Home Search Blues

I tell you what- searching for your future home is S-T-R-E-S-S-F-U-L-L-L-L-L!!!! When Justin and I realized that a mortgage payment would be just a bit more than our rent payment, I was ecstatic to start looking at houses and find our future home. My poor little innocent and naive soul. I honestly had no idea what an emotional process this was going to be. Time after time we find a house online that we get really excited about, schedule a viewing, and then the disappointment comes. I found a house in Newton that I was sure would be a hit. Yeah no. It turned out to be a meth house. Pretty much this is the story of our lives. The biggest problem we have run into is home owners refusing to fix their roofs that are not even insurable. Another let down is when you want to look at a house, but find out it's already under contract. This has happened several times to us. The worst one happened just this last week. Justin and I found a house that we really liked but we wanted to think about it. Well apparently we thought for too long because by the time we went back (like two days later) to maybe put an offer on the house, it was already under contract with an investor. Justin took this particular let down pretty hard. And guess what folks, pictures are NOT worth a thousand words. Online pictures of homes are usually LYING. Like seriously, they look great online and then you walk into them and wonder who was murdered there. And while you are doing your quick little walk through you have to think of these things:
--Is there room for our future family?
--Can I cook in this kitchen?
--Where will our holiday decorations be stored??
-- Is there room for a Thanksgiving dinner and other parties?
--Will a puppy be happy in this yard?
--Are our neighbors potential murderers or rapists?
--Are the schools good?
--Rooms and closets and bathrooms large enough?
--Where will Justin work on cars?
--Will we be able to afford our monthly mortgage?
--etc etc etc
Plus you have to make sure nothing is wrong with the roof, the ceilings, the floors, the walls, no water leaks, no cracks in the foundation, good insulation, a working water heater and furnace, no meth being cooked in the kitchen and on and on and onnnnnnn. It's a lot to think about. A lot to take in. A lot to consider! I know that it will happen when the time is right and we will feel right about "The One" blah blah blah and stuff. But honestly, it's hard to not get discouraged. There was one day that one of the houses we wanted to look at went off the market and I just cried in the dark for a few moments while Justin patiently waited for my discouraged and disappointed self to get over it. Every day we have to give ourselves a little pep talk, and every night we have to comfort each other and boost each other back up. I seriously never in a million years expected the heartache that comes into buying a home. And really, there is no point to this blog, other than warning you future home buyers to gird up your loins and prepare for battle!