angst-laden day

"When in trouble, when in doubt,
Run in circles, scream and shout!"

I'm reminded of this expression when I think about my level of angst today, where it originates, what I'm going to do about it...

We made an offer on a house last night. To finalize the sale, we have to get financing, pay for an assortment of inspections and insurance plans--the usual first-time home buyers' hurdles. Lots of folks do this sort of thing every year. Some of those folks have more financial resources than we have, some less. Some have good reason to worry, some ignore those reasons and buy more than they can afford.

We looked at our budget pretty closely prior to this decision. There isn't as much room for error as I'd like, but this house is in excellent condition, it's fairly new (ten years or so since construction), and our incomes should improve over the coming year or two. We'll figure something out.

In any case, I have a raft of errands to run soon--starting with a trip to the bank once it opens, and continuing with an assortment of not-really-related-to-home-buying tasks. Life goes on regardless of what happens with the offer we've submitted.

We've looked at eight or ten houses, after culling from dozens more based on their MLS profiles and a few drive-by looks. There have been some that we really liked, but couldn't afford, some that we sort-of liked, but which were almost inaccessible, some that we could have lived in, but were never passionate about, and some on which we differed sharply in how we responded to them. Some had decent locations, but were crappy houses. Few have walkability ratings on par with the house we have been renting for the last two years.

I hope we get this house. It's a charmer. It's in a decent area, our commutes are shorter by a few miles, and the trips to the grocery won't take much longer. I can envision riding to Jenn's office with her on my way to the store in the mornings, without being far out of my own travel path.

It's going to be an adventure.