The End of the Beginning

First of all, I can't believe I'm "blogging," but after multiple requests for pictures of the house updates, I thought this would be the easiest way to keep family and friends in the loop. After all of this time and effort we've put into becoming homeowners again, we've really only just begun. This journey started for us on February 5th, when we placed the offer on our new home. Out of the blocks it didn't look good, as there were 2 other offers on the house. In our heads we were already on to the next when our realtor Steven called and said they've countered your offer. We were shocked and after a little negotiation we were under contract. From there we...

• hired an architect
• decided on plans
• filled our mountains of paper work
• met Fred - the HUD consultant
• priced the job
• filled out more paper work
• decided on allowances
• had an inspection
• met with Kevin - the contractor
• ordered an appraisal
• visited the house with all parents
• and filled out more paper work

That to say, we were supposed to close on March 31st, but now we're pretty sure we'll close this Wednesday April 7th. As you can imagine we're really excited, but we've been working on this project for 2 months with nothing to show yet. The next couple of months will be an exciting and challenging journey. Matt and I have been warned more than a couple of times that this is a strain on a relationship and there isn't any way it will be done on time or in budget. Time will tell!