House Hunting = Torture
Robin and I have been actively searching for a home to purchase for over three weeks. It started as a whim, a spark, a look into what kind of financing we could get. With good credit and stable jobs, it turns out we have quite a lot available. We decided on a lender. We were recommended a fantastic real estate agent. We were ready to go in a few short days.
The hunt began as a meeting and eight home tour with our agent. The purpose was to acquaint us with what is available in our price range, what features in a new home we really can't live without and what neighborhood we want to be looking in. The process is overwhelming at first, because I was taking in so much sensory input and trying to remember things like "not to worry, walls can be painted" and "how the hell would we change that" all while processing the overall appeal of the house, where it was, etc.
The weekend before last, we looked at a house on West 18th Place. It was perfect. A bit outside our price range, our agent knew how to work the system being that the house was still going to need some work on the kitchen. She offered a price reduction in lieu of the contractors finishing what they were originally intending to (i.e. sanding the cabinets and changing the counter tops). The agent selling the house agreed, reducing the price by a whopping $25,000. Suddenly, the house was very much in our range. Our realtor called immediately to see if we would go for it. We said yes. This was in the morning around 11am. At 2:30, Robin got a call from our realtor saying that the agent selling the house had pulled a shady deal. He had accepted our offer by phone but never faxed our realtor the disclosure agreement. Without that, we couldn't proceed. In the mean time, he accepted a higher offer from another buyer (we can only assume, but why would he change his mind like that? Higher sale price = more money in his dirty ass shady bitch hell ass pocket). House We Like #1 was no longer an option.
We viewed several more houses this past weekend. Now bolstered by a better idea of what we were looking for, some of the homes were very easy to dismiss. We still took them in as best we could, but our bias was clearly showing. Now that our realtor has a good idea of what we like and don't, she is able to offer her opinion that speaks to our needs. After a string of disappointments, we visited a home on Sally Way. Before I continue, I realize the irony of two gays living on Sally Way. It just sounds gay. It would pretty much be the gayest place we could live besides the popular Rainbow Avenue or Ass Spelunker Court. Be that as it may, the house itself was even more perfect than the previous one. After thinking on it for the evening, we decided we would offer on it the next day.
Our realtor met us at the house for one final look before continuing to her office to sign papers. We had just begun the paper signing process when the agent representing the house called our agent. Turns out, at that moment, there as another buyer offering on the place. So now we had competition. Great. Robin was upset and though I was too, all I could do was laugh. Of course this would happen as we were putting together our offer. On the advice of our realtor, we beefed up our offer to make ours hopefully the more appealing. We did enough to get the seller to make a meeting between the two realtors and hack it out in a bidding war. We were willing to offer the listing price. Turns out so were the other buyers and they had a "substantial down payment", so they won. I don't know why that matters in the scheme of buying a house because we were pre-approved for our loan, but I suppose it just sounds nicer to the seller. House We Like #2 was no longer an option.
I sat last night irritated that the process of purchasing a home is so, forgive my language, FUCKED IN THE GOAT ASS. It goes against everything I have been taught as a good little consumer. Were it any other financial venture, I could walk in with a huge pile of money and say, "Me wantee", the effect of which would be immediate possession of my desired thing. Robin and I are walking around with a ridiculous sum of money, throwing it in people's faces and there's no guarantee that our pile of money will be accepted. Even if it were, there are inspections, closing and so many other factors that could lead to us never getting the house we want.
As irritated as I can be, I take comfort (yes, comfort!) in the fact that this is a really good learning process for me. As someone who has a tendency to get emotionally invested and reactive to stimuli ("I love and want THAT house, NOW"), I know that no matter how emotionally invested I get will guarantee anything other than heartburn and indigestion. And so far, science hasn't invented the super strength Pepto that can quell House Hunting Indigestion. I am uncharacteristically calm today. In most cases, even when I know there is nothing I can do, I'm still hacked off and want something to blame. But in hunting for houses, that attitude will only take me down a spiral of irritation, ending in my eventual insanity. The best we can do is keep looking, keep offering, and someday, someway, our huge pile of money will transform into our first home.
