The Over / Under

I made up my mind to contact the bank and see if they could raise my pre-approval amount. I thought there might be some wiggle room because she asked me to name a number when I first got the pre-approval and then she commented something like, "oh, so you're not seeking something way out of range".

So I emailed her and asked about it, wondering what was the highest they'd be willing to go, to see if the condo I was interested in was anywhere within range. At the same time I emailed my parents' realtor again to see if she would respond this time.

The next evening (I can't check email at work) I got emails from both of them. The lady at the bank said they could raise the amount by a "little" but didn't specify a number. She did ask how much the place I was interested in was listed at. The realtor said she'd be happy to work with me then sent another email asking which place I was interested in.

I responded to the bank that if they could only raise the rate a little then I would assume the place was out of my price range, but I did tell her the price of the one I was looking at. I decided I'd wait to respond to the realtor to see if the bank came up with a more exact number.

The next evening I, again, had an email from the bank. She said they could get my pre-approval amount within about $5,000 of the place I was looking at. She did say it would make a difference if the place was a condo or manufactured home as opposed to a regular home. I didn't dare to hope, but I fired off an email to the realtor telling her which property I was interested in and what times I was free to meet with her. Then I emailed the bank and explained that it was a condo and asked about the differences that would make.

The next day I received emails from both of them again. The bank said it would depend on the property tax and asked for the address of the place. The realtor said "Oh, that's such a great place. They just put in new floors and fresh paint and it was on the market for so long, but it's under contract now. Go figure!!!!" Then she said she had no weekend times free to meet but could meet with me before I go to work Monday morning.

I sent an email to the lady at the bank thanking her for her work in helping me, but that the place was under contract now. I haven't yet emailed the realtor because I'm undecided on what to do. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have someone looking out for different properties coming on the market. I guess I just don't have much faith that another property will show up that excites me and also happens to be in my price range.

Seven

Happy New Year!

My task of getting new health insurance has been completed, as far as I know. The real question is how long will I have it for? How long until they take it away?

The housing situation is a mess. I was finally able to get some more details on the condo I love. There is a condo fee associated with the property which makes it that much further out of my reach. I'm not sure, now, if I should put in the effort to contact the bank about upping my pre-approval amount or if I should just give up on the property. :(

I really need to revisit my goal list because the only one that stands out right now is that I need to exercise more. I listed this as my goal in a previous month but I never got a good routine going. I figure, since it's such a popular New Year's resolution, maybe it'll be on my mind more this month and I can really make an effort to stick with it.

Wake Me Up When December Ends

I have fallen in love with a condo that is out of my price range. The worst part is, it's not that far out of my price range, yet still far enough that I could see a bank not approving a loan. Or, if I got it, the down payment would eat up my savings and the monthly mortgage plus expenses would eat up my paychecks.

To be honest, I haven't seen it in person yet. But from what I've seen in pictures, it's so cute! It's got two bedrooms and two bathrooms. It has the cutest little fireplace with built-in shelves on either side. It's on the top floor, which I want. It's got a deck with really great views. The kitchen is a little small for me but it's workable. There's lots of cupboards and counterspace plus a dishwasher and all other appliances. There are gorgeous wood floors throughout, except in the kitchen and bathrooms. There's a closet with washer and dryer plus lots of other closets for storage. There is a garage space and an outdoor parking space. There's even an elevator.

However, it's not perfect, not that I expect a starter home to be perfect. It's up in the hills, which could be hard to get up and down in the winter. One of the bedroom windows might look out onto a shared space, which seems kind of weird. It's far on the other side of town from most of the places I shop, as well as far away from family. And since I haven't seen it in person, for all I know it could reek of cigarette smoke, which is such a horrible smell to try to remove from a place. Or the neighbors could be bad. Or it could look far worse in person. Or the condo fee could be outrageous. Also, it needs a little updating, but from what I can see in the pictures I think I could live with it, as is, until I could afford to make improvements.

Despite the imperfections, I haven't felt this way about any of the other places I've looked at in person or seen online. I keep coming back to this place and comparing all others to this one. I'm just torn on what to do. I feel very pressured right now, both because interest rates rose recently and will keep rising, and because I really like this place and want to do everything I can to see if I can get it.

In the interest of doing everything possible I tried emailing my parents' recommended realtor over a week ago. I got an automated response that she was on vacation until the next day. I waited for a real response and so far none has been forthcoming. I'm not sure if I should call her, email her again, or try to find a different realtor. But I would really like to see the place in person before I get in touch with the bank and see if they would be willing to up my pre-approval amount. (Did I mention my pre-approval expires in mid-January?)

In other news, I had a meeting with an insurance agent to help me get signed up for health insurance for next year. She was extremely nice and helpful, she even wrote down what I needed to say to the insurance company so that things would get switched correctly. Of course the person at the insurance company didn't follow the script! However, I think I made myself clear. I should just have to call sometime, probably this week, and pay my first premium for next year.

Of course all this real estate & health insurance stuff is coming together just in time for the busiest week at work. Ugh.

What did I say in my last post about spending December relaxing?

Eight

Did anyone else feel like November lasted far too long, while also flying by as quickly as time seems to go these days? That's how it felt for me - as though it existed in a weird time warp.

I have no real TTC prep goal for December except practicing meditation and relaxation. Maybe a little at-home pampering as well. This is the most stressful month for my job so I need all the relaxation I can get.

As for my goals from the previous two months - they are all still works-in-progress. However, I do have an appointment later this month to get signed up for new health insurance. At least that task will get crossed off my list.

Nine

My task for this month is to pick new health insurance. My current insurance, which I pay entirely out of pocket, has decided to go up by 43% next year.
Now that it is open season I am going to look into new plans and see what is available. Any tips on what I should be looking for, considering this is what I'll have for TTC and (hopefully) pregnancy/delivery/baby, etc.?
I don't like to get overly political, but I really, really hope the next president doesn't make things worse healthcare-wise. That's another thing I'll be doing this November - voting, and hoping the rest of America isn't really as stupid as it sometimes seems to be.

This month I also plan to implement an exercise routine. The only exercise I seem to get is walking up and down stairs at work, which really doesn't help much. I need to work on strengthening my back, my knees, and my core, plus work on my posture and general endurance. Most of all, I need to get rid of my muffin top!
I no longer have a gym membership, so this will all have to be done at home. I'm hoping the motivation of watching TV or listening to music while I work out will be enough to get me through because I really want to be in shape before I even attempt TTC.

As for my October to-do (Work on getting my own place): I still have not gotten in touch with a realtor, so I've only seen the one condo I talked about last time. (It was in the basement and too dungeon-y for me).
I have the information for the realtor my parents used and I hope to, at least, email her soon. I just keep delaying it out of fear. Fear of the unknown, since I've never bought a house before. Fear of regret if I buy a place I end up hating. And fear of depleting my savings, then really needing that money down the road. As you can see, lots of fear to work through, hence my procrastination. Plus, there aren't a lot of houses currently available in my price range.

P.S. I'm slowly catching up on everyone's blogs. I took a break from reading them when I went on hiatus so there's a lot of posts to read through.