Short sales suck. They suck real bad.
We started looking for a house in town (by which I mean, not Fairfax) around January or February when I was still pregnant. We started looking at a gated community thirty minutes outside of town. It's very safe and the houses are very affordable (even with the HOA).
We found a house that we loved. We made an offer, but my husband was still waiting for a contract from his new employer. We had enough money for the house and offered a lease-purchase. They were okay with a lease-purchase, but not for us. They let a woman who was in the process of getting a divorce move in because she was offering more for rent and more than the house was worth. I kind of hope the divorce got kind of ugly and messed up some finances. Very frustrating.
We couldn't find a house we liked as much as that one so we figured we'd start looking closer to town because what's the point of spending a little less to drive farther from a house we don't love (especially since the resale won't be as good anyway). After lots of looking, we found two houses that had similar characteristics and prices. One had a great lot with lots of space, but the inside of the house felt kinda small. The kitchen was nice, the shared bathroom was pretty, and the basement (which was in the process of being remodeled and was supposed to be done at close) would be nice when it was finished. The master was tiny with enough room for a squished shower stall and a toilet almost behind the door (seriously, a full-grown man could barely fit in there).
The other house we loved was a split foyer like the other house, but it felt so big. The upstairs had a huge master with a nice bathroom and was attached to a small office that could be accessed from the hallway. The other two bedrooms were at the end of the hall. Perfect for privacy after the kids got old enough to appreciate it. The downstairs had two living rooms (one with a fireplace), another nice bathroom, sizable bedroom, and nice hallway leading to the garage. That's right, garage, which is perfect for my motorcycle. Did I mention that the house backs up to an elementary with good ratings and is in a great neighborhood? Yep. Probably sounds like a no-brainer for most people, but I really liked the first house with the yard (it also had a big barn with electricity that could eventually be fit for my bike). It's just that the master was so small. The only problem with the house in the neighborhood was that it was a short sale. We never wanted to get involved in all that hassle, but this house was so perfect. The other plus was that someone else had put an offer in that was below the asking price (which can be risky with short sales), and it was accepted. They had dropped out because of financing. We put an offer in during the summer.
Fast forward to now. We still don't have a house. The price has been accepted, but they are "haggling over a few fees". We now have two forms to sign. One is an addendum to an addendum. Yep, you read that right. The other fun part is that they haven't even sent these forms yet so after I got a phone call and email from my realtor, I can't even do anything about it. It's awesome. NOT.
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