Househunting

Somehow Matt and I have gone through about 80 listings in our price range and rejected all for various reasons. Too small, poor neighborhood, looks junky, overpriced. We have so far only seen three houses that we like- One was already sale pending and I didn't like the yard, one went sale pending the morning we were going to go look at it a second time but it has no family room, the last we both loved the house but I hated the yard (too small, too loud traffic & neighbor too close w big dog who had big poops right next to fence). We made an offer on the last but it was countered with basically a rejection of our offer. And the person wanted an extra month to live there before we could move it.

Now we have gone through our rejects again to reconsider. Maybe we would sacrifice on square footage or how busy across street is. The house that we offered on was well below our preapproved limit but in looking at our monthly estimates, we reconsidered how much we may want to purchase a house for. Maybe instead of looking for a forever home, we should look for a 5 to 10 year home. We both also tried to think of our top three priorities: Matt wanted turnkey or updated/requiring only easy improvements (Installing laminate flooring was a bit much), a bonus room, and a semi private yard; I want a bonus or family room, a large yard where Carsen can play preferably that's at least a little private, and a little more square footage overall and/or a safe neighborhood full of kids near a playground. I wasn't opposed to a little fixing up but would prefer if we didn't have to do everything. Now that we are considering looking in an even smaller price range so that we can save more each month, maybe Matt will be more interested in houses that need a little loving.

It's hard because we are trying to imagine a house that will be fitting for a family that we are just building, and have never had before. I have never prioritized being in a neighborhood that was kid friendly. I always grew up in neighborhoods where we had a lot of property and space so I guess that's what I always expected to live. Matt grew up in the suburbs where you could walk next-door to play with your best friend, so that's what he wants, and I want that for Carsen too. It's just tough to find what we really want in our price range because it's either a really nice house with no privacy or no yard, or a decent lot on a crummy street with a small house. I really believe we can find what we're looking for if we give it a little more time; I don't think the universe put our perfect house on the market yet since we just sold ours. But it is scary to have faith in that, like it was scary to have faith that I would meet the right man, that I would get pregnant.  I know that we can draw the right house and property to us; now I just have to convince Matt of that.