I was a good mommy today. I drove my baby all over town, showing her houses where she could live (closer to me), having lunch with her, and sitting with her at the banker's office, getting good advice on how to afford those houses we looked at. Things are very close. Now we just have to keep a super close eye on new things as they hit the market, and have an offer ready to go at a moment's notice. Yes, I know, they are 18 pages long and specific to each property, so I can't just make a template. But still, I have to be quick on the draw with them. It will probably take several tries from here to land a good one.
My day started early (after last night ended late -- not my fault, Shelly in BC had a livestream going of a new litter of kittens who were rescued last night and I HAD to watch some of it). I had an early appointment down in Thornton to get tires on my car, after postponing removing the snows for two solid months. I thought arriving ten minutes early and going inside to check in would mean I'd be out of there on time. By the time I was allowed to leave my key fob, it was five minutes past my appointment time, and I literally was the SECOND PERSON IN LINE. I sat and waited for twenty minutes for Costco to open, and then I wandered around for half an hour getting only cat supplies, cheese, and a rack of ribs for this weekend. I came back at 10:30, thinking one hour should be enough to put tires on my car and throw the old ones in the back. I was told they were only just then starting to balance them. I didn't actually get to leave until five minutes to 11, which was five minutes before I was supposed to be in North Boulder to get my child. (Feel free to consult a map if you don't know how far these points are apart. Colorado is freaking huge. Just for the record.) I drove as fast as I could, taking as many rural county highways as I could, but I still got us to our first showing appointment 30 minutes late.
The houses we saw were interesting. The first one was large and in okay shape but not great. I felt it was significantly overpriced, even knowing the realities of a hot real estate market. I can't justify a high price just because someone says they want that much. The appraisal still has to come in on target or it won't work for us. The basement bedroom in house one was interesting, in a cosmic sense. See photos...
House two was familiar to us, but it wasn't until later that we figured out why. I was comparing ages with my daughter, saying she'd beat me to her first house. I didn't get to buy until I was 31. The first house I bought was a mid-80s contemporary in Fayetteville NC. The house we saw this afternoon was finished in much the same design style, with the same stair railings, vaulted living room, and other layout philosophies. The price on this one was very close to target, but I don't think she was ready to pull the trigger on this one. Her banker gave us encouragement, though. Things are close. Just a little more tweaking and she will be in the debt-to-income-ratio sweet spot.
I had a million errands to run, even while kiddo was in town, as did she. I dropped her off at one appointment while I went to handle some of my own business. By the time I got her back to her own car in Boulder, I was worn down to a stump. I've been hiding in the basement most of the night, too tired to go to bed, but too happy to be upset about it. I feel like the world is on a moving sidewalk right now, progressing swiftly onward whether I walk or just passively ride along. Lots of activity going on around/with/through me and most of it is heading in the right direction.
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