I'm sitting here in Hilton Head, only now realizing how crazy the last two weeks have been. I am mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted-but a mere two days away from life has been exactly what I need to refresh my soul and take an inventory of what has been going on.
House Buying: We "officially" started house hunting on February 9th. We met our realtor at a house that we didn't love, but it was good to see a "flip" house, and realize that wasn't what we wanted. Reinhard set up a "search" which didn't feel that serious in the beginning, the website simply acted as a more sophisticated form of Zillow...then houses that we loved started to pop up. We quickly realized that everything was getting an offer the SAME day, and often for high above the asking price. The following day, Reinhard(who we love) stated he would be out of town for the next full week, and he would be placing us with someone else-PANIC!
On Wednesday, things got real, a house was put up for sale that we loved and was in the right neighborhood. We called our stand in, and the only time he could meet us was 9:30 at night-on Valentine's day, mind you. We(along with Holly) piled in the car at 9pm, drove through the rain, and met Glenn. As soon as we walked in, Glenn listed 5 good reasons we shouldn't buy the house. Namely, it was another flip that wasn't done well...saggy floors, a wet basement, a bad set-up, etc. It felt like a total waste. So we waited for the next good thing to come up.
The following Monday at 12:09, 902 Campbell came on the market. Good neighborhood, a basement that looked dry, a huge kitchen, plenty of natural light, a good yard. I promptly made panicky phone calls to Jordan. Let's look at it TONIGHT. So we did. We toured the house by 5:30, put an offer in by 10, and it was accepted by 7:30 the next morning. Wham, bam, thank you ma'mm. How was it that easy?! Wasn't that supposed to be the hard part? Negotiating an offer?? We got lucky. But it happened fast, and I panicked. We had our house inspection by Wednesday. We got lucky, and there weren't any red-flags. Check and check.
The next part was far more exhausting and emotional for me. The house is at the top of our budget, and with offering to pay closing costs, it feels like the original plan flew out of the window. Kind of like those birth stories you hear..."this wasn't our original plan, but if it get our house here safely...that's all that matters." So that's what we did. Our percent down went out the window, the bank we planned to loan with, all of it...different and scary. There were a lot of tears and literal CRAZY moments for me. I'm bad with big decisions. Like, terrible. As usual, Jordan was calm and collected. He always amazes me in these moments. Completely calm, handling the details with grace...while I rock myself and sob in the corner(kidding, not kidding.)
The financials were a long and crazy journey, and honestly, it's still not over...but we're a lot closer. Our counter offer for inspection fixes has been accepted, we've found the bank and loan that's best for us, and as of now...we will be home owners on April 5th. Woof. It's been crazy. It still makes me panicky/mostly happy that we've chosen where we will live the next phase of our life out. Praying that God blesses 902 Campbell Ave. for much more than we could ever ask or imagine!
