Part One is here, and Part Two is here.

I didn’t think much of the unscheduled stop, I felt like the agent was grasping at straws trying to keep us engaged. He had already shown us eight properties that fell under the, “What in the Hell were you thinking, dude?” category.

He didn’t have the listing information with him on this particular house and he managed to lowball the owner’s asking price which was still more than we planned on investing.

The home looked rather inconspicuous from the street. It was on a slopped double lot, and looked to be on the smallish side. It was deceptive in its quaintness. We were surprised to discover the house had cathedral ceilings with skylights in some rooms. The living areas were spacious, the floor plan flowed, most of the living space was on a single level,the master bath had been remodeled, and there was a sun room which I immediately declared as studio space…

The Mister and the agent were both surprised I had a new first choice. My new favorite gradually became the Mister’s favorite. Our favorite turned out to be a real problem… the misestimated asking price, was already beyond our budget. The Mister asked what I thought, and I told him I thought our agent was an asshole. Not intentionally, just thoughtlessly. The house was a unique property for the area, and had not attracted much interest. For the Mister and me it would be a good fit.

Refusing to jeopardize our financial stability,we made an insulting offer on our new favorite. We knew our limit, and agreed to walk away when necessary. We had three prospective properties and were willing to pursue the others. After our initial offer, I turned my attention to our second and third choices. The first choice seemed out of reach and I didn’t want to spend too much time dwelling on it.

After several days of negotiations, offers and counter offers, we were shocked when they accepted our last counter offer. Neither the Mister, the realtor, nor myself considered the prospect of a successful negotiation. We were playing the game on the off chance something would happen, not anticipating that it might.

We close on the property next month. Our house is officially on the market, Friday. We will move next month, even if our current hasn’t sold yet. I think this is really going to happen this time.

An Aside: I really intended to make this a two parter, but my FIL was having trouble with his remaining eye. The staff at the care facility thought he might have cancer in his good eye, because his vision has been so poor recently. We (Mister Hombre & me) didn’t think it was cancer, (and we have SOOOOO many medical credentials in this house), but we wanted word from a board certified physician, instead of Web MD. I wanted to be reasonably certain our plans were firm before making any announcements, hence the nail biter as I waited for the eye exam results

Ole One Eye is fine. His vision is diminishing, but the Doc says he suspects old age is responsible. New glasses; Good news. I shutter at the thought of the alternative. For him, not me.

Thanks for sticking with me!