Disappointment

Micah and I decided to buy a house back in September or October of last year. Before we talked to a realtor or figured out finances we went for a drive looking for open model homes. We first stopped in Spanish Fork in a neighborhood called Somerset Village. They sell townhomes and twinhomes and brag that their builder is the best in Utah. We walked through their models and fell in love with the Brittany floor plan. We were so excited that Utah had awesome floor plans and we couldn't wait to find "our home." (We wanted to be in a place before Christmas.)

After weeks of house-hunting and searching online through the MLS and KSL, we couldn't find anything we liked. Apparently, Sommerset has both the best builder and the best floor plans. Unfortunately, they are on the very high end of our price range. We submit a low offer to the builder and he (rudely) rejected our offer. That was that. Or was it??

A week or two later we received notice of an MLS listing with the exact floor plan we wanted with nearly all the upgrades we wanted (and some we didn't), and the guy was selling his 1 year old townhouse for LESS than we offered to the builder. We put in an offer right away. We quickly learned that this was a short sale and that we were not the highest bidder. Someone else offered significantly higher than us and our offer was rejected. They didn't even send our offer to the bank. So... that was that. Or was it???

The seller's agent called us back to say that the previous highest offer had pulled their offer and decided to buy new from the builder. Previously, we were the 2nd highest offer, now we would be the highest, so we submit an offer again. This time it was sent to the bank. They guaranteed a response in 30 to 60 days. On day 6o they asked for an extension. At the end of their extension they asked for another two weeks. A month later we still hadn't heard from them. Disappointment began sinking in as we prepared ourselves for the bad news.

The bank called (finally!) and asked for another 2 weeks to finish up the final paperwork. Does that mean they accepted our offer? They wouldn't say. A mere 24 hours later the bank emailed a final letter to my realtor/brother. THEY ACCEPTED OUR OFFER!

Micah and I could buy the beautiful, perfect, huge, almost new townhouse. There is another catch. Micah just quit his job to pursue a career in film. We had to seriously discuss if we could afford this townhouse (already at the high end of our price range) on my income alone. After pouring over our finances, we determined it was possible. We could do this!!

One last step: FAST and PRAY to find out if this is what we are supposed to do. Lucky for us, this past Sunday was fast Sunday. Saturday night I reached for a cookie and remembered that I was supposed to begin my fast to find out if Micah and I were supposed to buy the townhouse we love. I decided against the cookie and "began" my fast. INSTANTLY a distinct impression told me that I was not fasting to see if I was supposed to buy this home. I was fasting to humble myself and bend my will to match the Lord's will. I had my answer.

Now I am just grumpy. Micah is too, but he hides it better than me. We put all the TIME and EFFORT into getting something we both really wanted. After all the time and energy and waiting and frustration, the home was within our grasp. Today we rejected the banks approval for us to receive the property. Disappointment has officially sunk in.

Ugh.