Stressin!

I never expected to fall so in love with a house. I guess I came into this whole thing with a slightly pessimistic outlook. But for some miraculous reason Zach and I both Loved this little house. Miraculous that we even agreed on it! Of course nothing is easy and now the chances of us getting this house are not looking so good. :(

Although this house has been on the market since August the seller is not too motivated and in no rush to sell the house. It is listed at 209,900. Our first bid was 180,000 then our second was 190,000. Not sure if the seller is going to go any lower than 205,000 which we probably can't afford.
The loan officer we have been working with has estimated the mortgage rates to be at 1450 per month for 200,000 while the first loan officer had it at like 1244. We could afford the 1244. So I guess right now we are trying to figure out what our mortgage payment would really be so that we know if we should try and put in a bid at 200,000. Which even with a bid at 200,000 the seller still may reject the offer.

All in all this has me super stressed out and anxious. I really love this little house and we have pretty much seen everything else out there and nothing even compared. Zach is really set on buying something though and is talking about getting a condo. which I really don't feel like I would be happy with. I don't know. Hopefully this works itself out and FAST! Fingers crossed.

Our First House?

So Zach and I have put a bid on this little house! I really hope we get it. So exciting! Our first bid was rejected and we put in a second. We will see...

its a 3 bedroom 1.5 bath ( the half bath could easily be turned into a full) and it is 1648 SF. No garage but it does have a carport we could easily close in and use as a studio/workshop. I REALLY want this house, fingers crossed.

every morning while im getting ready... she sits in the tub

On the go

The nice weather this week has really made me wish I had some free time to open up the garage and paint, or do some wheelthrowing. I can't even express how much I miss having the time to work on pottery, or any of my artwork in general. I think I just need to force myself to make the time. The time change on Sunday will help out, as well as the weather warming up (fingers crossed). Then I will have daylight til 7ish and I can maybe do somethings after work. Its so hard to make myself go out in the garage to paint when it is so cold out there. Plus our garage has become a storage room for alot of junk, and it is time to clean it out again.

My life lately has just seemed so chaotic lately between the wedding only being 72, yes 72 days away! Then on top of that Zach and I are house hunting! Though I have reserves about if this really is the best time for us to get a house. I know it will all work itself out and I am sure we will have a much bigger perspective on what we will do after this weekend. Saturday we are going to look at I think 15 houses. So we will see how that goes. If we do find one I am sure it will need some TLC. Then Sunday we have finally made the time to finish painting the back bedroom. It has sadly only had one painted wall for at least 4 months. Yet again my days off are never really days off.

For a happy little end to this post this video is super cute and definately hilarious!

Stress levels maxing out!

Well work today started off crazy. Someone broke out the glass of the front door and came in and stole the flat screen TV from the sales center! Totally crazy. My glass got replaceed this afternoon at least. I doubt they will catch who did it though. Aparrently its been happening alot around town center lately. Scary!

House hunting is turning stressful. Aparently theres only a select few houses that the FHA loan we were approved for can get? I don't really understand all that complicated mess. Zach really likes one of them. I had been hoping that since it was under budget we could use the remainder for updates and repairs. Apparently that is not a good thing to do though. Booo! We are going to see it on Sunday. Zach really wants to try and get someplace while we can still get the tax credit so it is like we need to move fast.

Really this on top of the wedding and everything else going on right now is making me super anxious and stressed out! I don't like feeling rushed or like I don't have very many options. I don't think it helps that I don't know the first things about loans or buying a house either. I don't want to be tricked or misunderstand something.

I also have no patience so possibly being stuck with some aspects of the house that I hate for an extended period of time doesn't make me too happy either.. Bleh! I think I need a nap before my head implodes.

Oh yeah and now my 4th envy is turning off at least 8 times a day! I HATE IT. I want a new phone, but I dont have 200 bucks for one and I dont know if my dad is going to want to chuck me off his plan or not since I am getting married... And I really want a Droid, but that involves internet and therefore an extra $30 or so a month. Maybe if i offer to pay my dad 30 bucks a month he will let me get it... haa! Shea's phone is even worse off than mine. I know he was going to get one soon. Maybe we should get new phones together...

love this!

Now if only I could afford even one of these items from Anthropologie...

The yellow dress I love, though yellow is not good on me.

Furniture Dreaming

Well this house hunting has got me on a decorating craze. Thinking about how we will need lots of furniture. So I browsed around finding things I liked. I really haven't spent much time but I have found some things that I liked. Granted these are all things that if I had an extensive endless budget I could get, however that is not the case.

However, I do have a handyman ( at least he thinks he is, I have yet to see his skills at work) for a furture husband! Whom has just gotten loads of tools for christmas. So, potentially he could build us some things. Ha! I think if he was properly motivated with the space to work then he could definately accomplish alot. I also am not afraid to refinish/revamp some furniture. Thrift store hunting is not something I cringe at. You can find really good quality stuff there, it just may need some TLC.

