Every white kid ever born

They all look the same in their newborn photo. It is like how people try to pretend that even though I hate white sauce on my chicken, I will like their white sauce because it tastes so great. Does it have mayonnaise and vinegar or lemon juice in it? Is it a white baby born in a U.S. hospital?

They are all the same.

oh boy

So that house didn't pass RD.
Are you going to trust my posts anymore?
We put another offer in on a house in Eva. RD is coming out to look at it today sometime.
I'll not get my hopes up again.

Okay

So we were so worried about not getting that house in Somerville. But we are getting a house in Joppa/Hulaco that is 100 times better. See how the Lord works?

The RD inspector just has to come out to the house now to give it the okay. I don't see anything that could be wrong with it though. Then the home inspector comes and then the appraiser comes and then we move on toward closing.

Steps are being taken.

In other news, not much. We've been packing up the house, so everything is in boxes.
We moved my mom into a new house in Priceville this past weekend.

boring

Found a house Lee and I both LOVE!



We put an offer in on it this morning. When will we hear back something? It is killing me.
She wanted $89,900 for it, but I am here to tell you that it isn't worth that.
We had all the parents come and look at it and Debbie look at it and we all like it.
We put in an offer of $69,900 and we pay for the A/C unit and she pays closing.
I don't think she'll accept that, but at least it will get the ball rolling.
I have high hopes that she'll counter-offer and then we can offer up to $75,000.

My worst fear for it is that she totally ignores our bid, or RD decides they hate it.
But I don't know what they would find wrong with it.

Lee and I have to go at the end of the month to a "new homeowner's class" (for our loan) and then early in October for our application turn in with Rural Development.
We heard back from them that we prequal, we just have to really "apply" now.

This is some pretty boring stuff.

Hurry up and wait.

Lee and I are going to look at a crap house in Arab to make sure he doesn't like it. Then we are going to go talk to Debbie about the house that I want.
Someone has made an offer already and they are waiting on citibank.
And, we still have to hear back from the Rural development loan.

I found out that RD didn't call back my realtor. The lady who prequaled us for the loan said that we probably wouldn't qualify b/c of Lee.
I thought this was the statement from the RD man and I emailed the RD loan office in Montgomery to get a second opinion.
"Mr. McCloud,
I recently applied for an RH loan and was denied. While I have a good credit score, my husband has no credit. This was the reason we were given for our denial of the loan.
He does, however, possess good credit for paying bills on time and paying our rent on time. Is this sort of credit considered?
Thank you for your time."

And his response:
"Ms. Fanning
Which office did you apply in? I will take a look as your application to make sure the right thing was done."

So this tells me two things;it is possible for us to get an RD loan with Lee's form of credit, and I probably should have been more patient.

But, even if we find out soon, there is still going to be 80 more yards of paperwork etc. to go through.
And someone placed a bid on the house but hasn't heard back yet.
So,unless the bank collects all the bids and sees what is a better offer, we may not get the house.
I hope we get it.
We are going to talk again to Debbie tomorrow and do a contract which is an offer (as is my understanding).
We will have at least thrown our hat in the ring.
I wonder when we will hear back from the Rural Development loan man.





-

steps to buying a home

For those ignurt as I am/was:
1. Figure out how much you can afford

2. Know your rights

3. Shop for a loan

4. Learn about homebuying programs

5. Shop for a home Choose a real estate agent

6. Make an offer

7. Get a home inspection
8. Shop for homeowners insurance
9. Sign papers

So, we are on step...6!

