The ups and downs of buying a house

Man.

I.

Hate.

This.

Process.

Period. 

Okay, so the looking part is fun - but the bid part is not. I have far too much anxiety and optimism at the same time. Not really a great combination. 

My first choice had to be - alone or with someone. Really, in all honesty, the only person I could live with would be Scott. It was an option, but one that I knew wouldn't go over well with the folks. So, after a few back and forth debates, I decided that I needed to be out on my own. After all, I've never lived by myself. 

Next up - city or county. I love the city. Not that I have a huge night life... I just like everything the city has to offer. However - living by myself in the city might not be the best choice. Therefore I chose county. 

My friend Erin lives in Owings Mills in an awesome condo. I've been looking around in there for about two weeks. First one I fell in love with, I put a bid in for. I was very optimistic and thought it would all really work out. Well -- 100 days on the market, same day I put my bid in, so does some one else. DAMN. Although mine wasn't too much lower then the asking price, it wasn't good enough. Seller choose the other bid. I was crushed for a minute, but realized when the place I find is meant to be... It will all happen like it's supposed to. 

However, that has done a nice job of killing my optimism. Seriously. 

Today I looked at two more in the same area. One on the first floor and one on the third. The one on the first floor was an immediate no. It was trashed. As a matter of fact, the people that lived there were actually there... not really the cleanest people either. 

The second one I looked at happens to be right across the hall from my friend Erin. It was beautiful. Hard wood floors, cathedral ceilings and in excellent shape. Erin went over with my agent and I to check it out and the owner happened to be home. She was really nice, moving to Florida to be closer to her mom. We exchanged some stories when I noticed she had an easel and canvas in the corner. I asked if she liked to paint and she said yes. We exchanged artsy stories and left on a really good note. I think she knows I really liked her home. 

With that being said, I will put my second bid in tomorrow. I guess one positive thing is that I'm not as excited. I've been shot down once... what's stopping it from happening again? I know this woman is not in a huge hurry... but maybe the fact that she met me will help. After we left, Erin went back over and thanked her for showing it to us. 

So... tomorrow I will put in my second bid... hopefully it will go as planned. This was a beautiful house with a lot of potential. 

Fingers crossed.... again.