House Hunting Sucks in 2015

Disclosure, I am writing this at 6:03 AM because I can’t sleep and my house is quiet.

We went and looked at properties yesterday. We were supposed to look at 7, but one of them ended up being under contract before we got a chance to look at it. And the one we were really hoping would be a fit because while it wouldn’t keep Salem at her school, it is right around the corner from church and would keep us in close proximity to everything we already do, was in really bad shop on the outside and the realtor was a jerk and got information mixed up, so we decided that when we could actually see it, we have no interest. There were two that we stood out, but nothing that overwhelmingly made us ecstatic.

I’m not sure how much in great detail I have explained this, but we are not purchasing a house on our own. That wasn’t in our plans when we first moved to Georgia either. The problem we have now versus when we first moved here, is that Scott’s mom is now also going to be living with us. So we are not only looking for a finished basement that is big and open and nice for Scott’s dad, we are looking for both of them. Not to mention that they haven’t slept in the same room since Scott was 2, they definitely do not now that her dementia is so far advanced, and probably couldn’t. So basically our needs are very specific and I feel like impossible to find when you take into consideration everything else that we need.

The house I love, and literally mean I would move into tomorow, is 4 bedrooms with 3 and a half baths. 3800 square feet. Lower on our budget. The master bedroom is huge with a very large sitting area for the baby, secondary bedrooms are also very big. The basement is fantastic and does not feel like a basement at all, and has the nicest basement bathroom we have seen out of any property we’ve cruised online. But, there is no definitive bedroom, (doesn’t mean we can’t make one out of it) and the backyard is not much of a yard at all. It’s a two level deck, with a decent amount of level land beyond it, but is completely engrossed in trees and foliage, that Scott swears that even if we fenced off, would not be an adequate place for dogs to use the potty because no one would go out there and clean it up.

The Grass is green again, and the tree has full leaves, which actually happens to be my favorite tree. Plus I love the porch.

I couldn’t be more in love with this room.

Seriously, such a nice basement.

The other house is very nice, and very fancy. Some specs, but with a little less square feet. The master is big, and also has a sitting area for the baby. The person who lives there has very expensive taste and while I like the fixtures, and cabinets, and paint, it doesn’t feel like me. Scott however feels like it is him. The backyard is not fenced, or level, but it’s large and they have a very nice large deck. The worst part of the yard for me is that there is so much mud in the grass, its like walking on rocks. And the basement is large, but the ceilings are low. The outside entrance to the basement is off the side of the house rather than the backyard, which my father in law would not like at all. And there are only two windows in it, which makes it feel a whole lot like a basement. But it has a bedroom, with a bathroom, an obvious living space, and one not so obvious that could have a door installed and become another bedroom. It’s at the tail end of our budget too which makes me stress.

I really do like the cabinets in this kitchen.

Had to share two pictures on this one to show the master bedroom with the sitting area.

And this is the basement. This room is where you enter, and the one with the pool table is a decent area, and could be used as a bedroom area. There are no pictures of the bedroom, but you would enter the bedroom on the left.

I guess I was hoping for a better day, and now I feel discouraged. My father in law keeps bringing up that because my mother in law is getting so much worse, that he is really going to have to put her in a home, and that would really change things. There would be far less pressure when it comes to the basement.

Today we are driving to a city that is completely separated from everything we know. It is in a completely different area and direction in regards to Atlanta, and would be a farther drive for Scott. I have no interest in moving there, but Scott keeps coming back to it because housing prices are lower. Which generally means schools are worse, and that is what we are finding out doing our research. Plus, it is so far from church, there is no way we would stay there. But Scott wants to go and drive some neighborhoods, and so we’ll go.

Happy news. Yesterday in the bath, the baby’s movements were strong enough to make ripples in the water. Scott saw too. And he reached in the water and without a doubt felt the baby kicking. Also, our church board has decided on a Pastor, although we don’t know who it is just yet. They say they will be making a recommendation to the congregation in the first couple weeks of May for us to consider.