The 11th Street Mess

Has anyone in the history of modern real-estate every had a transaction like this one?
Well, probably.

This is our 5th house we've put an offer on since February. Hurray for us! Some people hear that we've been looking for a house for 8 months and assume that we haven't found one because we're too picky or something. Not true, judgementals. We have found 5 houses. We have lost 4 of them to multiple offers that bid way above what we can afford. And even if it did take that long, who cares? It's not like it's a small decision.

The house we love the most sits on a beautiful tree-lined street with beautiful landscaped yards and tire swings. It's 11th Street. We put an offer on this home all the way back in April, a couple weeks before Dustin turned 30. What has been going on from then until now can be summed up into 2 words: stressful crap.

Headache after headache, and to make a long story short, we were suppose to close on this house on August 17th (Lillie's Birthday). However, on August 6th, the sellers went through what is called a variance, which basically means that after reviewing their finances, they found they are unable to pay the closing costs (which they already signed to do) and they were trying to get the closing costs waved. That process takes anywhere between 2-6 weeks. However, because of this, the house went back on the market until that went through. Here's what we found out out today.

Good news: The bank accepted the variance this morning!
Bad news: Someone else put an offer on the house last week.

So, we are once again in a bidding war against another potential buyer. If we can outbid them, then we will sign the papers and get on our way of completing the inspection and finalizing our loan. If not, we pretty much wasted the last 4 months waiting for this gem. We have no idea what their offer was, we just know it was significantly higher than our original one. (?!?!?!?!? GAH!)

But let me tell you, this house is beautiful. And I really, really, really hope we get it.
Here's to another day of fasting and prayer and Mt. Dew!