Househunting 101 - Part 2

Looking for a house to buy is extremely edifying. There are some basics that i feel like we need to have but then there are a bunch of things that come up that i didn't even think about - like what if you actually do like the multi-level house in the cute neighborhood and it's in your price range and everything and if you get it you get to evict the family of five with three kids under the age of five plus their cute, pit-mix puppy. OR what if the "fixer-upper" down the street is suddenly available and you're thrilled because that means you can stay int eh neighborhood but then you find out that it's actually not so much a "fixer-upper" so much as a paint- (please, dear god, let that be paint!) stained, crumbling mess of a place (with no central heat and a "shared" backyard which is still getting a million bids from "investors" whatever that means. OR you find a place that is great. you love it. it works and is basically move-in-able and the listing agent isn't thrilled with the type of loan you have or with your downpayment (she likes your letter though!) but she'll [grudgingly] submit your offer anyway. Just, you know, so you don't sue or something.... It is a very good thing that we have both a fantastic realtor and a stable rental place where we can continue living for the foreseeable future [knock on wood!] otherwise... well, i don't know what otherwise. It is interesting seeing what's out there though. Nothing like a crazy, mostly outside-of-your-control process to make you start thinking about your relative place in the world. [yes, pun intended.]