Sold!

For some strange reason we chose not to blog about our housing situation over the past several months. I think, in part, it was an effort to minimize the emotions surrounding a precarious and constantly evolving situation.

Basically, at the end of April we found out that our landlords were going to be foreclosed upon (despite the fact we’ve paid rent every month) and the condo we lived in was going to be sold at auction. One of the worst things about finding out that news was that we found out through a notice sent to use by the DC government and not by our landlords. However, our landlords tried to make up for it by offering to sell it to us at a really great price…a price we couldn’t refuse in high-cost real estate city of the District of Columbia.

I think we were a little awe-struck at the idea that we could be homeowners, not be house-poor and possibly sell the place for a profit to help us buy our next place. Plus, there was this $8K tax credit we heard about that didn’t sound so bad either. So, we decided we would go for it. Thus, begins our adventure with preventing a foreclosure, short-sale with two bad mortgages and an inept real estate agent named Vicki Lee Bauer (landlord’s agent).

To keep the blood pressure down, I’ll just say having a good real estate agent (our agent) and lots of patience are key to being sane if you are pursuing a short sale. Another point I feel like we should make is that if you are in the landlords’ situation, surround yourself with knowledgeable people you trust. This isn’t the time to find someone from an ad in the mail or a blind internet search. Unfortunately, this is advice I think our landlords didn’t have.

But without further adieu, we are proud to announce we are now the owners of our condo! We are very excited, but unlike some of the shows on HGTV like “My First Place” it is a bit anti-climatic. We get to basically go back to the same home we’ve had since 2006. But, after a few quick looks on craigslist at apartments, we are happy not to move and to stay in the same place with all of our amenities.