A LONG post about what I want to remember about our first experiences with house hunting

Zane has always been the ringleader when it comes to all things related to the Rathbun's owning a house someday.  He was the one to call Jeff - our realtor neighbor next door.  He was the one to talk to all his co-workers who are also part-time realtors, and exhaust them on their local-housing-market knowledge, and he was always the one to use his days off to look at houses with Jeff.  He was a one-man show for sure. 

One particular month, February I believe, he became obsessed with this cycle for weeks & weeks. 

All the while, I accompanied him to places here & there that he had found, and that had stuck out to him.  With each new house that he showed me I became more & more frustrated with the process. All I could see was a ton of work- and at the time we were looking well over our appropriate budget, so I was seeing an overwhelming amount of $ signs.  Plus- I wasn't even really onboard with committing to being tied to Palm Coast for an unknown # of years.  So it became this really touchy subject.  Not to mention plenty of other drama going on in our lives at this point.

Zane was frustrated with me for being 'too picky' and I was frustrated with him because he was pushing me into something that felt so wrong to me.  I'm really big on feelings, maybe to a fault, but if I don't walk thru the front door & feel a connection with the house, I can't even begin to commit to it. 

Plus we were under this dreadful deadline to find a house by a certain date in order to take advantage of the 'Obama-first-time-homebuyer's-tax-credit' before it expired, so it was just this ridiculous rush to try to make a decision.

We finally did find a nice house at the very top of our budget in a nice neighborhood.  It would not have required any work except for personal cosmetic changes we'd want to make in time.  So it was at this point that I gave into Zane, mostly because I wanted to make this go away.  No more talking about houses & using every spare moment to look at houses! 

We made an offer. 

It was rejected. (Divine intervention if you ask me).

Finally Zane saw the light.  We would either a). have to buy a crappy house that would need a ton of work or b). buy a decent house that would eat every single penny we'd make, so he agreed to let it take a backseat.  I was thrilled to let it dissolve from Zane's agenda.

Meanwhile... our life blows up because of other issues going on, and we s l o w l y begin to pick up the pieces over the next few months. 

Fast forward to today where we are stronger then ever. 

Zane approaches the topic again last month; We talk in depth. 

Basically I promise to give it a fair chance if he promises to drop the pressure.  It's a deal. 

A phone call was made that day to Jeff, and within days Jeff & Zane are happy house-hunters again.  He said it was funny we called when we did because he'd just been thinking about us. 

I told Zane upfront that I didn't want any involvement whatsoever until he's truly excited about something.  Also this time around, the 'Obama tax break' had expired & our budget has been reassessed, and because time is not an issue- short sales & foreclosures are now valid options.

It's amazing what a difference 5-months can make.

We had an experience right off the bat that made me think, "Oh crap, here we go again" as far as stress is concerned.  Zane fell in love with this one house- enough to want me to rush from work in St. Augustine between shifts.  It turns out Jeff had mixed up two houses that were only a few blocks apart, had similar street names & were both '19's.'  It was a difference of $56K so that was a blow for sure. 

But then it all changed & the stars aligned for the Rathbun's. We both got Tuesday off (this is a big deal) so we set up an afternoon appointment with Jeff who promised to gather some more listings for us.  

Enter the pale yellow house on Forsythe Lane. It's this delightful cute-as-a-button ranch-style home with overgrown hedges that need trimmed.  On a sidenote I've always had a soft spot in my heart for addresses with "Lane" in them- it's a word that conjures up charming images for me.   The front yard at the very least needs to get familiar with a sprinkler & lawn mower, but it has wonderful potential. 

As soon as you walk thru the front door you're showered with bright, light, airy living space.  It's a totally open floor plan - the living room, kitchen & eating area all flow together. 

It's tiny at 1,041 square feet of living space- and as much as we've enjoyed having the luxury of a third bedroom at our current apartment, it's not a necessity.  Instead we can trade in for a big backyard full of potential for barbequing & tons of space for the dogs, and also enough space for 1-car in the garage & even some storage space.  All would be a first for us- minus those 3-months we got in Pasco where we did indeed get a taste of garages & backyards.

The kitchen appliances made us giggle.  We're pretty sure they must be original to the house which was built in 1979.  They're lovely shades of mustard yellow & chocolate brown.  The microwave itself is comically huge.  It's the biggest hunk of housing for electromagnetic waves i've ever seen- I mean I think I could host a sleepover inside of it.  What's funny is that all the appliances are in great condition- you could tell me they were purchased this year (i mean, if this was 1979) because they're that clean. 

The house is all tile- very attractive to certain care-takers of certain dogs who sometimes think waiting to go outside is overrated. 

The master bath is reminiscent of our first house in Pasco- outdated but in good condition & totally functional. 

So we leave the house & Jeff says: "Well put a big red star next to that one!"  And we did.

Three houses & 2-hours later, we both agree this is by far our favorite house we've seen yet, so we ask Jeff if we might be able to take one more quick peek.  And that second entrance solidified it for us.  We couldn't. stop. smiling. 

Within two days & several phone calls later, formal papers were drawn up, and we made an official offer. 

Jeff called me at work to see if i could sign 'the papers.'  It was surreal.  I wasn't just reacting- i was really there inside that moment thinking, 'Wow, so this is what grown-ups feel like!"

Within hours I got a call from Zane saying Jeff had dropped by the seller's office to present the offer, and she had signed it immediately.  Her parting words were, "whatever it take to get this monkey off my back."   Sweet, sweet words!!  (Long story short, she had bought this house for her son who ended up not moving to the area, and then she rented it out & had 1 nightmar-ish tenant, and said 'forget it'- so her frustration is our gain!)

Another email from Jeff last night.  Everything about this is such a process, but this time, it's been rather enjoyable.  The email says that the title company has the necessary documents- they just need one last signature from us, and then it can be turned over to the bank for approval. 

And then the waiting game continues... The bank is supposed to answer within 45-days, so we could possibly know if the house belongs to us by November 5th.  But it is a short sale, and that brings all sorts of complications.  Why are they called 'short sales' when they are anything but!?

Regardless, I have only positive feelings about this whole thing.  I think that if we can be patient *which we totally can* that it will be ours sometime in 2011. 

I like taking steps towards being a grown up. 

master bedroom

living room

eating area

guest bath