roller coaster

matt & i have been in the process of trying to find a house to buy in oakland
for about 7 months now.

it has felt like this constant roller coaster of

selling ourselves on a vision of a place and what potential it could have...

(our budget, even for the flatlands in oakland is small small &

we don't want to overextend ourselves or make things too tight;

so that means we look at a lot of very beat down, lots of work, pitiful looking places.)

...agonizing over whether we should put in an offer
then (maybe) putting in an offer
and finally,
(up until now)
our offer not getting accepted.
so we grieve that house falling through
and
try to get excited about the next possible house.

meanwhile, the truth is that we are also fine renting.

our place now is great, and we've been here for almost 4 years.

i am not exactly sure how we would fit a fourth little person in our place,

but it would just take some creativity and shifting rooms around.

but, there are downsides to renting our place:

it has begun to grate on us that we have no dining room or even a dining area,

since we love hosting friends so much.

for now, our livingroom has doubled as a dining area; doable, but kind of a pain.

our place is also pretty small, so not so much space to have visitors stay with us.

and, one more blow-

we really don't have any freedom when it comes to painting or remodeling

in any way, shape, or form.

and so,

when our offer was accepted a couple of weeks ago on a place that seemed perfect,

we were kind of in shock.

note the sale pending sign.

crazy, right?

at the moment we are in contract,

and it has felt like every day the deal is going to fall apart.

so stressful!

meanwhile, we were waiting to find out if we qualified for a mortgage assistance program that oakland has for residents who make up to 100% of the median income.

we didn't think we qualified, and then this week we got the great news that

good thing

our income is low enough to qualify but high enough to buy a house.

so we wait.

hope.

anticipate.

and i try not to get an ulcer.

or pack boxes.

because we won't know for sure for at least a week or two

if this is going to go through smoothly.

i'll keep you posted!