This is Just the Beginning!

So, here it is.  The blog about Al and I and our adventure into the world of homeownership.  Scary, I know.  But, it is the realization of something that has been on our minds since we knew we were destined for each other.  A constant theme in our relationship is the inability to be in the present.  Always thinking ahead to the future.  When we decided to get married it was "what will we do for our wedding", after we married it was "where do we move next", after we moved across the Atlantic it was "when we get a house...", and now that we are almost at the end of the house-buying process it is "what will we do with the house and property".  Another common theme is our polar opposite tastes and opinions.  How we ever agree on anything is beyond me!  We actually agree on quite a bit, but there is a negotiation of sorts before any final decisions are made.  Our house had everything we both wanted (except a whirpool or garden tub in the master bath, but that isn't a deal breaker).

So, where are we in the process?  I will spare you all the stressful back and forth that is necessary for getting to this point.  The constant raising of hopes, just for someone on the other side to dash those hopes.  What does one do?  You just adapt and adjust as quickly as possible and stay focused on that dream house!  We were due to close at the end of May, but now our closing has been tentatively moved to June 15th.  Aside from extending the rate lock and closing in the middle of the month (both mean more out-of-pocket), we won't owe a mortgage payment until August, and considering that our lease doesn't end until the end of July, that helps a little.  Then again, we owe that much more out-of-pocket because of the rate thing and closing mid-month.  Geez, you just can't win - even in this market.

You must be wondering where we are moving.  Well, another constant theme in our relationship is the back and forth opinion on city-life versus country-life.  I was raised in a suburb/city, Al on a small island with no trees, but we spent our time before C'ville in Prague - a city with 1.3 million people.  C'ville is small-town in comparison and it has taken us 3 years to be comfortable with the idea of staying here long term.  Our future house is about 15 miles into the country from where we live now.  It's a beautiful straight drive through horse-country.  The house itself sits on 1.5 acres and is brand new.  It's in a "neighborhood" of 8 lots (all are occupied now), each with just as much or more land as we will have.  All the houses are the same model, but spread out sufficiently not to notice so much.  The land gives us plenty of room to set up a significant garden, to landscape as we wish, and to have a front lawn.  The inside of the house is perfect and aside from adding some color here and there, there is nothing that needs to change.  We have a lot of work to do!  Stay posted to our adventure as I try to survive in the country, and Al is brought back to his roots!