Things Fall Apart, and then Come Together....

Whether my dream of a farmhouse would come to fruition or not was largely up to timing. The timing, my friends, could not have been worse. David and I were happily squirreled away in a great 2 bedroom townhouse in Greune, TX. We were working a second job on the weekends to save money to pay for our wedding. We were both about to move to different campuses, and have different principals and different students. We were short on time, very short on money, and couldn't give the house hunt our full attention or financial commitment.

I grew up in a great historic house that my parents restored over the course of 20 years. I wanted it all-- a huge back porch, 20 acres, a bouganvillia vine, a wraparound front porch, a swimming pool, and a (literal) white picket fence. My dream house in my mind looked a lot like the one from Father of The Bride.

Is there anything better?

Hubzu.com is a website that features local foreclosures. I often looked here when I was feeling especially brave, since buying a foreclosure is a nightmare path that I would not reccoment to anyone. So, being the 27 year old first time homebuyer who was cash-poor and strapped for time I thought "Let's just take a gander to see if there are any 5 bedroom homes needing a massive amount of money and time....."

And friends.... there it was.

"THE FORECLOSURE OF YOUR DREAMS!!!!" said the listing. (Note: there is no such thing). This was a Friday night, and after looking at the pictures I started to get really excited. This was more house than we (or possibly anyone save the Duggars) could ever need. My only-child greed kicked in. Not only could I have a house, I COULD HAVE THE BIGGEST HOUSE IN THE WORLD!!!!!!

I call it, "The Orange Monster"

David and I drove out that night to see it. We didn't leave until just before 7, not realizing the house was at the far reaches of the earth. As we pulled up, light was fading, and with no electricity to guide me I picked the lock (seriously) and burst through the door. I twirled through the dimly-lit rooms, not even sure of what I was looking at. I LOVE IT! I LOVE THIS! AND THIS! I DONT KNOW WHAT THIS IS BUT I WANT IT!

David looked both skeptical and fraught with concern. As he signed up for eHarmony on his phone, I called our realtor. The bad news? There was an offer on the home already. My heart sank, and David's spirits suddenly lifted.

The next weekend was Round Top antique fair. In a state of delirium and heatstroke, David and I wandered the fields with my parents for 2 days straight. We were sure that we wouldn't get this house, but we had placed a pending offer in case the first one fell through. It did.

The process of buying a foreclosure is a long and boring one. It took us almost 2 months to close on our home, along the way learning some things about the best and worst in people (namely the former owners, who were withoutadoubt the worst. people. ever.)

The dream had become a reality, but where to begin?