Chasing the American Dream

Well, it’s all over but the crying. So Chad and I have been spending all of our spare time looking for houses. We have been slightly obsessed with it actually. First we looked in Eagle Mountain, which is right next to my school and a cute little community to live. We had slight success there, but then we started to get paranoid that this area is not really a safe place to buy, because the re-sale of a house here might not be too great. So we began our search in Lehi. We both instantly became excited about the houses in Lehi. Not only is it a less risky area to buy, but the houses were really nice. So on Tuesday, it happened. Everyone talks about when they walk into “their” house they just know it is right. We found it!! “Our house”. So we decided to do what any person chasing the American dream would do, we decided to put in an offer. Yesterday, we went to talk with the broker (for a second time) to figure out al the last details followed by a meeting with the agent to fill out all of the paper work. We were both excited about the offer and even more excited about our new house.
When we got home we decided to sit down and refigure our budget based on the final numbers the broker had given us. I think we ran through about six different scenarios and reworked all the numbers a million times. Needless to say, as the night went on more and more concerns started popping up. I will try really hard not to bore you with the details, but just share a few. One of the concerns is that because Utah County is considered a “soft market” there aren’t any loans being given without at least 5% down. We didn’t know that, and we don’t have $10,000 lying around. Another concern is that without 20% down, we would be required to pay an extra $150.00 a month in mortgage insurance. We definitely weren’t counting on that.
As Chad and I were talking, I knew deep down that we needed to pull our offer, but I was fighting it. The real kicker was when Chad looked at me and said, “I don’t feel right about putting off having another baby, just so we can buy a house RIGHT NOW!!” At that point I started to cry, because I knew he was right. There is no way we could afford to buy this house and add another child to our family within the next year, and the truth is I am not getting any younger.
So, bottom line is I called the agent this afternoon and pulled our offer. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, but I know it is the right thing.
OUR NEW PLAN:
At the end of August we are going to sign another lease where we are now. Over the next year we are going to pay my car off, which will give us a significant amount of money a month to add to a mortgage. We are also going to change MY spending habits so that we can put a little more money away. In a year from now we are going to re-evaluate and start over. (Who knows with the market these days, that very house could still be available☺) Wishful thinking I know.