Is Barfing an Option?

Well I think we can all agree that after not posting for more than a year posting twice in a single month is pretty freaking stupendous, don't you agree?

To be honest, I'm creating this post for very selfish reasons.  I may combust if I don't blog.

As mentioned in my previous post, Super Husband and I are furiously (desperately) house hunting right now.  Every time I tell someone we are looking I hear "Oh how fun"!  NO!  It's not fun!  It is sucking away my will to live as a matter of fact!  For the last 3.5 years we have been renting.  During at least two of those years we have been actively looking.  Let's also not forget about the year we spent sharing a house with a drug dealer.  But I digress.

So here we are.  FINALLY in a position to snatch up a new pad and I literally want to barf.

Why?

The money
The emotional toll the last few years have taken on us
The competition

Honestly, the competition is the worst of all these evils.

Currently it is a sellers' market.  They hold the upper hand in this nasty game of real estate.  We live and are targeting an area that is hot and lousy with investors (aka: developers) ready to pay top price for a piece of property only to rip down the house and erect a 2.1 million dollar monstrosity.  They have resources that we cannot compete against.

Super Husband and I had resolved ourselves to buying a real "fixer-upper" as long as we could find one in our budget.  And then we went to the house viewing to end all house viewings last night.  I mean it was like there were freaking angels singing to me as I toured this place.  As a matter of fact, I actually cried when I saw the kitchen.  And the house is listed in our budget.  How awesome is that?!?!

But like all things too good to be true we fear it is.  Naturally, they are holding off on offers until next Thursday.  Sigh.  What does this mean?  It means that they want to create a bidding war. 

Now, the interesting thing is, our agent also happens to be the selling agent.  In other words they are representing both sides.  They have a lot to gain (commission-wise) if they bring the winning bid to the table.

So in my fit of terror during the viewing last night I turned to the agent and said "can't we just make an offer now"?  Apparently the answer is yes.  It's known as making a "Bully Offer" when you jump the queue, so to speak.  Technically, the house is still not public knowledge as it will not appear on MLS until tomorrow.  So we have today to make our best offer as attractive as possible and snag it before other buyers swoop in and shatter our dreams.

So as I sit here and write this, the bank is preparing a certified deposit cheque that we will provide with our offer (which is well above the list price).  We are waiving all conditions and targeting a close date that is in alignment with the desires of the seller.

Will it be enough?

I don't know.  Super Husband and I both hope so.  We have alreadyy fallen in love.  We hope to not end up with broken hearts.