But in my dream world, here are some things that I would possibly get. These are all from various places : Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, (that awesome daybed that is $3,000+ is from Anthropologie), Peir 1, Target.

I really love this desk, I think it is potentially buildable. Zach may possess the skills necessary. I really like things that have storage. Since I seem to have endless amounts of 'stuff' that need a home. I constantly feel like things are laying around everywhere, but I just don't have a better place to store them.

Someday I will have a dream home with dream furniture. But I am pretty sure that day is a looonnngg way off.

Just need to win the lottery.

House hunting!

Wow so I feel very adult. Zach and I are starting to go house hunting! Maybe I should call up House Hunters and see if I can be on their show! Hahahaha. We've met with the loan officer and everything already. We should be able to be approved for a $200,000 loan no problem. Fingers crossed we can find something that fits what we want!

Originally we were going to try and buy my Nana's house ( where we live now) but Zach and I decided that it was too complicated a process, and we didn't want a mortgage that was more than we could afford.

So now the big things we want are :

• 3 bedrooms
• 2 baths
• 1200 sf or more we have around 1200 now
• big yard preferrably fenced in
• garage
• not off of a busy road

Other things that would be nice but we could probably work around

• hardwood floors? the less carpet the better with all the pets we have
• fireplace
• decent kitchen ( even if it has okay cabinets that we can refinish)
• sun room!

So I don't know if we are expecting too much but thats what we want! I know Zach wishes we could find something in pungo, but pretty sure it is more expensive out there.

I am perfectly fine with a house that needs some fixing. Paint alone can do wonders. I would rather mold the house to the way i want it than get something that is already done for me though not exactly how I would do it. We definately want some place that we could potentially start a family in so it can't be too small. We need a little room to grow. Not that there are plans for that soon!

We still need to save up $7,000-$8,000 for a down payment too. Which Zach has some savings. And potentially we could use money from the wedding? There are alot of factors that depend on it. If we rushed and got it before the end of April we could potentially get the $8,000 tax credit.Though I am not real sure of the specifics of that. But maybe we could borrow money from a family member then pay them back when we get the tax credit?

Zach and I will also not have much furniture if we move into our own house. Since my Nana's was already furnished. We have our bed and night stands. Some book shelves and Zachs futon. Plus our Tv's and entertainment center. As well as my little entry table cabinet. But we have no kitchen table and chairs of our own and no couch, or coffee table or side tables... Well lets just say there is alot we would need! Maybe I should start hunting for good things at thrift stores and on craigslist. I think I would have to buy a new couch though...

Buying a house is a HUGE purchase though. It is extremely exciting but I definately want to do alot of shopping and be 100% sure about what we end up doing. There really isn't a horrible rush. But this is something that could be rather soon or could be over the summer. One way or another we will probably have our own place by September.

Zach's friend Jarrod's dad is a realtor and is going to take us to some places on the 13th. Wonder what we will see! I have a fear that we may end up getting disheartened by seeing lots of junk houses! hahaha I just hope we can find a place in a decent neighborhood. But at least for once this seems to be one thing that Zach and I happen to be on the same page for. We both pretty much want the same things.

This will be a major step. Getting married AND buying a house! Sheesh!

3 day weekend

Zach and I have a three day weekend together! That is something that NEVER happens!
It may just lead to me getting annoyed while he lays around being lazy watching tv all day and I am busy doing chores, errands, and wedding stuff... But oh well I guess...

Monday after the Appointment with the tent people I am pretty sure Zach and I are going to talk to a loan officer to try and figure out what we can afford/get approved for, for a house. I am not sure if my Nana's house that we live in now is where we will end up since we can't get the $8,000 tax credit with it, since we would be buying it from my dad. Or if it will even be in our price range. I mean there are positives about staying. Like we are already settled in and have made some improvements. If we ended up finding another house we would have to deal with the hassle of moving, changing address, house hunting, and the fact that we do not have much furniture. My nana's house came with furniture, which we wouldn't be able to take with us. It is all up in the air. Who knows what will happen. But I would rather we were putting 1100 bucks or more a month towards something we own rather than throwing it away on rent.

When will this cold end!?

It seems like Virginia is getting a beating with snow. Saturday flurries are becoming a regular thing. Granted Virginia Beach isn't getting hit like other areas but still this is very unusual. I am over it. I want it to get warmer. The frigid temps are keeping me from running and it sucks! I feel like a lazy blob. Ha! How am I supposed to get in wedding day shape!

I have been making tasty dinners lately though. This weeks menu included Fettucini with sauted shrimp, sauted spiniach, and a homemade cream sauce, homemade chicken pot pie, steak with sauted asparagus and garlic mashed potatoes, then last night we ate lasagna at Zach's parents. I forgot to bring leftovers to work today too! Dangit, I haven't eaten out at all this week either.

I am also getting tormented by Anthropologie sending me emails with cute things like this...

I guess its time to go get some lunch...