There's No Place Like Home

BIG NEWS!
Jason and I have officially started the search for our first home! It's been quite the experience so far and we've learned a lot. Lucky for us, Jason's sweet Grandma Jackie is a realtor. Not just any realtor mind you, Realtor of the Year. She couldn't have been more excited when we called her up and told her we were ready to start the search. She had already sent us several home options the very next morning. We went out one evening to look at some homes she had picked for us. The first one was a top contender when I saw it online, and still kept that spot when we went and checked it out. It was a nice home, but a short sale. Short sales can take months to go through, and I'm not feeling like waiting for months on a maybe, but we kept it as an option anyway. The next house was nice, clean, needed a couple updates, but nothing major. Two downfalls: It was only 3 bedrooms with no room to grow and was the second house in from a very busy street. No thanks! House #3 needed some cleaning and some work, but nothing major. It simply lost out because the yard was WAY too tiny. House #4 was one that hadn't had many pictures online so I barely glanced over it without giving it much thought. We walked in and no lie, the first thing to hit you was the smell. The previous owners had a cat that had free range of the house as it's litter box it seemed. As you walked through, it was obviously a foreclosure. It was missing appliances and had a few dents and dings. All purely cosmetic though. All blemishes aside, I LOVED the house. The floor plan was perfect. The yard was large. The sq footage was great. My vision for this house was amazing. It could be the most perfect home once you replace the carpet, paint, polish a couple things, and add some appliances. And, most importantly, the price was right in our range we were looking in. While talking about its potential, we learned that the house across the street had just sold for $30,000 more than the list price on the one we were looking at. That's what we call instant equity my friends. That is, after we do the work to bring it up to par. With Jason's discount at Lowe's though, and lots of elbow grease, we can totally do it, and I am not afraid of some work when it means having a home for my family, how I want it, and not being upside down on it... well... ever most likely.
After a second look in the daylight, and some careful consideration, we decided to put an offer on the house. We went as low as Grandma Jackie thought would be safe, and then the wait began. After 5 days, and just 2 hours before our offer was set to expire, the bank came back at full price. RUDE!
So, today we counter back. I just signed the paper and faxed it over. Wish us luck.