So, I just have to vent. For once, this isn't about finding a husband or my medical woes. Oddly, I don't feel the urgency or need for those things to be settled right now. It feels good for once, but I guess I have to feel urgency and need about something.
For the past several years, I've been living in two places. It was fun at first, but I longed to be rooted in Auburn. With grandmothers not doing so hot, and always being back in Birmingham, I decided to table the Auburn dream and root back in the 'Ham. My townhouse here never got on the sales market (because there was just no way it would sell at a reasonable price for me), and it never rented out. I considered renting, but let's be real - who would rent to someone with four cats and a dog? Next, I thought about moving back into Mom's house. She pretty much has an apartment in her basement. I offered to do renovations and work to update the basement and make it really nice to live in (it's awesome, just needs some updating), but my brother still lives at her house and that would cut into his music room. All the while, I was peeking on the MLS from time to time, browsing homes for sale.
Last year, I looked at some places. Some were pretty neat, but I really just don't want to live alone right now. It's not that I'm afraid or anything, I just like having people to cook for and be around. I looked at a few places a couple weeks ago and it was a total bust.
This week, I bit the bullet and braved the more expensive homes. I don't want to spend a ton of money on a THIRD home until I get the townhouse figured out, but because the housing market is turning around, homes are higher priced than before, and they are selling quickly, so I feel a little pressure to make my move on something if I like it. I looked at the higher priced homes because I wanted to compare what I would be getting with them against what I would get with the cheaper ones (and I was realizing the amount of money I would spend to update the cheaper ones would come close to costing the price of a more expensive one).
Well, I found a house. I crunched numbers, I took an AWESOME, VERY NICE, VERY INFORMED friend to look at the house yesterday and help me peek around and find ways to justify offering a lower price on the home. We found some problems with it, but all fairly straightforward fixes. I got creative on how to come up with the extra money needed for the higher down payment, and I made an offer. Everyone involved (on my side) was very pleased with the house and excited about the move.
This house was made for me. Open floor plan. garden tub, huge walk-in closet, lots of natural light, awesome basement and other cool features, and not much yard. I researched prices of bumper pool tables and dart board machines, closet built-ins, and wall paper. I made a list of all my furniture and started planning how everything would fit.
Turns out, the house sold yesterday. It was a cash sale, no inspection, barely a contract period (I'm talking a couple of days). I am crushed. The thing is, my best friend from high school and her daughter (my goddaughter) are planning on living with me. This house is a girl's house. It was made for us. And if my townhouse is going to be rented, I have to get the cats out ASAP (because people who don't like cats, and to be fair, are allergic, tend to have extreme reactions to cats having ever been in a house). To get the cats out, I need a place to put them. To have a place to put them, I have to have a place ready to move in. To be ready to move in, I need to have the house painted and any renovations that need to be done, finished to get the cats in. In order to launch my craft business, I need a good workspace, which I don't have in the townhome. In order to start having income, I need to launch my business.
So, back to the title of the post, I'm in limbo. I'm not giving up, but I'm not going to lie: I'm living in complete denial about the house I want. It's still listed as active on the websites, and there's something so shady sounding about the deal, I'm really wanting to believe it's not true. Hopefully, the house will be mine, but I don't want to live in un-reality, either.
It's just a really frustrating time and I am so ready for everything to be settled.
