Thoughts from a short-sale-aholic

It is like every hour of every day right now I am consumed with thinking about our living situation. The only real reprieve I get is when I am working- because I am too busy to think about anything else. But the moment I get in the car to head off and pick up the kids the thoughts creep back in.

I think, what if we get the short sale? What if we don't? What if while we are waiting we pass up numerous other awesome opportunities and then we still don't get this house? What if we give up too early? What if the market turns before we have the chance to get into this home and what was fair market value when we wrote the contract is now highly under value? What if the point of this short sale situation was not that we would buy the short sale- but that we would buy something else altogether?

I am obsessed over our housing situation. I hate that we have a short term rental and unfortunately I know it is short term. I hate that it took me all of eight days to get cabin fever in our rental house and start freaking out about finding our permanent place. I hate that I expect so much of people that are working on our behalf- and that when they fall short I can't seem to forgive them. I hate that I am so passionate about this because I feel it is draining me of energy for other things that I need to be passionate about.

Today we put another offer in on a bank owned property. Like the first one we made an offer on there is a high probability it will either go to a higher bidder or a cash buyer. It is hard not to get excited about it though- it is a former model home and although it has clearly been lived in it is still beautiful. The game room is all ready to go- just insert pool table. It even has a built in bar and fridge! The layout is perfect. The backyard is huge (albeit a little bizarre with the style of decor around the swimming pool and the pool itself). It has two two car garages (four cars!). So we can each park in our own garage. The pantry is amazing. There is a built in wine shelf in the dining room (for all the wine I buy but never really drink). The master bedroom has real hardwood and not just the Pergo floating floor thing. There is an infinity bathtub in the master bath. Hayley walked in and said "whoa- cool tub Mommy!". It really is a beautiful home- and as I type I am getting more and more hopeful that we will get it- which is a bad thing. A very bad thing. With hope comes despair. With despair comes stress. You know the drill.

I absolutely adore our Realtor. ADORE HER. If you are reading this- I adore you! Your commission will never be enough for me to show you how much I appreciate you! I do have to say though- while we were waiting for her to get there another realtor showed up with his clients. First of all- he pulled up behind us and waited a full five minutes before getting out of his car and walking toward ours to see if we were his clients. I can tell you- if we were- he would be fired. Second- he never once went into the home before his clients got there. How else would he have known if there were dead birds in the swimming pool to contend with? I love that my Realtor is totally on top of every property before we are.

So his clients showed up about fifteen minutes later and they all went inside. They were in there for about ten minutes before my Realtor showed up and I guess Realtor etiquitte tells you to wait outside while someone else views the property. We didn't mind so much- except we did happen to have the kids with us, so you can imagine that entertaining a three year old and a one year old that isn't walking yet outside in some dead shrubbery can be quite difficult. We waited. And waited. Come to find out they were testing the frickin' appliances while they were inside!! What? Why don't you wait and see if your offer is accepted before you check if the gas is on and the oven works, wouldja? It's only 103 outside and we are standing out there. With a baby and a toddler...

Patiently we did wait though. And finally they left- about 25 minutes later. We let ourselves in and again, I love my Realtor. She brought the key in with us and locked the door behind us. Now we get our 25 minutes of peace. The doorbell rang about four minutes after we got inside. I tell you- this is a beautiful property and no doubt there will be at least 20 offers once all is said and done. It was a veritable revolving door there. My Realtor politely told them we would be a few minutes as we just got in and could they please wait outside? They did the same thing we originally did- they headed straight for the backyard where they could wait in shade.

I just want to know- why must they leave the A/C set at 95 degrees? Why? Because if they set it at, oh, say, 85 degrees they might pay an extra eight bucks in electricity? We had sweat pouring off our noses before we even finished the first floor. We hit upstairs, ran through it, and headed back downstairs to sign the contract. I would very much have liked to have spent a little more time checking out things like closet space and storage. All I remember about this house was that it had enough bedrooms for each of us and that it seemed we would have adequate space to fit the current furniture that we own. I guess that is all that you need to know until you have an accepted contract, right?

Anyway- back to my Realtor story. We love our Realtor. Even my husband loves her- and he is a tough critic. Even my sister in law loves her- and my sister in law is one tough nut to crack. Today I learned to appreciate her even more. She came to our showing today (as she has every showing she has ever done for us) with printouts of the listing agent notes as well as current comp data. Matter of fact- she knew then that the casita would not be unlocked until Tuesday. (Something the first agent stupidly did not know- he was trying to figure out how to get into the casita until she told him.)

So the first realtor was a dolt. I don't even give him a capital "R"for realtor. He wasn't a Realtor. He was a realtor. His car wouldn't even start when he was ready to leave. Actually that part makes me a little sad. I don't feel sad for him that he didn't do his homework, or even let himself into the home to check it out before his clients arrived.

The second realtor after ours? Hmmm. How do I say this? We think she might have been called away from her other job. One that might include tips. And a pole. Shhh. Did I just say that? The clients that she was showing the home to? hmmmm. How do I describe? There is only one way. Covered in tatoos. Now, there is nothing wrong with tattoos. At one point in my life I wanted my own (thank you roomies and friends for talking me out of them). But honestly, these clients as well as this realtor, well, I don't know if they really fit this neighborhood. Not because I think any less of tattoo'd people. And before you get ready to leave me a nasty comment may I please let you know that we were about to rent our home out to a very nicely tattoo'd couple before we found our current renters- but you kind of have an idea for the kind of people that will mow the lawns and trim the shrubs as needed. Do I think these were the people for that? Not so much. I mean, this backyard is so flippin' big if we got this home we would be buying a ride-on lawnmower (if that tells you anything!).

She was a very nice realtor and all. Even wished my Realtor luck. (As in, break a leg? Like, best wishes, this is a contest?) But honestly, we drove away realizing just how blessed we are to have a true professional working for us. So out of three realtors today ours was by far the most professional. She knew her stuff. She showed up with the notes. She brought comp info. She knew how to get into the home. All of those things speak volumes for me-not to mention that we called her out on a Saturday over Labor Day Weekend to boot. My husband said he was surprised she even answered my call- and if I were her by now I would probably be avoiding me too. I will find a way once all this is said and done to show her my appreciation.

I guess if anything at this point I am learning that if you are making an offer just go in aggressive from the start. My sister and her partner went through this about nine or ten months ago- they looked at over 50 homes (same Realtor as me!). They wrote offers on at least six of them. I did not understand then why on the one they currently live in that they offered more than list price and did not ask for seller concessions. That seemed absolutely ludicrous to me.

Today we offered more than 50k over list price. No seller concessions. I will bet you anything that we do NOT get this home. Someone will be offering more than we are. Or they will be offering cash. If you think that this is a buyers market I would suggest to you that you think again. It is truly only a buyers market if you have cash. Can I please hit the lottery? Thank you.