Second Chance

When Sam and I first started looking at homes with our realtor, she took us to see this home right away. It was about $29,000 more than our top dollar but she wanted us to see it at least because it's only six years old. I liked it right away. Sam walked in, took a look at the kitchen and said, "Nope." And he took an instant dislike to the carpet. Yes, the previous owners took out the stove, microwave and dishwasher. But it was going quite a bit lower than other homes in the neighborhood so I was very disappointed. It was the last home we saw that first day and it left me in a funk. However, from previous experience I realized that if God wants us to have a particular place, either He will influence BOTH of us to like it, or will give us an aversion to it.
Well, almost a month later we looked at it again. Sam remembered that we'd seen it before but I didn't. When we drove into the driveway, we both loved the neighborhood right away. It is very, very quiet. The front of the house looks out into a cul de sac and beyond that, beautiful hills. The back of the house overlooks the valley. It's up on a rise, so looking out the back wrought iron fence, you can see homes and backyards below. But no one can look into "our" yard.
Our yard. Yes, we loved the house. Perhaps it was that we were well rested, had enough food in our systems to prevent blood sugar drops and illogical thinking. Perhaps it was because we also have seen a number of other properties for the same list price that are not nearly as nice. And perhaps we liked it because it has everything we want: views out every window, a perpetual breeze up on the rise, a very workable kitchen with a pantry, a fireplace, and even a lovely little covered balcony off the master bedroom retreat. Since the front of the house is a north exposure, it doesn't have direct sunlight--which means I would have a place down near the entryway to plant Nana's hosta lillies (which I've been carrying from New York to Indiana, to Washington, to this place). The home is about a 15-minute drive east of our jobs and not as far east as we have actually looked, which is where the last home was that we put an offer on.

So we decided that we'd put an offer on this house. Sitting in the realtor's office, we found out that the price has dropped $20,000 three days ago--perfect! We also noted that the house's buying price (before it went into foreclosure) was $70,000 more. Therefore, the house is going for an excellent price. It has been on the market for 62 days, which means that people are probably intimidated by the absence of the kitchen appliances.

Tomorrow morning first thing, our realtor will speak to the agent for the property and find out if there are any other offers on the home. We will offer accordingly. Please say a prayer for us. We are excited at the possibility of owning this lovely, quiet place.