So, we don't qualify for a Rural Development loan because my husband has no credit. Which according to the car commercials he used to make, is no problem. Apparently, the USDA doesn't agree.
However, we do qualify for an FHA loan for up to $60,000. Which is about what I was thinking.
This house that I and my family absolutely LOVE is priced at $44,900. I think we can talk them down to $40,000 and they pay closing. There are some minor repairs needed on the house (most of them are cosmetic), so we are trying to get above the cost of the house to make the repairs. We can borrow up to the amount that the house is deemed worth by the inspector. I think the house is probably worth $70,000. So, no problem there.
The problem lies in the fact that dear husband is now more vocal about the house. I thought he loved it. He has reservations about it. I wonder if it is just because he is so slow, methodic, and planning at everything he does. I just started house hunting less than a week ago. But this is a foreclosure and a super super awesome deal. I want him to love it so we can close by the end of next week. But, I am not going to force the issue.
When I was little, when my dad would take us out to eat (rarely), we had to get what was $.99. It was usually a chicken sandwich at Dairy Queen. I still don't like those at all. But, we had to get them because they were $.99. No consideration went into the fact that the hamburger that I liked was $.89.
It was a deal and my dad liked chicken sandwiches, so we ate them.
I feel like I am making Lee get this dollar menu house because I like it and it is a great deal.
What Lee keeps bringing up as problems, I see as minor things that can be solved; ie. no storage (we can afford to build a shed), no fence (we can afford to build one).
Any advice?
I am such an impatient and impulsive person that I can't stand all this waiting. I want to make a wise decision though. I have prayed God give me wise people in my life to help make this decision easier. I have asked all my family and they love the house. I think the next step is to talk to Lee's father. That will make both me and Lee feel better.

Pergo

So, we are still waiting to hear back from our prequal and from our RD loan.
We have found THE house though. (If they get back to us about our loan before the house sells to someone else!)

The couch is falling into further disrepair. I don't take naps on it anymore because it stinks and Ace tore a bigger hole in one of the cushions. Is there a happy ending to this ordeal in sight? If we get a new house, we are keeping the dogs away from it.
I am totally for them being all the time outside dogs at our new place.
It will keep my laminate floors and maybe different couch safe.

What is so real about it.

Went and talked to the realtor in Hartselle today and then went to go try and get prequalified for a home loan. We're leaning in the direction of an FHA or preferably a Rural Development Loan. Which would be awesome. We sent our info in for both, we should hear back something soon. Then we really start looking.

Debbie, our realtor, told us about a house in Joppa that is in our price range and the bedrooms and bathrooms that we want. The house looked great, but the neighbors were kind of not what we were looking for. The house sits on 1 acre that is pretty much surrounded by the neighbor's property. He seems like a nice old man, but I don't want neighbors. I want to continue my tradition of sitting on the porch at night and playing my ukulele and singing hymns to the Lord. I think if we could set that house on some land away from everyone, that would be exactly what we wanted.

She discouraged us from looking at foreclosures, I really don't understand why though. I trust Debbie. She has been a family friend for a long time; I trust her judgement.

But we are not in a rush to find a house, we are still living in Moldy Goldie. It is not like we are out on the street. I know the right place will come along.

Lee is on the prowl for a new job as well. His hours are just so inconsistent and he is so talented in everything he does. If I were his boss, I would give him a salary of a million dollars a year. He is a lot better than most of these athletes that make more than that so.... give the man his due, I say. He is back in his office writing and rewriting his resume while listening to The Beatles.

Jackie's wedding and Halloween are coming up next month and I am super excited!

House hunting stinks

I keep finding that I want to talk about matters of me rather than costume making. So, I made this little blog that no one will read.

Lee and I are looking for a house. We have been renting a quite leany, moldy, but full of love house for $400 a month. We realized that with our credit and the way the market is right now, we could buy a house for cheaper than that a month and we would own the property. It seems a lot better than throwing money down the hole.

So, here comes the search for the house. We have $400 a month to spend, so that means we can afford a $70,000 house. (Alabama has great real estate prices.)

We want one that is in need of cosmetic repairs, with a fenced backyard. It needs to have at least 3 bedrooms and at least 1.5 baths.

We are going to talk to a realtor in the morning. So she can give us the skinny.

I am enjoying my new job as a reference assistant. My wonderful patrons keep asking me if I was promoted. As I think promotion means a pay raise, I was only moved, not promoted.

It is fun looking up things for people all day though.