The House We Want

Today I was hoping to announce to our readers that we got the house we wanted. Unfortunately, I'm writing to say that the bank rejected our offer. After visiting approximately 20 houses, constantly checking internet updates, and essentially becoming experts in our local real estate market, we finally found a house that would've been perfect for us.

The house itself was ugly and needed a lot of work. BUT it was on nearly 3 acres of land, in the ideal neighborhood in the ideal town we wanted, less than 10 minutes away from our church and where we plan to send the boys to school, and as a bonus, it's next door to super nice family from our church.

The house is a foreclosure, so it is bank owned. When Ben and I were discussing our options, we knew that this time around the most important thing to us was location, location, location (especially given our last experience).

We narrowed it down to a certain town, and even a particular neighborhood in that town that would've been ideal for us. We knew several families on that street. We weren't totally limiting ourselves to that street, but we would always drive down that street and think to ourselves how nice it would be to live on it one day.

The trouble was that all of the houses on that street (and in that town) were entirely out of our reach price-wise. So we knew that our only hope were foreclosures and short sales, which don't come up in that town very often, and when they do, they tend to be bought up pretty quickly, usually by contractors looking to flip them for a profit.

Then a house went into foreclosure not only in the town we wanted, but on the exact street we wanted. We went to look at it, and the house itself was a sore site. But the land and the location were perfect. The house itself needed a lot of work, but we knew it would be worth it. It was a house we could grow in...it was a place to plant our roots...it was a place we could make our own. The price was still out of our reach (given the work it needed), but it came down in price after it had been on the market for 30 days. We made an offer. It was a low-ball offer, but we knew how much money we needed to make the necessary improvements.

We waited, and waited, and waited. 72 hours later, the bank responded, unwilling to budge - only coming down $1,000 from their asking price. We were naturally disappointed, and agreed to come back with our best and final offer (which is still significantly less than their asking price). We should hear back today, but given that they were unwilling to budge the first time, the outlook isn't looking good for us.

I'll admit it - I got my hopes up, and I am bummed. People told me not to get my hopes up. I listened to them, and in my heart I knew they were right. I tried to detach. I tried to put it in God's hands...but here's the thing...I was convinced in my heart that this house was God's will for us...I was convinced because we wanted it for the right reasons.

It's an ugly little house. The ugliest on the street. But it would've humbled us. It would've required sacrifice on our part. It would've required work. I would've watched the boys every weekend for months while Ben worked on it. It would've been hard on me, but I would've done it. I would've loved Ben even more for doing this work for our family. I would've grown to have loved the house. And Ben would've loved it even more since he had put so much sweat into it.

I'll admit it. I'm spoiled. I like things shiny and new. This house was anything but that. We were making the decision for our boys. It was for them. It was for the vision of our family we have...a nice yard for them to play in, lovely neighbors who had children next door they could play with...they'd be close enough to school that children would want to come over to play...they'd grow up with a sense of community...something we so desperately want for our children.

So I'll admit it - I thought it was God's will for us. I was nearly certain it was. Because you see, we wanted it for the right reasons. It would've been perfect for us.

I am grateful for where we are right now. We live in a lovely apartment and my father in law has been so generous to us. If it weren't for the boys, we'd have a hard time leaving here. But I'm having a hard time distinguishing my wants from my needs. I just feel the need to plant our roots somewhere more permanent...I want a yard with some woods in it for my boys...I want a place I can be a homemaker in...I desire a real home so badly. And I have desired this for so long. Even when we had our old house, we knew that it wasn't where we'd be permanently. I dreamed of the day we'd find 'the place' that would be our boys' childhood home.

So I'll admit it, I'm having a hard time accepting that this house isn't God's will for us. It's just too perfect, and we want it for the right reasons. They say that something you love is worth fighting for. Well, this house is worth fighting for. Last night we submitted our best and final offer to the bank. It's still substantially less than their asking price, but we have to try. We can't go any higher financially, but if they turn us down, we'll try again next month. And then we'll try again, and again, and again until they take our offer or sell it to someone else. Maybe the lesson in this is patience. God knows, it's not my strongest virtue. If that's the lesson, we'll keep trying, and trying, and trying. And if someone gets it before us, then we'll eventually come to accept it as God's will, and trust that He has something better planned for our family.

But please God, if any amount of prayer or sacrifice will make a difference, we're prepared to do what it takes. We so desperately want to plant our roots, to have a home for our family that is pleasing in Your eyes. So if it be Your will, could you please grant us a miracle to make this happen? Pretty please?

I was inspired to write this post after reading an article by Steve Skojec that Ben had sent me several months ago. We had not yet sold our home yet, and weren't even looking for a house, but we could really identify with this beautiful article he wrote...his desire for his family to have a home where they could truly "plant their roots." It is something that hits close to home for us.