A Decent Shot

So my wife and I have been a little discouraged about our house hunting as of late. After we got out-bid on our first two offers, we realized that we weren't the only people who waited for the opportunity to buy at lower prices/interest rates. Everything that we like seems to have multiple offers already - like anywhere between 10 and 20. We started buckling down for the long haul. My wife even suggested that we get rid of the dining room table in our tiny one bedroom apartment so that we could have room for a crib.

A friend of mine who had recently bought a place told me that she and her husband had made something like twenty offers before they got a catch. We figured that, like them, we'd get really good at filling out the paperwork.

Then last weekend we were driving around with our realtor when we pulled up to a house that happened to be owned by one of his own co-workers. It has an interesting lay-out. They call it an "upside down floor plan" - with the kitchen, dining room and master bedroom upstairs, and the family room and remaining bedrooms downstairs. We'd seen two other houses like it, but weren't that impressed because they weren't as well kept. This one had hardwood floors throughout and was in great condition.

We decided to put an offer down before we had even gotten out the door. We found out later that the owner had one other offer, and after we submitted ours, he pulled the property from the listings. Apparently, the guy just wants to sell as soon as possible - and is moving forward with one of the offers. That gives us a pretty darn good chance.

The only down side is that it's a short sale, which means that we'll have to wait a few months before we get any kind of confirmation.

Still, we're keeping our fingers crossed.