A Woman Obsessed

I am completely obsessed now with seriously finding the right home to raise our children in. Buying a home has been such an eye opener for us.

We got married in August of 2000. Sometime in November that year we got this crazy itch and started looking to buy a house. Because that's what you do, right? Get married, buy a house, fill it with stuff, add some kids, the American Dream.

We found the cutest house- and lucky for us we even had a rare choice opportunity to choose the specific lot it was being built on. We got a lot that backed the community park- with a great sized backyard. We loved that home- we put in a swimming pool, fruit trees, and roses galore. We entertained almost every single weekend in that home- sometimes Friday, Saturday and Sunday all in one weekend.

The problem was, well, I have "the wants". Our home was beautiful but it seemed very small (I laugh now how 1800 square feet was small). We wanted a guest room on the ground floor so that my husband's parents might consider staying longer when they visit. So one Sunday afternoon I asked my husband if he wanted to go look at houses. Of course he didn't! So off I went by myself to scout out new homes.

I walked through the models at a golf course nearby and I absolutely fell in love. They were a bit out of our price range so I told the sales agent if they had any that fell out of contract to give me a call (thinking I could possibly convince the builder to sell us the home at a discount instead of let it sit once completed). I know I looked like a real ragamuffin that day and the agent really didn't take me seriously. I called back a few days later to reiterate my interest and suddenly she "remembered" one that they might have available. (Funny- because at that point every single home on that street was actually a spec home).

Anyway- we drove out, took a look at it, and I convinced my husband we could swing it. We made a conscious investment choice- knowing that we intended to live in the home but also that there might come a day when we would need to sell the home and if so we wanted to make sure that it wouldn't be a cookie-cutter house just like every other. Fortunately for us the home was on the golf course- with beautiful upgrades and a fantastic lot. We added a swimming pool with spa and real rock waterfall. We added fruit trees, palm trees, and roses galore. We entertained every weekend there. We knew we were going to have a family and it seemed like it would be just the right home to last us forever. (Or at least until the kids grew up and moved away).

I must say- it is a beautiful home. It is perfect for entertaining. And if our children were older (say ten or twelve years old) it would likely be the perfect home for us. The problem however is that with being on the golf course comes the hazard of stray balls. We have taken our share- and while most are harmless it is the one or two that have done extensive damage and have been too close for our comfort. We wanted to put a swingset up in the backyard- and while our yard was certainly large enough to do so we unfortunately didn't feel comfortable with the location of where it would need to be placed. It would be right out in the open and exposed to any balls that could come through.

One Sunday afternoon I was just perusing Realtor.com and I came across a home with a basement in a neighborhood we had originally looked at when we were dreaming in 2002 or 2003. All of a sudden the ball set in motion. That particular home was so badly vandalized (why do people do that anyway? What class is there in trashing a home because you couldn't afford it?) so it really wasn't an option for us. But I did have our Realtor set us up for notifications any time anything in that neighborhood got listed.

Four days later we got the notification on the house we went into contract on and the rest is history in the making. We loved the house the minute we drove up to it. We loved everything about it. The previous owners clearly cared for their home and with the exception of carpet and paint the home was pretty much move-in condition. Actually, I didn't even really notice that the carpet and paint needed to be re-done until the second time we got to look at it and we spent an hour going through the whole thing writing our notes about what we needed to get to right away and what could wait.

I wrote a heartfelt letter to attach to our contract and lucky for us- the homeowners accepted ours above all others. We were so appreciative.

The problem now is that I just don't think we can continue going through this process with the continuous misinformation we are being given. Today we are in Phase one but sixty days ago we were in Phase two. Today no BPO has been ordered but we were told one was ordered on August 4th.

So as we are weighing out our options it has been quite funny how things have changed. Originally there were a few major reasons for us wanting to buy the house we are in contract for. One- the lot size is awesome- we can put our swingset, a garden, entertain, everything. Two- it has a room that we could designate as a playroom (something that as I listen to my children fight over the small living space and the toys we have brought I am wishing we had here). Three- it has a basement. In the desert. Need I say more?

But as I have been looking at other neighborhoods trying to figure out what is important to us it has really put things in perspective. Yes, a home that is spacious is most definitely a luxury we would like to afford. But the real kicker for us right now is the yard. Now that we have seen what we could possibly do with a third of an acre we are really wanting something between the .3 and .5 acre mark. See, for us it has always been a family affair to get outside and do stuff. The fact that our rental home has a very tiny backyard that is nicely landscaped but covered in rock does nothing for us. The children have cabin fever every single day because we can't take them outside and let them work off their energy on the lawn.

So as of right this minute my frantic need to find a home is mainly focused on a home with a large yard. It doesn't have to be landscaped. It just has to have potential. And it has to be something that we can outbid any of those stupid cash investors on. Oh yeah, and one more thing- it has to be ready for a reasonable close of escrow date. I don't think I have the heart to even consider looking at a short sale- even if they say that it already has bank approval.

I guess you could just call me a woman obsessed.