The House

Well, as most of you know, we put in an offer on a house.

It was flatly rejected, no reason given. (Our offer was 10K below the asking price - not unreasonable if they had wanted to negotiate.) Our realtor said that "reading between the lines" he thinks the reason is that we have a VA loan. A VA loan is more work and more strict when it comes to appraisals. The kicker? Today the house showed an asking price of 5K less, so only 5K away from what we offered. It was very sad. I told Will that on a scale of 1 to 10 of sadness, I was probably a 10. :(

However, today is a new day. We're talking the bank to see if we could maybe get a different kind of loan. We're also sticking to our super-strict budget that saves every penny so if we do put another offer in we can give them more earnest money.

I know what you're thinking, why this house? Well, let me tell you! First of all, it's in Windsor. I really, really want to live in Windsor. I like this town, I like the schools, I like a lot about it. Granted, it will be awhile before our kids are in school so we could start somewhere else. However, the market is probably not going to go lower than it is, so I feel like this is our opportunity to get in somewhere where we might not be able to afford to live in the future. Another thing about Windsor is that its relatively close to Will's work. If we lived in Loveland, Ft. Collins, or Severance it would add at least 10 minutes to his commute. Second, it needs a TON of work. Some people may not find that desirable - but I definitely do. It was foreclosed on and is in pretty bad shape cosmetically. I would absolutely love to take a house and make it our own. It will need all new paint, all new floors and new appliances. And that's just the beginning really. I feel like if we buy a different (more expensive more than likely) house that doesn't need any work, we won't do much. Third, it's a great size for us. Five bedrooms and three baths. The yard is a good size too. Don't get me wrong, it's not perfect and I know it will be a lot of work and a long time before it's the way we want it. I still want it. It seems unlikely though, I'm sure someone will be along to snatch it up.

Besides the house not much out of the ordinary has been going on with us. The kids keep growing and changing everyday. It's just incredible to watch. Benjamin is seven months old now, sitting up well and trying to scoot across the room. So far, he only goes backwards. :) He really wishes he could walk. He always wants to stand and he just stares after Charlie like she's the luckiest girl in the world. Charlotte had her 3rd birthday since I've posted. She had a Princess Party with Ashlyn (see facebook for pictures). I thought it went really well, she enjoyed it. We're really working on her with listening, so far it's not going so well. :) I think for the most part she's a typical three-year-old. I'm looking forward to taking them outside more as it keeps getting warmer. They both have so much energy. Definitely into sunscreen season here in CO.

Will has started applying for a second job. We talked about it, and he would rather work two jobs then have me look for something outside the home. We were going to use the extra $ to fix up the house faster, but now I suppose we'll just keep paying down our other debt and (of course) start a savings. We could use a second car.

I suppose I better get off of here. The kids need some lunch :)