A HOUSE... that's BIG NEWS!!!

Tonight I was just looking through my email, deleting emails that are "old" or ones that I don't need to save, and saw an email sent to me by my relator on July 9th. Today is only the 15th, but SO MUCH has happened between the time that she sent that email and the one she sent Today!

So... a little "brief overview"... For the 4th of July I went with a few girls I work with to Portland. Before I left I'd found a place in West Jordan that i really LOVED, but the location wasn't feeling "right". I told my realtor that I would think about things over the weekend and then get back to her when I got back into town... I didn't feel good about things and started thinking it might take a LONG TIME to find something that I would like that much any time soon... I felt a little discouraged! I called her when I got back and set up an appointment to go see a few places that my Mom had found online. There were some properties that looked promising and I started to feel hopeful.

We started a a place that I'd looked at before, but had felt like was too pricey for me. On the return visit, I decided that perhaps, with some bargaining, I could get the price down to something "affordable". Feeling pretty good, we headed to the next stop, but it was way out of my price range, (by about $15,000). I was a little "bummed" because I was thinking this 2nd stop would be a possible match (because I really liked the location of the project). However, after some looking around, we realized that they were building some townhomes (to be finished in September) that would possibly fit within my budget. SO, we decided to take a look. Looking around I immediately liked what I saw... I was thinking that my mom and realtor were not necessarily sure if it was a good buy, so I was a little hesitant... But, the more we saw, the more I LIKED it... and the more it seemed to fit - to ALL of us. So, once done seeing everything, we went back, got some info (they were running a "deal" that ended in 3 days!, and then started a serious look into actually buying one of the unfinished properties.

The next day, I called and got approved for a loan with a GREAT interest rate! and my realtor looked into the builder, the developer, and all the paperwork stuff. We made an appointment and went in to the office on Saturday to put in an offer, and ernest money...AHHH! They told me that they would let me know Monday if my offer was to be accepted (I had some adjustments from their "asking" conditions.)

Early Monday afternoon, hoping that my offer would be accepted, I went to the interior design company and picked out counters, floors, paint, cabinets, etc. Wow, was that OVERWHELMING! So many choices, so many different prices! What can I afford? What's the best choice for me and for a resale? I had a HEADACHE by the time we were done! And then I got a call, late afternoon, from my realtor telling me they had accepted my offer! Yeah, AHH, awesome!, OH MAN...what did I just DO!?!?!?

On Tuesday, I contacted the lender I was HOPING to use, and found out that their interest rates were MUCH higher than the other lender, who had pre-approved me for a loan (and locked me in at that AWESOME interest rate). So, that was a let down, but not a deal killer... I spent some of the afternoon looking at what it would cost me to put in my own granite counter tops, and travertine floors... Man, more decisions! So, I headed back to the "office" to figure out what structural upgrades I wanted to add. Can I say, TIRED!

Today I met with the lender (with the awesome interest rate!), headed back to the interior design place to finalize me counter tops, cabinets, kitchen floors, carpets, paint, etc. WOW, it feels like I've made 1,000 MAJOR decisions! 5 days ago, I was thinking I might have to go back to renting for a while, and now I'm BUYING A HOUSE, I've picked out EVERY inch of it, (hoping that it all turns out okay!!!) and will soon be in some major debt! SO MUCH, SO CRAZY!, SO EXCITING! Did you catch all that? It happened pretty quick... I'm tired just reading about it all over again! Time for a nap! Wait, I'd better take some pictures to post!... no rest for this girl!