We looked at several places (even one place to buy- it felt like a rebound house romance, but we decided to focus on renting now) and weren’t thrilled with anything. We knew we wanted a bigger place, but didn’t want to be stuck with a huge rent amount each month, as we want to be in the best financial situation possible for when we do enter into the house buying process again.

Eric was chatting with our friend at church and mentioned we were looking for a place to rent. He mentioned that he happened to be trying to rent a house that he owns. We looked at it that night and made a decision 3 days later- that will be our new rental! He has been incredible- we can move in before the end of the month (as we have to be out by the 29th because the carpets are getting cleaned that morning), he ripped out the downstairs carpet today and let me choose the new one that is being installed, and we can do fun stuff like paint (yes, I’m a home decorating nerd- I like that stuff).

All in all, I’m really happy with where we will be going. Renting in the traditional manner has been challenging after working on our Seattle house- Eric and I like doing projects here and there, and we’ll certainly be able to do that here- it was built in 1923 and is quite funky! Fun times ahead for the Drumm fam, as usual!

Quick- who can name the artist? Yup, Craig David. Check out the link below for the ironic opening of the music video:

Walking Away video- YouTube

Funny, eh? A ceiling that crashes down because of a little leak? The irony that such a small incident can lead to much larger issues? I might be sarcastically breathing in a sigh of relief- Eric and I walked away from the house. Unless the bank comes back with an incredible deal that we can’t refuse, we’re saying adieu to 38169 W US Hwy 50. We found out that the septic tank is quite old and is nearing the end of its term. Replacement cost? 12K.

Setback, roadblock, closed door- whatever word of choice that we have used throughout this home buying process, this was the final and most ironic of them all. Why? The other day we found out we had to test the septic and I told Eric that if it brings up a $10,000 issue, then I would be satisfied with the cost of the septic test. Ha. Who’s laughing now? Actually, I can laugh a little and be thankful because we didn’t have to shell out the $500 to test it- our realtor talked with the engineer who has worked on the septic system in the past. He was the one to divulge that information.

So here we are. Our condo will be rented out as of December 23rd, so we’re on the lookout for rentals once again (this is a good thing, as we didn’t want to live in our condo again- our landlord is increasing the rent $125/mo and I’m just tired of some issues that we have faced while living here). I have found relief and peace with this decision, knowing that the unknown of what else could be wrong with the house has now disappeared. I am slightly disappointed and sad at coming so close to closing on the house, being homeowners, and dreaming of making it mine. Yes, the other night I literally fell asleep thinking about how I was going to paint the living room (light grey walls and light teal accents with new white baseboards and new laminate flooring if you ask).

As I type, Eric has been texting me:

“Sad inside, I know it’s the right thing but I’m sad”

And later:

“Still sad”

And I can’t argue with him, yet I’m finding myself extremely rational about the whole situation right now. Maybe it’s because I’m past the emotional part, or maybe it will hit me two days from now. I don’t know. I do know that I am tired of being on this crazy rollercoaster. I feel like I have been walking through a fog for the past couple of months with this indecision and uncertainty and I don’t like it.

Deep breath. So there you have it. As to where we’ll be 37 days from now, only God knows. But I have faith in that, as He’s gotten us through so much in our life. I’m working hard on clinging to that and to Him right now.

In other news, a guy who looked at our condo is interested in taking over our lease. On December 23rd. 8 days before our lease runs out. Oh well, at least we’ll save a bit of money for the aforementioned monies being poured into the house buying process.

In other other news, Eric and I may have settled on a flooring we both really like. My non-negotiables for moving into a former-college thrashed house are new flooring and paint on the top floor . Happy wife, happy life.

As promised, I will deliver more news when it is here. As for tomorrow (today), who knows what it will bring, and I don’t like sharing the unknown, which is what we have been dealing with for quite some time. In the midst of the chaos, I think I have scared off my coworker from ever wanting to buy a house. Oops.

We quickly realized that the Highway House was a great deal, has an awesome amount of room, and although it does need some work, it would be worth it. We got back in the saddle and we’re under contract! Exciting times, yet we still need to get past the home inspection. With a 50 year old house, you never know what you’re going to get!

Charis talks a ton, and her favorite words include:

• funduh (thunder)- whenever she hears something loud she says “hear dat?” and cocks her head sideways to listen harder. She often guesses that loud noises are thunder, even if they aren’t.
• memeal (oatmeal)- her favorite breakfast (and any time) food, she enjoys it simply with a little bit of milk, and sometimes a little bit of cinnamon, brown sugar, and raisins.
• yo-ghurt- she really emphasizes the “yo” and I just can’t describe the “ghurt” as it’s just too cute!
• bicycle- yes, she says bicycle and not bike. That’s how my lady rolls! We got her a cute little trike and she is OBSESSED. If we mention bike or bicycle she practically breaks out into a sweat and chants bicycle- she wants to ride so bad!

• We look at 109. We fall in love with 109 and even though it’s a short sale and were advised about the pitfalls of short sales, we put an offer in on the house. Knowing that there was another offer on the house yet not knowing how much it was for, we offered 6000 over the asking price. I know, right? But we really liked the house.
• Over a month goes by without hearing about the house. We continue to look at other houses, because you never know what’s out there, right?
• Right. We find Highway and, although it was definitely not love at first sight for me, it was love of the potential of the house very quickly. We were pre-approved for the cost (40,000 less than 109!) and there was the possibility of a renovation mortgage to be able to work on the house right away. Offer, counter-offer, counter-offer, counter-offer, accept.
• We meet with the loan officer and he tells us we actually weren’t approved for the mortgage we were looking to get. We could get approved for another mortgage, yet it’s not near as awesome as the one we were looking at. After crunching the numbers and determining the details, we have lots to think about, as it’s way more than we were expecting.
• The next day we make the difficult decision to walk away. From both.

We know that the right house is out there, and the right time will come. In the meantime, we’re thankful. For life, for our family, for having a roof over our head, for not having to walk away from a mortgage we can’t pay. As immediate difficulties arise in our lives, I do my best to focus on the bigger picture.

The day we realized this might not work, I found out that one of my good friends from high school had passed away. It was amazing to see the love shared on the online memorial. Stories, memories, pictures, and messages exploded online and it really helped me to look at the big picture easily. Here’s to life, to love, to friends, and family.

• Life is busy busy busy! Since March (seriously, I haven’t blogged in over 4 months???), Charis turned 2, I finished a sprint triathlon, my boss up and left us (gasp! jk Julie, but you know we do miss you!!), I was promoted to Director of the Academic Resource Center, our office registered over 500 new students for college classes, I went to a conference in Seattle for a week, we have had lots of family visits, and so on.
• I haven’t really wanted to write. I’m dealing with some tough life issues right now and it turns out I have been procrastinating about processing the information adequately due to being busy (see above).
• Procrastination leads to more procrastination. In our office my colleagues and I were sharing life wisdom to our student worker about how going to the dentist is important. She doesn’t want to go, we explained the benefits of going to the dentist, she still doesn’t want to go, and we convince her that the more she avoids it the worse it will be. It was kind of like that for me and finally getting back on my blog. I finally did it. We’ll see if she goes to the dentist.