House update.

Today was D-day--decision day--for the "house of my dreams". The current owners decided that despite the fact that an inspection showed that their house was in sad disrepair, and I had offered them top dollar for their house, they were not willing to negotiate or repair the problems. So, I sent a contractor to give me his opinion.

"Did you see the movie The Money Pit? Welllll, mammmm, that's what kept a-playing in my head the whole time I was looking at that house. I think its like a big ball of string, and once you get a hold of the end, its all gonna unwind."

Bottom line? 30 k to bring it up to normal repair and to code FOR THE TIME IT WAS BUILT. Yes, it was not even up to the building code for the year it was built.

My realtor said: "I cannot in good conscious recommend that you buy this house."

Can you say walk away?

Thank God for inspections.

So, the kids and I looked at more houses. And returned to one we had looked at earlier that I had liked, but they nixed because the master suite was "not good enough" for their mom (did I mention that I love those kids?)

And I think it will be fine. Just right, actually. About the same size as the "scream house", with a great finished basement for the kids playroom and a lovely yard. It even has a screened porch. It will need updating, but it is substantially cheaper than the other, and already has a new roof, and relatively new heating and air. And, its in a great neighborhood, where the kids have friends.

All in all, not a bad thing. We will go back tomorrow and look one more time, take pictures, and write up the contract. I feel better about this one already--in a way it already feels like "home", so I think we may have finally found our new nest. Again, wish us luck. And thanks for all the good thoughts and concerns about the last one! It really helped!