Where I live now is next to a beautiful garden. It’s kind of small–but is clean and comfortable. However, we are looking for our new house. We started our quest last Monday, in earnest. We have been spending a lot of time on the internet looking at houses, but know it’s time to physically look at houses, in person.
We drove by one on our way home from Eastern Oregon last weekend. After calling the realtor, we stated that we didn’t see much wrong with it from the outside, and it had an acre with it. It was, however, far from any town, which is not our plan this time around if we can find anything closer in. For the record, Rob and I love living out in the country, but we do still have kids to raise who like being active and it’s hard to drive so far for all of their activities. After a conversation, the realtor admitted that the reason there were only 2 interior pictures of it on the internet was because that’s all he dared to put up. There was very little sheetrock, places with leaks, etc., etc., etc. So, unless they lower the price a lot, that one’s out.
Monday, we needed to come back from the beach where we were camping for a family event. Our nephew, Jake, was adopted. Yea! He was hung up in the legal system for a long time, but things finally came to a conclusion on Monday.
We set up some showings. I was very discouraged after that. Those houses were even farther out than the first one, and in very poor condition, or very small. VERY small, with no usable yard, no place for a garden, and the house had structural issues. The other one had a nice big lot, but reeked of animal urine, probably had asbestos issues, and needed major structural repairs, such as a roof. It was very far away as well. I am beginning to appreciate my camper more and more.
Did I forget to mention the other option–the one where the well had failed and a car had driven through the side of the house, leaving a gaping hole. We didn’t even ask to go in to that one:)
Yesterday, we had 3 houses set up to view. We got to see 1. By the time we got to our appointment, one had 7 offers on it, and the other one had an accepted offer. The one we saw had a 1/3 acre lot, so nice and big, but the house was needing a lot. The floor has soft spots, the roof is shot, there is asbestos that would need to be addressed, and there is an added-on area that we wonder if they got permits for, as the square footage is not adding up. So, more info needed on that one, and they would have to come way down on price for us to be able to afford the house and the repairs. It was in a good location, though, and I liked the house.
We go again tomorrow. Hopefully, it will be better:) We understand that this is going to be difficult and that we are going to have to compromise greatly from what we really want. That being said, we trust that God has a place for us out there. We are beginning to appreciate what a challenge it may be to find it, though. Here’s hoping…..
Sounds like some of our house hunting 13 years ago. 😀 We found a house online that we liked, but when we went through it, the floor was all wavy(structural problems).. Oh and we liked the looks of one house out in the country until we went there, and it was beside a family cemetary. If I am going to live beside a cemetary, I want it to be my ancestors. My husband liked a fixer upper Victorian, but I am so glad we didn’t buy it, as I found out that I had cancer 6 months after moving. I can’t imagine going through chemo while in the middle of a major remodel.
But when we toured this house, we knew that it was home! It isn’t perfect, but it is right for us.
Hoping that you find your Home soon.
Thanks! I know I need patience?
Once again you are facing a big challenge but I have faith in you. I remember my last house hunting experience. I couldn’t get the realtor on the phone before there was already an offer on the place. I know how frustrating that is. On the other hand, I remember walking up to one house, knowing it was the one and putting an offer in right then. Glad you’re keeping your wits about you. You do have a roof over your head and a garden view so you have a good place until the right one comes along.
Thanks Barbara
Today, we saw 4. We just need to figure out how much we are going to have to compromise what we really want vs. how much $ we have?. Not awful, though, today. Just really far out or on a tiny lot or a tear-down house so we would live ???? Since the land was a lot. We will try again thursday
House hunting is always frustrating, but I’m sure that you’ll find the right one. Personally, I like a wreck of a house because I don’t want to pay for fix-ups that I’m going to tear out anyhow. Our current house was a wreck that had been on the market for over three years. After we fixed it up, it has become a place of pride for the village. People even stop by and take pictures and ask for advice on fixing their homes. So have confidence. Of course, that being said, I wouldn’t buy a house with asbestos or a hole in the side! I’m sure the perfect house is out there waiting for you!
Hugs
Jane
Thanks Jane. We are expecting to fix up a lot–Rob is great at that–I’ve just been sobered up a bit by the super hot market. I figure sooner or later people will buy their house and we will find ours when enough buyers drop out of the race?
Hi Becky,
I am sure you will find your house. This is a busy time of year for house sales. It should slow down around September. know the camper is small 🙁 I pray God shows you what area to look in. Sometimes you can put the word out on social media that you are looking and a friend of a friend knows someone that has not listed the house yet. I pray for wisdom on house buying my sister wrote a letter talking about that they wanted to raise her family there and they took her offer over some other offers that were higher. Think out of the box, In a hot market. I pray grace and abundant favor for you and your family. That God would open doors that no man can close. Love the garden 🙂 Gods timing is always perfect.
Blessings
Patti
Interesting you should say that. We were talking to a man tonight and his son is about to put his house on the market. We will try to check into that one before it lists?. Trying to have patience. Thanks for the encouragement
We’ve experienced the same thing….homes are just not up to par. And I swear realtors must use special filters on their cameras because the pictures always look better than real life. We have been very discouraged. It pays to look on the internet (although I find the ads filtering in make it frustrating) because otherwise we would be wasting even more time! Of course if the “sky was the limit” for our buying price…I might not have any problems..ha.. Good luck!! Andrea
I agree, but we are trying hard not to fall into the trap of “if I only had s little more$”. I’m sure you are too. Good luck to you too
Your post reminded me of buying my first house. We had worked with a realtor about 2 1/2 weeks when we got a call from her saying ‘drop everything and meet me at this address’. Well, the house was a wreck.. The only full bathroom was gutted to the studs and the bathtub was only sitting on top of an old shower pan and not hooked up. The whole place stunk – as near as we could tell from 3 kids in diapers and two cats and no litter boxes. And way more issues then I’ll list here.
Anyway, we bought the place. Friends visited the day we took possession and the look on their faces was priceless. They obviously thought we had lost our minds.
I still remember the afternoon when I had finally gotten to the task of opening this one window and found a view of the mountains. I didn’t even know we had a view – that’s how dirty the windows were. And the storm windows didn’t help either.
Oh, and the smell in our house was ‘easily’ taken care of with lots of TSP cleaner and tearing out the old carpet. The old, original carpet gave way to beautiful hardwoods.
Long story to say – you’ll find the perfect place. You might have to see a few toads along the way though.
SJ in Vancouver BC
What an encouraging story!! Just what I needed to hear today?
Glad I could be an encouragement. Another part to the story of ‘that’ house – we had to finish the bathroom (shower, sink, toilet, dry wall, flooring, electrical) and fix a portion of the roof in order to qualify the house for a bank loan. We were qualified but the house wasn’t up to code.
So, we put about $3000 into the house before we even owned it. We didn’t have money to speak of so that $3K was a huge deal and led to many a sleepless night until the bank approved and the deal was done. Thanks to a really good realtor for finding the two guys to do the bathroom remodel on the cheap and for knowing a great roofer who also worked on the cheap to do just the minimum.
That’s awesome-that it all worked out! We are going house hunting again tomorrow! Here’s hoping we find a good one:)