The depressing chance of hope.
So I went house hunting yesterday mid-morning. I looked at a couple of older homes and then we looked at some new ones. First I'll talk about the older homes. The first one was pretty decent. There are some things that need to be done of course. The back and front yard, replacing the carpet, etc. From what I was told the home was repossessed because the people took out a second and then couldn't afford the cost of living. Why did they take out the second? To pay for the upgrades. They did a large stamped colored concrete front porch (very expensive), a large stamped colored concrete back porch (very expensive), brand new kitchen (the kind you'd expect to see in a new home), new bathtub and seamless walls and then...the money ran out. (They may have also done the roof since that looked new, but not sure on that one.) It is a decent home and one to still consider. It does have a brick front, but that can be taken off and new stuck put on. The second house isn't worth talking about since 1) there was no way to get into the back yard and 2) it was on a corner lot with a large front yard.
Ok so then we went around to new homes. The first place we went into we didn't even see the models. It was more for the "let's just see what the price is". They are Cambridge homes which means what you see is what you get. You don't have to pay for the upgrades, or so they tell you. With those prices...yes you do. I'm a simple person so while granite countertops and other little things are nice I'd rather not get them now and just buy the house to get my foot in the door. Then later on when I can afford to hire someone to do it. If I got them now it would put money on my mortgage which seems rather silly to me. Any ways we left quickly and went to the second one.
The second place was in the same city we live in right now. I like this city since it has a firmer animal control. I dislike it for the higher taxes. I don't have kids why the hell should I have to pay for bonds for schools? That's another subject though. Any ways it is closer to my husband's work (it's still weird calling him husband instead of boyfriend) and there is a Savemart close by. The houses are nice and simple. The one we were looking at has a three bedroom two car garage. I wasn't over all impressed with the layout, too many walls, but it was nice. The problem with those homes is that they only took off 10 grand on their asking price. Which means still out of my price range.
Ok then we went to some homes that are being built by Wathen Castanos. Let me first say my realtor lives in a beautiful home. I mean just stunning. They are also built by Wathen Castanos. She says that the builder is well known for high quality work that doesn't say simple things are upgrades like in other homes. I wouldn't have a clue since I've never looked at a track home before. There were two we looked at. The first was a two bedroom with den home. The second house is a one bedroom with den. The den on both homes can be made into another bedroom. I personally like the two bedroom house a lot better then the other one. While having a guest room would be nice it's also a nice way of saying to his mom, "Sorry we don't have a place for you all to stay". Ok so that's an evil
and mean way to think of it, but I still haven't gotten over what she said when he told her we were getting married.
Anyways, there is a very slight chance we might be able to afford either homes since they did such large price cuts. One of the reasons why they are so cheap is the backyard, or lack of. Personally I found it perfect. You plant a tree or two throw in some bark, have someone pour concrete for a patio and ta da~ you're done! Now I call that my kind of backyard! hehe Us getting the house all relies on a few things. 1) Do they work with a certain program in our area. Or if they do not work with them we'd have to use our own lender which would up the price (I find that rather funny.) 2) My bosses would need to agree to give me an 80 dollar a month salary cut so I could get the program. 3) We figure out all of this before someone else buys the home. I'm not going to say a word to my bosses until I have all of my ducks in a row. Of course I'm also going to look at other homes, for the just in case, but if it works out that would be just great.
It would be so very nice to be able to live there, but at the same time it depresses me since I know the chance of all the ducks lining up is so slim that it's better to just move one. So I will no longer speak of these nice new homes. It's better to just work on it, but to always think that it will not come out the way I want it to. This way I won't be so depressed when one of the three things don't line up just right.
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What not to wear.
I like watching the show "What not to wear", you can see it on TLC. I find it very informative for people like myself who could careless about what they wear. I've taken all of my fashion sense from my co-worker/mentor. She has helped me...well dressed me in what's appropriate for work, what fits, etc. I used to wear a lot of black. I like black. Black is very easy and looks good. It's also a sliming color. Even though I like the show I have a problem with it, I have yet to see them make-over an Asian. Part of their show is make-up and hair. I'd love to see what kind of make-up and hair style they would do. Since I grew up around white people make-up was a huge hit and miss. I had pretty much no help with make-up and going to those cosmetic places was always an interesting experience since I always looked like a hooker after they finished. Luckily I found someone who prefers me not to wear any. hehe
Lately I have been so busy and sick I haven't had time to think. The beginning of last week I had either food poisoning or something like it. Then I started to cramp REALLY bad like I used to in high school. Luckily it only lasted for a day, but every once in a while it would start up again at work.
I thought I almost found a house, but no such luck. At first my husband's only requirement was "nothing next to a cemetery". Ok, that's easy enough. Well now the list has grown to include nothing with brick, the fence has to be in decent shape and no neighbors with noisy dogs (dogs that will bark every time you go in your backyard). So here I am on the look out for a house still. I don't feel rushed anymore since my mom has offered to pay for the money it will cost to break our lease if we have to sign another one. This weekend I'll be going over to her house to finish getting it ready so it can be put on the market to be sold. I'm also going to go look at a few houses. My realtor wants me to see some track homes, but I have a feeling those will be well out of our price range. I have no problem with humoring people so I'll go take a look for shits and giggles. I have a feeling it will only make me depressed. I am really trying hard to keep in mind the houses I'm looking at are just starter homes, but part of me keeps telling me to just wait and save for a house I'd live in forever or something since it may or may not be that much more. We'll see though. It just depends on what's out there.
I also finally mailed out the birthday gift for Suke and Fangli! It should get there between 5-10 business days so I've excited! I forgot to put a tracking thingy on it for them though. Their address is SOOO long! I'm so glad I don't have an address that long. I forgot to buy and put a birthday card in the package, but they don't seem to be concerned so I won't be either. I finally found out Suke's name, but I can't help, but think of her as Suke. I'd be mortified if I called them Fangli and Suke if we met in person!
I was going to do an update on the site this weekend, but since I'm going to be so busy I'm going to have to do a small one today...maybe if I get it all ready by tonight...which is doubtful since it's already almost 10 now. I've decided to hold a contest too! Hopefully I'll get enough people interested in the contest. Unfortunately the prizes aren't as nice as I'd like them to be since it's all stuff that I own. I thought about making the selection of stuff they have to choose from later by including my yaoi collection and Tramps like us, but I couldn't bring myself to part with them.
I doubt I will be posting a wedding picture. I will post a picture or two of my ring when I get them developed. I might auction one off in the forum sometime though. hehehe
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