I've kept some exciting news rather close to the vest (okay, I've told a few people) because I didn't (and still don't) want anything to jinx it from not happening. My husband and I have recently joined the adventurous few who have jumped into the housing market, taking advantage of the near-30-year price lows that have sellers shaking their head in despair and eager buyers rubbing their hands with unadulterated glee.
While the terrible housing crash has caused sorrow for some, for others it has opened a door and my husband and I are in the latter group.
You see, two and a half years ago we were priced right out of the market. We walked through the lovely model homes and as they handed us the price sheet we walked right back out laughing our butts off at the unimaginable thought of buying one of those pretty McMansions because we knew there was no way on God's green earth we could qualify even with a decent wage earned between us.
Thank goodness, good sense prevailed and we waited. Since then, we've had our ups and downs financially and it really was a blessing that we didn't try to kill ourselves to get into one of those lovelies as invariably, we may have been in the same terrible spot many homeowners have found themselves today with the Adjustable Rate Mortgage fiasco sending thousands into foreclosure.
But it is the nature of the world that as the pendulum swings one way, it must swing the other and we're finally on the upswing of that movement.
And what a wild ride that is turning out to be.
First, the house we're buying (it's in escrow as we speak) is a fixer-upper - so much so that when we get the keys, we won't be moving in right away. From paint to doors, to kitchen appliances to major cleaning ... it's a diamond in the rough.
I was giddy with the thought of truly making this house our own with paint and design accents until I've become positively dizzy with the sheer number of options out there in paint alone.
Think white is white? Nope. There's antique white, snow white, eggshell ... you get my drift. And just when I thought I had my color scheme figured out (pale yellow for the downstairs, white trim, hardwood floors), suddenly I've gotten cold feet because I read somewhere that statistically, people tend to fight more in yellow rooms than in any other colored room.
While the terrible housing crash has caused sorrow for some, for others it has opened a door and my husband and I are in the latter group.
You see, two and a half years ago we were priced right out of the market. We walked through the lovely model homes and as they handed us the price sheet we walked right back out laughing our butts off at the unimaginable thought of buying one of those pretty McMansions because we knew there was no way on God's green earth we could qualify even with a decent wage earned between us.
Thank goodness, good sense prevailed and we waited. Since then, we've had our ups and downs financially and it really was a blessing that we didn't try to kill ourselves to get into one of those lovelies as invariably, we may have been in the same terrible spot many homeowners have found themselves today with the Adjustable Rate Mortgage fiasco sending thousands into foreclosure.
But it is the nature of the world that as the pendulum swings one way, it must swing the other and we're finally on the upswing of that movement.
And what a wild ride that is turning out to be.
First, the house we're buying (it's in escrow as we speak) is a fixer-upper - so much so that when we get the keys, we won't be moving in right away. From paint to doors, to kitchen appliances to major cleaning ... it's a diamond in the rough.
I was giddy with the thought of truly making this house our own with paint and design accents until I've become positively dizzy with the sheer number of options out there in paint alone.
Think white is white? Nope. There's antique white, snow white, eggshell ... you get my drift. And just when I thought I had my color scheme figured out (pale yellow for the downstairs, white trim, hardwood floors), suddenly I've gotten cold feet because I read somewhere that statistically, people tend to fight more in yellow rooms than in any other colored room.
