Let's take a diversion for a moment, shall we? It's been a few days since I've posted, and it's mostly due to the fact that I haven't had anything nice to say. Instead of spewing all over the place, I've been taking Thumper's advice and not saying anything at all. However, that's left me feeling really stuck, and every time I've sat down and attempted to write something cheery and wedding-y, I've ended up scrapping it and walking away. So I figured, what the hell. I might as well write about this funk I'm in and see if that doesn't help get me out of it.
As most of you are aware, we've been trying to buy a house for quite some time now. We put an offer on this house last July. July of 2009. Makes it sound like eons ago, doesn't it? It feels like it, too. The house is a short sale, which just means that the people selling it are selling it 'short' of what they actually owe. It also means that attempting to buy such a house is a long and arduous process. Looking back, I think if we'd known then what we know now, we might have thought twice about making the offer. But, here we are, seven months later, still waiting on the bank for a response. We actually did have our offer approved, in early January (just before we left town for a 10 day vacation....isn't that how it always goes?) and while we were gone a flurry of activity happened. The result of that activity was discovering some expensive foundation repairs were in order. We weren't going to give it all up over just that though, so we revised our offer and resubmitted it to the sellers. They declined. And after some careful consideration on their part, they reconsidered, and accepted our new offer. Which meant starting the entire process over again; new contract, new paperwork.....and that's where we are today. Waiting for (another) approval from the bank.
What's different about this time is that the sellers are scheduled to go into foreclosure soon. When we drew up the new contract, we put in a closing date of February 15th. At this point, it's looking extremely unlikely that anything will have happened by then. Especially considering a couple of days ago we received a quick update from the listing agent to let us know that the bank had our complete file, but a negotiator had not been assigned yet.
So our plan is this. On Monday the 15th, if we haven't gotten a response from the bank, we're pulling the plug. The offer is off the table. No more waiting, no more negotiation, no more pestering the bank for information. In theory, we could just wait it out until the end of the month. If the house goes into foreclosure, then we know we're really done. (Unless, of course, we want to go to the auction and try to bid on the house then....but the very thought of prolonging this any longer makes me ill.) So we've decided on the 15th as our D(one) Day. For our sanity and well being, we have to move on with our lives. Everything has been on hold for months now, to say we're sick of it is a gross understatement.
To compound matters even further, we've been having a run of positively awful weather. It's not helping my disposition in the least. It's been gray, cold and rainy for what feels like decades. The sun has peeked out a couple of times, but even when it has it's still been miserably cold. Being cooped up indoors with a two year-old and trying to think of things to keep him busy has been numbing and exhausting.
One way or the other, come Monday, I'll have a new outlook on life. Knowing if we're buying a house or not will be incredibly freeing. We can get on with planning our lives, our wedding, and our future.
