Conflicted

It is no secret that Jason and I are heading into house shopping. We sold our downtown Chicago condo this summer. We have been renting our current home for over 2 years. We are ready to start looking very soon. We have started looking online. Recently we even decided we were probably switching neighborhoods. About 20 minutes East of where we are now. It is closer to Lake Michigan and the expressways. It has phenomenal school districts and it is very wooded. There are gorgeous homes too. We went neighborhood exploring last Sunday. My brother watched Jack for us.

We were starting to feel comfortable that we were going to switch our focus over there. Our area is nice and great. We do like it but it is far from expressways. The main road that is near by always has traffic issues. The school districts are good but the other neighborhood has better ratings. The houses in the other area seemed to be more what we were looking for. More updated inside. We don’t want big projects.

Yesterday Jack and I went to Gymnastics class. On our way home I noticed a Open House sign on the very main road just outside our little street. I slowed down as I was turning and thought it was odd. First off, I check listings daily and I did not see any houses listed on our street! Second, it was a TUESDAY! So as I turned on our street I scanned the front yards and sure enough there was the open house sign. It was placed in front of one of the townhouses that has the same general layout as ours, EXCEPT it is above the water table and that means a BASEMENT. I nearly fainted. We do not have a basement. It is one of the reasons we don’t really want to buy the place we are currently in. I called Jason from our driveway. He was shocked as well and he immediately looked it up, found the listing, and the price. It was just listed a few days ago. He informed me it was overpriced. I asked if he thought Jack and I should swing by and check it out. He said well sure why not.

We headed over. There was a sign on the door that said you needed to have a realtor with you. I thought this was stupid and weird. WHY would you place a sign on one of the busiest streets in the area? People take this street to Wisconsin! If you only wanted private viewings, why is there a public sign placed? Whatever, I called Jason back and asked if he thought I should just ring the bell and barge in ha! I wanted to see this place. I needed to SEE it. When I told him about it, he agreed it was stupid. He then went on to tell me that at that price we are VERY qualified to purchase, more than qualified. While it is over-priced for the street, we still have way more than enough saved and it is below our budget. He gave me the boost of confidence I needed. I was ready to get myself in the door.

The lady answered. I explained that we live down the street. (She must have thought I mean another street, I will get to that later) She then, snottily said, ” do you know how much this is listed for?” My hair was crazy, we had Hurricane Sandy winds here in Chicago. No joke. The hurricane was hitting us, sans rain and the total destruction. The leftovers, so to speak. I was tired, carrying a baby, wearing my northface fleece and beat up Uggs. So she was judging me. Plus, I am told I still look like a high school student. Jason and I get this a lot from people, underestimating us. So I replied, rather snippy, “yes I do and it is WAY under our budget” He tune changed, she welcomed us with open arms into the home she was showing. She told me I had to put those oversized adult booties on Jack. I was not going to put something that could trip him on his feet. I said I will take his shoes off. She said the carpets were just washed, his socks will get wet. I told her I dont care about that! This was a headache already. Later she asked me again where I lived. I said, Literally down the street, and I gave the street number of our townhouse. Turns out she lives on the block too. She was surprised we had never met. She is a few houses down from us. In between the house I was viewing and our house. But when I said we live down the block, she likely assumed I meant the main street, probably thinking I meant around the corner or something. Funny funny. She was a nice lady over all but she thinks this place is a high end listing and I was treated accordingly at first. She was more friendly and open as she spoke to me and probably realized I was an actual potential client. Funny funny stuff. I always get a kick out of that.

BUT THE HOUSE WAS GORGEOUS! Every inch has been updated. It has more than enough space for us. 3 bedrooms 3 1/2 bathrooms. 3 levels. A walk in closet. Jack’s bathroom has a bathtub. Here it is just a standing shower, so he uses our bathtub. The basement was beautiful. I loved it. It is entirely finished. I could see that is where we would spend all our time as a family. My craft desk could be down there too and we could play and craft together!

So now we have a problem. We don’t know what we want to do, where we want to focus, etc. Do we want to stay on the lake? With our boat? Or do we want a fenced yard for Jack to explore? Do we want to stay in this town, or go to another? We are not paying that price for the house down the street. My business genius husband won’t budge on that. It isn’t worth the price, even as nice as it is. Fact is, the values in the area don’t meet their list price. We did contact our realtor. She agrees about our feelings on the place. I want Jason to go see it in person with me. Maybe he will hate it and the point will be moot. I doubt it, but you never know! He has seen the photos, he even admitted that it is very updated and nice looking.

We sat down last night and went over things, options, prices, our savings, what would happen if we bought this place or spent more in the other neighborhood. Pros & Cons, you know. We are no further than when we sat down.

This conflicted feeling is odd for me. I am a very impulsive person. I usually see something, want it, and my mind is made up. It is rare for me to be conflicted on a decision. I go with my heart and my gut and I have immense passion for the things I am fond of. I am so torn and I am trying to sort out these feelings. I don’t even know how to work through internal conflicts like this anymore! I don’t remember the last time I was this torn. I can’t think of any times in the past 7 years. Sometimes being an adult is crazy hard. This is one of those times for me!

I know I will figure it out, I hope. Or rather, WE will figure it out. We have time, thankfully. That is the thing, we aren’t in a rush and that will be to our benefit. We don’t have to make a decision tomorrow. We can ruminate and go from there.