The hunt began as a meeting and eight home tour with our agent. The purpose was to acquaint us with what is available in our price range, what features in a new home we really can't live without and what neighborhood we want to be looking in. The process is overwhelming at first, because I was taking in so much sensory input and trying to remember things like "not to worry, walls can be painted" and "how the hell would we change that" all while processing the overall appeal of the house, where it was, etc.
The weekend before last, we looked at a house on West 18th Place. It was perfect. A bit outside our price range, our agent knew how to work the system being that the house was still going to need some work on the kitchen. She offered a price reduction in lieu of the contractors finishing what they were originally intending to (i.e. sanding the cabinets and changing the counter tops). The agent selling the house agreed, reducing the price by a whopping $25,000. Suddenly, the house was very much in our range. Our realtor called immediately to see if we would go for it. We said yes. This was in the morning around 11am. At 2:30, Robin got a call from our realtor saying that the agent selling the house had pulled a shady deal. He had accepted our offer by phone but never faxed our realtor the disclosure agreement. Without that, we couldn't proceed. In the mean time, he accepted a higher offer from another buyer (we can only assume, but why would he change his mind like that? Higher sale price = more money in his dirty ass shady bitch hell ass pocket). House We Like #1 was no longer an option.
We viewed several more houses this past weekend. Now bolstered by a better idea of what we were looking for, some of the homes were very easy to dismiss. We still took them in as best we could, but our bias was clearly showing. Now that our realtor has a good idea of what we like and don't, she is able to offer her opinion that speaks to our needs. After a string of disappointments, we visited a home on Sally Way. Before I continue, I realize the irony of two gays living on Sally Way. It just sounds gay. It would pretty much be the gayest place we could live besides the popular Rainbow Avenue or Ass Spelunker Court. Be that as it may, the house itself was even more perfect than the previous one. After thinking on it for the evening, we decided we would offer on it the next day.
Our realtor met us at the house for one final look before continuing to her office to sign papers. We had just begun the paper signing process when the agent representing the house called our agent. Turns out, at that moment, there as another buyer offering on the place. So now we had competition. Great. Robin was upset and though I was too, all I could do was laugh. Of course this would happen as we were putting together our offer. On the advice of our realtor, we beefed up our offer to make ours hopefully the more appealing. We did enough to get the seller to make a meeting between the two realtors and hack it out in a bidding war. We were willing to offer the listing price. Turns out so were the other buyers and they had a "substantial down payment", so they won. I don't know why that matters in the scheme of buying a house because we were pre-approved for our loan, but I suppose it just sounds nicer to the seller. House We Like #2 was no longer an option.
I sat last night irritated that the process of purchasing a home is so, forgive my language, FUCKED IN THE GOAT ASS. It goes against everything I have been taught as a good little consumer. Were it any other financial venture, I could walk in with a huge pile of money and say, "Me wantee", the effect of which would be immediate possession of my desired thing. Robin and I are walking around with a ridiculous sum of money, throwing it in people's faces and there's no guarantee that our pile of money will be accepted. Even if it were, there are inspections, closing and so many other factors that could lead to us never getting the house we want.
As irritated as I can be, I take comfort (yes, comfort!) in the fact that this is a really good learning process for me. As someone who has a tendency to get emotionally invested and reactive to stimuli ("I love and want THAT house, NOW"), I know that no matter how emotionally invested I get will guarantee anything other than heartburn and indigestion. And so far, science hasn't invented the super strength Pepto that can quell House Hunting Indigestion. I am uncharacteristically calm today. In most cases, even when I know there is nothing I can do, I'm still hacked off and want something to blame. But in hunting for houses, that attitude will only take me down a spiral of irritation, ending in my eventual insanity. The best we can do is keep looking, keep offering, and someday, someway, our huge pile of money will transform into our first home.
posted by Infused Confusion at
10:51 AM
1 Comments:
Congrats. This is very exciting. Too exciting, in fact, to keep me in my self-inflicted silence as your number one internet fan. ;)
~Amy
By
Amy Farley, At
9:01 PM
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