The scoop. Finally.

I knows it's silly to fall in love with an inanimate object. But that's kind of what happened when our realtor showed us this house. I don't want to go on and on like a school girl crush so here's some bullet points:
* 4 bedrooms
* 3 bathrooms
* hard wood floors
* wrap around balcony
* view of the bay
* build in 1963
* sleepy and nice little neighborhood in the hills
* needs a bit of work
* seller marked it as pre-foreclosure
* in our price range
The Man and I thought this was a perfect place for us. Fantastic for when we have a growing family, and, when it comes time to take care of my parents, there would be plenty of room. I adored it. It was in our price range! And while it would need a little bit of elbow grease, we would gladly do it because the house was just that awesome.
We put in a bid. And let me just say this ...
I HATE short sales.
We put in what I think was a good bid. Yes, the sellers priced the home a lot lower than what he/she had purchased. We couldn't afford this house if they weren't in pre-foreclosure. But we offered to put down a substantial initial deposit. We also offered $50k more than the final asking price (they lowered it an additional $25k a week after we attended the open house.) Well, after waiting nearly two weeks, we received a counter offer from the seller last night:
* Property sold "as is"
* Buyer shall pay for government requirements and retrofit
* Buyer shall pay $5,000 loss mitigation fee to "Foreclosure Prevention Services" or its assignees
* Seller has until April 10th to make final decision
* Sale price of short sale subject to lender's approval (we knew about this one)
* Sale is subject to tenants' right. Home will not be delivered vacant at close of escrow
* Seller is making multiple counter offers. Acceptance of this counter shall not be binding unless and until it's subsequently re-signed by seller.
We have big problems with just about all of these terms. We will have to pay a few hundred dollars to assess a home that we may not get. We won't know until April if we're owners or not. They can still market the house and accept another bid until April. If we get the house, we can't move in because we will have renters. We'll have to pay an additional 5k. And how much is it going to cost to retrofit the house?! The seller's counter offer blows.
I'm all about instant gratification. It's just who I am. But I believe it's a blessing that we had to wait nearly two weeks because I'm not as desperately in love with the house as I had been a couple of weeks ago. I mean, I was able to gain some perspective. This house is still my favorite and I absolutely would love to live in that house. And, in all honestly, everything else we've seen and continue to see in our price range pales in comparison. It's sad, really. But I also realize that it's JUST a house. And we'll live without it. And, as with everything else in my life, I believe that something better will come along ... a greater plan, perhaps. Of course, I have a hard time believing that something better aesthetically will come our way because, my goodness, this place had a wrap around balcony, a view, a tiny courtyard and hard wood floors! (*Sigh* I really did fall in love with this house.) But everything else in my life has worked out for the better whenever something doesn't end up coming my way. So I'm just going to keep hoping and praying that this isn't any different.
But I mean it when I write that I HATE SHORT SALES. Passionately.