House Hunting

It’s been 2 weeks since we met with the new owner/landlord for our townhouse and found out that we needed to move.  A very, very busy 2 weeks.  We’ve been viewing houses, trying to figure out if we’re going to rent or buy, and after making the ultimate decision, putting together terms on a potential rental.  It’s been beyond exhausting.  Scouring the MLS, craigslist, and zillow until I felt like my eyes were going to bleed.  Meeting after work to view house after house after house.  Eating out because by the time we finally get home from viewing houses, it’s too late to consider anything other than a drive thru.  And it doesn’t help that it’s a landlord’s market right now with all the foreclosures forcing people into rentals.  Many of the houses we looked at already had an offer on them when we went to see them.  Others refused to let us in unless we had our checkbooks with us and were ready to make our decision that day.

When we were allowed in to view a house, I kept thinking about one thing: trick-or-treat-ability.  A totally made up word, but one that’s apparently very important to me.  I don’t want to live in a  house where my kids can’t trick-or-treat at Halloween.  I want a safe neighborhood with other kids, where I know that trick-or-treating occurs.  I want to decorate my home and get into the spirit.  I want kids knocking on my door on October 31, and I want my kids to be welcome at other doors in the community.    Halloween isn’t even my favorite holiday, and yet I couldn’t get trick-or-treat-ability out of my head.  Crazy, right?  But I suppose it’s a representation of an attitude of a community, not just a single day in October.  Sure we considered school districts, the size and features of the home, and the location, but I kept coming back to trick-or-treat-ability, a term/concept never even hit my radar when we were looking for a new place to live 6 years ago.

As it stands right now, we have an offer that has been accepted for a rental in a city that we really like on a home that’s totally trick-or-treat-able.  But nothing is official quite yet – there are still a few terms to work out.  I’m too nervous to get excited just yet.  And then I look around my house and wonder how in the hell we’re going to move everything in the next 20ish days.  Oh, yeah, did I mention that?  We take possession of the house mid-August…if it works out.  So with all of this still up in the air, I’m just going to think happy thoughts and leave you with a picture of my prospective pool.Don’t worry, a pool fence is part of the negotiations.

*Picture from the MLS.