The pains of home purchasing

As many of you know, I came up with the crazy idea to try and buy a house. I know what I can comfortably afford, and I know what the bank says I can afford. These two numbers are very very far apart from one another. Keeping in the realm of MY comfort zone, I have been looking in a pretty modest price range for homes. I won't get anything new, nothing flashy, but I can get something comfortable.

I have been out with the realtor twice, and she has been fantastic. A former contractor, she knows the ins and outs of houses and has been a wonderful teacher through the whole process. Anyway, I have been looking at stand alone houses and townhomes - just to see what is out there.

NOTE: When I say "I" in this whole process, it is a bit misleading, for "I" am not the only one involved. I am thrilled that Mike will be moving in with me to this place, so the search is being conducted by the both of us, as it will be our home together.

Back to the story - the first trip out proved rather unfruitful. Second trip out, we found one. A beautiful townhome - right out of the 1970s, but we loved it. A lot of character, great location, beautiful area, and it seemed to be in the right price range. After some number crunching, we decided it would be on the high end of what we wanted to spend, but it was still in the realm of possibility. The decision was made - we will put in an offer.

As my realtor pulled the full disclosure agreements for the property, we found that the seller's agent had not fully disclosed what the ACTUAL homeowner's association fees were, and when we found out what the real amount was - it about blew our mind's. What we though would be "a tad expensive" turned out to be "mind blowingly ridiculous". Therefore, with hearts a bit broken, we decided to walk away.

The search will continue in the New Year, and hopefully with a bit more success.

Almost the end of the year...geebus.

My gosh - where did the year go? I almost wrote "October 14" as the date on a check today. Nope, not October, Michelle - it is December. And in three weeks, it will be 2007. Eleven years since I graduated high school. Seven years since I graduated college. Insane. Where does the time go?

Here lately, my time has been dedicated to recovering from a nasty strain of the cold bug going around here. Sore throat, stuffed up head, cough - the whole shebang. I am happy to report though that I am at the end of this illness and have decided instead f gift giving this year, I will present all my closest friends here in NC with the same bug I managed to contract. Don't say I never give you anything! ha!

I am getting ready for the holiday season, and I even feel festive this year. I put up a tree, hung a wreath, and I am even going to try and send out holiday cards this year. Woo hoo!

Okay, I'm drawing a blank on what to write now. I think I will go back to cruising the internet and avoiding work.