have a washer and dryer, we need a lawn mower and we just found out the other day that the current owner’s brother took the fridge. Those are probably the only things that we will need right when we move in but those are four very expensive items!

Another thing that has made it very hard to wait is that I want to start packing! I love moving!!! I get to go through all of my stuff and throw away things that I don’t use/need any more. Unpacking all your stuff in a new house is an amazing feeling! You get to start fresh!

A few of the things I am most looking forward to: (1) getting Winston (golden retriever puppy), (2) getting a porch swing; (3) getting a decent grill and being able to grill out during the summer, (4) being able to paint the walls, (5) being able to have both of us park in a garage so I don’t have to park in the street anymore; and (6) going home to something that is mine!

I wish Heaven had a phone so I could hear your voice again... I thought of you today, that is nothing new. I thought about you yesterday, and the days before that too. I think of you in silence, and often speak your name. All I have is memories, and a picture in a frame.

Last night we took the leap and put an offer in on House #2! It is kind off a huge gamble because we don’t know if we will get the house even if they accept our offer. Somewhere along the lines things can always fall through. So we might be wasting 2 months on this house. But we are willing to take the gamble because we really want it. So here is the deal: We set the offer acceptance date for one week, so the bank is supposed to accept or deny our offer by April 21st. Dianna, our realtor, said that they may take longer than one week. If they accept our offer then they have until June 4th to get all the liens cleared and then close. The liens are going to be a tough one. There are three liens (mortgages) on the house and lien #1 and lien #2 are fighting out the pecking order right now. So there is a separate law suit than the foreclosure action that needs to close before we can buy the house. We are hoping that after they accept our offer they can all come to an agreement. Wishful thinking! :-)

So tomorrow night is the big night! We are putting in our first offer ever on a house! We are really excited about it but also scared to death. I’m trying not to get too excited and trying not to think about the decorating yet because it might not happen. If I get too excited and I have too many plans in my head than I’ll be crushed if it falls through. I’m guessing you are wondering which house we decided to put an offer on... We are going with House #2! Surprising? We both love each home but this one makes more sense for us right now. If we get it I think we will be very happy there! :-) I’m not sure how long this all takes since it is a short sale but we are putting in the offer Tuesday night. I think there is a good chance we won’t get the house because of the liens and such on it but we are just going to hope for the best and try! Hopefully my next post will be that we got the house!

Here is a picture of the house. Isn't it cute!!!

Yesterday evening my little brother, Justen and I moved my older brother, Chris into his new place. First we had to go pick up his piano from his old house so we could move it to his new place. My brother Justen asked a few of his buddies to help us move the piano (since they weigh a ton). So Justen, Chris, Mark (the hired help) and Al (Justen’s friend) left to go get the piano. About two seconds after we leave they ask if I brought my wallet. Of course I did! And a second later I realized what they meant… we were going to go bar hopping after this was all over. Guess I should have known.

Anyways, we get to the first house and realized the piano weighs more than we thought. Eventually we got it into the trailer and were off to the new place. We walked in and right away said this piano is definitely not going to fit. So we ended up deciding to burn it. Don’t worry the piano was in pretty rough shape anyways!

So, after we got Chris all unloaded then we were off to the bar. First we stopped at L&Ms in Roberts. I have never been there. We pull up and there were probably 50+ bikers at the bar. Sweet, I feel like I’m going to get my ass kicked. Then I started to recognize a few of them. A lot of them were my dad’s friends so we chatted with them. After a few we were off to bar number 2, the Pheasant Hills Golf Club. There we had a few more and had some pizza. Then Justen said that the drive home from Hammond to Baldwin is just too far so we need to stop at one more bar on the way, Razz’s. So we stopped at Razz’s and proceeded to have a few more.

I know it’s pathetic but that was my first real bar hopping experience. Usually we go to Hudson and park and then walk between Dick’s and Ellies. I wasn’t prepared to be going bar hopping after moving Chris but I guess I should have expected it! All in all it was a good night! It’s not very often that I get to hang out with my brother. :-)

I feel like I’m on House Hunters and I need to choose between three great choices. We looked at 3 houses last night and I liked all three! We can’t frickin decide which one we want! House #3 was adorable!!! The main floor was perfect. It was pretty much everything I want in a house. That was until we walked into the basement. We were both like WTF? There was a lot of square footage down stairs but a ton of rooms and the “family room” was not workable. There was absolutely no way to put a big screen TV down there so Phil can have his “man cave”. Phil hated the house. So I guess that makes #3 a dud. :(

And then there were 2… and we have a dilemma. We both really like House #1 AND House #2! They are both very different from each other but they both have great qualities that we like. When we were writing down the pros and cons last night the pros and cons for each house were dead even! Arg, this is so hard!

Let’s start with the main pros of House #1: lots of privacy, 35 acres, a house we would probably live in forever, huge deck, walk-out basement, good layout in basement, has a pole shed, kids would go to Baldwin school and the house has a ton of potential.

Cons for House #1: Farther out than we want, needs LOTS of work, top of our price range, pole shed needs a cement floor, no dishwasher and there is currently an offer on it.

Pros for House #2: beautiful new house, less expensive by far, needs a lot less work (only paint and a floor for the basement), has a walk-in closet, has double ovens, and slightly shorter drive to work.

Cons for House #2: not much privacy because there are houses next to it, not many acres, there are 3 liens on the house so right now we don’t know how long it will take to get in – if we even can, no deck yet, yard needs TLC since the weeds almost up to our waist, the kids would go to Hammond school and there is no shed for Phil.

We CAN put another offer in on our favorite house!!!! Hurray!!!!!!! However, there is a stipulation. We must submit an offer higher than the first offer and we don’t know what that amount is, nor will they tell us. Shall we take a gamble?

We are looking at it again Wednesday night and will probably put an offer in!!!! I’m excited/nervous/scared/all of the above!

There is something that I have been pondering in my head for quite some time. I haven't really voiced it much but now I'm starting to wonder if it could be a good idea. So the question is: Should we continue to look for a house or should we just buy some land and build our own house?

There are obviously pros and cons to each side. One major pro to buying a house is that you get to buy it and move in right away. Which makes building a con because you have to wait until the house is finished to move in. One of the major questions in my head is which would be more expensive? I know that if we decide to build we won't want to build cheap. If I am going to build a house I want it to be somewhere where we will live forever. It obviously won't be a luxurious home but it won't be cheap either. So does expense fit into a pro or con? I have no clue! Does anyone have any advice for me????? I need more pros and cons for each. If we were to build I have absolutely no idea where to start! Help!