It's always something...

(My birth month flower) The dense petal formation of the beautiful aster allows its rich, deep color to radiate through with a lush, almost aquatic texture. This combination makes the aster the flower of magic and transcendence. September, the beginning of Autumn, is also a time of otherworldly transcendence, and September birthdays contain elements of seeing aspects of life often hidden from view. ~Photo & Blurb from http://www.flower-choice.com/birthflowers.asp

A few thoughts on house-hunting:

• It's competitive. (imagine the fun competing with up to 40 other offers!)


• When you come to terms that this will more than likely NOT be dream home your expectations change as you preview houses. (Especially first-timers like us)


• On many offers you make, the bank will counter the best offers to submit their 'highest and best'. (like my first offer wasn't my highest & best already Mr. Greedy Bank?!)


• The majority of our offers were beat out by CASH, often at a lower price too. (Cash is King baby!)


• When you find a house you can at least IMAGINE living in with some potential (funny, I just wrote poetential first, even better if you find something poetic) and move forward, watch out for big, mean barking dogs living next door!
• Experience is valuable. At the very beginning it was kind of shocking to see houses considered "Contractor's Specials" (you learn the lingo quick). Over time when we saw houses that weren't trashed, or that weren't severely distressed properties, we started to get a sense of the things we could fix and improve as DIY'ers. The properties in good shape really stand out too (= competition).


• It gets easier to 'detach' from the homes you like and lose out to each time a new listing pops up. You just move on to the next one, or two, or three...


• Continue to trust that the right house will come through at the right time because you gotta have some faith that things will work out for the best.