Guess Six is Not a Lucky Number

No one can predict what
will work, what won't,
what will create luck and
what will not. 

Another week has passed and here it is time for another life post. Last I posted one we had failed at our second attempt at the home we were trying to buy. We had thought the owners had wished to really work with us, turned out they wanted the same results and thought perhaps we could make them happen using different key factors; obviously that did not happen. So we took a few days to regroup, rather we were forced into it as there was nothing hitting the portal yet another agent had set us up with. Yes, we are on to agent three. This one seems a better fit, a much better fit, but time will tell. I am sure our other agents think quite another thought, I can not help that, it is our life and we have to do what is best for us. This go round, it is the agent our middle daughter and her husband used to find their home, and oddly enough none of us had thought to go to when it was our turn and we started this journey back in late June. 

So having taken the forced break, but still religiously checking the portals when they would come in finally this past Thursday, I jumped on the computer to check them again. It was just before heading out for another "rest day", with plans to go wine tasting and to have hot, made to order apple cider doughnuts in the region near us that is known as Apple Hill; homes popped up. I asked hubby to look at them, and then we decided to take a chance and call the agent. As I finished trying to put on make up in the poorly lit bathroom of our new to us apartment, he made the call and set up the appointment. We had some time and decided to squeeze in what we had planned before hand. Wine we figured would help ease the stress of looking at more homes. It was a lovely little escape and we really enjoyed it. We felt energized and ready... again. 

Gotta love mini road trips 

We arrived shortly after the appointed time, the traffic had been  very bad... no worries the wine had worn off... it was only tasting after all, not drinking. We got out and the first house was very cute. It was a nice house, well nice enough. It was in budget and it could serve our needs, but it did not feel like home. On to the next. Dear Lord! The next one, though cute on the outside and in a nice neighborhood, quiet, well kept and close to hubby's work, but inside.... EEK! Feeling quite discouraged our agent said there was one a few doors up that just hit the market and we should take a look. He was not sure they would take FHA, but it was worth a shot. The front had potential, the inside was very nice and had even more. The yard was just the right size and we could once again see it as a home for us. It hit more of the marks. There was hardwood floors, room to expand the kitchen, a fireplace, and very important, two bathrooms, large closets and a garage! It was getting late, and I was tired, but we decided to keep it in mind and see a couple more. 

I try to believe in the impossible,
it is what keeps me going.

We drove across town, the neighborhood was not the best, but like in many towns go two blocks and that changes. Everything is in flux now days with flippers snatching up homes and fixing them up and changing up the neighborhoods in doing so. The next house was no different. The house was adorable.... but red flags of surrounding neighborhoods, the size of the yard and the size of the home, we all decided to pass. We parted ways with our agent and were sent to go peek at another home and to chat in the morning about if we wanted to view the inside. That was a bust home as the neighborhood was backing up on the freeway and the noise was horrible. NEXT! Later that evening I had heard from our agent that on the third home FHA would be considered, but also told there was a low ball cash bid already in place. We agreed  to meet up again and view the property a second time and possibly put an offer in. We did just that. The second time around I felt my heart open up a bit more to it than the night before... maybe the sixth go round would be the lucky one, perhaps it was our time.  was it our dream home or dream area, no, but we could make the home ours and learn to live in the area... we could adjust. 

I keep dreaming of our very own
moving day... and not into or out of
another apartment to yet another temporary home.

Our agent wrote up what he thought was a fair offer, looking back on it, I wish we had been more aggressive, and next time we will be. Yep, you got it, we did not win the bid. We put the bid in on Friday, jumped through all the hoops the listing agent asked us to do and then late Sunday came and so did the text message. We had not won the bid.. not because of our dollar amount, but because we were FHA and a cash buyer came and offered just that cash. The cash buyer had under bid us, but with no waiting, no inspections or appraisals needed the seller took the offer. That was that. As our agent put it "hard to beat" ...understatement. In this market as I have stated over and over again in these posts, our budget, though lower is not the huge stumbling block, it is being FHA, not having a down large enough to go conventional, being one of the most difficult loans to get owners to accept is. 

Competing against the cash buyers, even the
conventional buyers is like sitting in a lion's den! 

In the few days that it took to get an answer, a couple more homes popped up, but if you do not jump on them right away, well odds are good a cash buyer has already done so. Back to square one we go, nothing on the portal. The only thing good I can say about going through this process and loosing out on six homes (actually five, but as you know we tried on one a second go round) is with each one we learn more about what we need and want in a home, what we will settle for, what FHA will and will not pass, and what kinds of offers to put in and what kinds not to, and if God is willing one day soon we can put that knowledge to work for us and everything will fall into place.