It's Like Christmas Eve around here
Tomorrow at 10:00am the Watsons are set to close on our first house. I am both excited and a bit guarded about this. You see, this is the 4th house we've taken a swing at and the previous 3 were disappointments. We've been house hunting, honestly, for about a year.
For the most part, we've been looking in the midtown area of Memphis. It's where we have been living since arriving in Memphis and we really enjoy this part of the city. The previous 3 heart breaks are all within just a few blocks of each other. (Of course now that I write that, maybe that's been our problem! Wrong area).
The first house was owned by some new friends of ours who lived in Memphis for several years but were relocating outside the state. They wanted the home to go to some community minded folks who would care for the house and and the neighbors. We were very interested in the house and began saving pretty aggressively for the down payment. A few months went by, and after a a week away in California Lisa and I returned ready to move forward with the purchase. We arrived back in Memphis to discover the house had already been sold.
The second house was and still is a beauty. We'd been looking at it for several months, walked through it two or three times and really liked it. Not perfect, but a fantastic house for some first timers like us. We haggled, made an offer and began dreaming. We picked out colors for the walls, got some bids to get the popcorn off the ceiling, and wondered how much a kitchen remodel might set us back. Then, the day of the closing, our lawyer called us to tell us the deal was not going to happen. The seller had not been paying her mortgage and the sale price we had agreed to would not cover her payoff and furthermore she didn't have the cash to cover the closing costs. Nevertheless we tried to work with the seller, waiting to see if a short sale would be approved, but to no avail. As of now, the house has slipped into foreclosure and we've moved on to other pastures.
The third house was a beauty. If you have an eye for potential. It was a little rundown. Ok, a lot run down, but a cute little victorian styled house, nearly 100 years old on a fantastic double lot with an awesome wrap around porch. You had to overlook its lack of heating or A/C and not be intimidated by the amount of work required and look at the house a year down the road. A gem for sure. We walked through the house with two contractor friends who helped us dream, and helped us put a price tag on the dream. And then put a time line on the dream. So, armed with that, we began the negotiation. A little back and forth, and by the time it was said and done, The seller wanted a little more than we were willing to give. Its still on the market if anyone is interested.
Which brings us to house number 4. And to be honest, I'm a little hesitant to even blog about this in the event that this thing comes crashing down around us tomorrow. But, undaunted, we have hope! Dang it! This is a cute 4 bedroom 2 bath bungalow style house. Move in ready. About 90 years old. Hardwoods throughout, 2 stories. Great decks in the back. Coy Pond. Detached garage with a detached office. And we're dreaming again. Colors, decoration and holiday parties.
Its like Christmas Eve for the Watson's today. Here's to hoping Santa brings us something good tomorrow.