Really frustrating turn of events.

We've had some setbacks in being able to actually purchase a house. At the beginning, we thought we would be golden because our credit scores are high and we qualified for 100% financing (which we thought would only require us to pay $500 of closing costs).

Let's just say we know about the real world now.

The first thing we found out was that while we do qualify for 100% financing, we have to pay AT LEAST $500 in closing costs (of the expected $10,500). Needless to say, we didn't have that much in our account at the time of the application so it was deferred for approval until we were able to come up with the money. We have worked that kink out now, including proposed 3% help from the seller (which is normal up right now).

When we were told about the monetary needs, we were also told about all the paperwork that we needed to submit: 2 years W-2s, 2 months pay stubs, all paid receipts for loans, and current monthly statements to determine the monthly payment for any unpaid loans. I think there was something else, but I'm not remembering it at the moment. ACU decided to randomly deny Nat access to his previous W-2s from 2010, so we had to order a paper copy through the mail. In hopes that we continue with the process with the 2010 tax return instead of a W-2, I included that. I submitted all that paperwork the next day, and since anything involving my account can only be handled by a supervisor, the supervisor in the real estate department looked at it a few days later.

I got a call today from the supervisor saying a few things:

• my part time income (with the CU we are using for the mortgage) doesn't count as income
• all the paid receipts we sent in, don't count because they don't have the individual account numbers on the receipts (most online sites don't have the account numbers anywhere on the receipt, but we're still required to have them)
• we have to have Nat's W-2, and nothing can be submitted to the private mortgage insurance company (who decides if we are ultimately able to pay) until all the documentation is gathered

Oh, and did I mention that we have to tell our apartment complex if we are going to be moving out by July 5th?

I'm making a quilt!

So I've decided to make a quilt. And I'm actually making it! I've always wanted to do something like this, but I've never really wanted to actually do the quilting. I love the piecing process, but I could easily pass on the quilting, especially if it needs to be done by hand. I'm thinking about having it machine quilted, but it depends on how it turns out.

Here are the colors:

The furthest right fabric is my favorite and kind of what all the colors are based on.  The browns are more of an accent color, as it will end up being mostly blue and white.

This is what I did yesterday:

This is going to be a diamond shape in the middle, which you can't really tell from this picture. I'll post more once I get the next section done. I had enough white muslin on hand to be able to complete the big square in the middle, and I'm about to finish the border around that. Then there will be a white border, then the outer blue border.

Each border will be strip pieced with a repeating pattern of the four colors, roughly 3 inches wide. It's exciting that I don't have too much left, but the strip piecing is rather daunting. It's a lot of ironing and trimming and sewing and cutting (not in that order though).

Oh... and I think I just heard 8 gun shots in my complex and Nat's in Canada. Anyone have a dog I can borrow for the night? I'm staying inside and not answering the door ever. It just went off again. Scary!

Problems with the Purchase

Ugh. Buying a house is nerve-racking. Especially on a schedule. Upon suggestion of a friend, we have now contacted a realtor. She said the first step would be to get pre-approved (which we knew and are in the process of doing). In order to do that, we have submitted an online application for a mortgage. Unfortunately, the online version of the application has several flaws.

Now we're just waiting on the mortgage advisors to give us a call, either tomorrow or Wednesday. I'm a lot nervous about what we qualify for, and a little worried that this might not be what we need to do. Since we've been praying about this decision, I'm not sure if God is telling us that we need to stay put, or if Satan is trying to keep us from where we need to be. It's rather frustrating. :(

I think I'm going to use this blog to chronicle our home purchasing experience, or at least some of it. I'll try to post pictures of showings and all that too!

Big (and expensive) Development

This might be a little premature, but I'm going to post it anyway. So that means keep it a secret (while it's posted on the internet for anyone to read)!

Nat and I went house hunting yesterday. It's a really scary thought that we're prepared to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars that we don't have to purchase a house. We are slowly getting over the sticker shock of home prices here, and becoming used to the idea of a town house rather than a free standing home.

Because this is the first time either of us have done something this drastic, we are completely lost. Let's just say that we've been doing a lot of researching on what steps need to be taken and when. In discussing this with one of my coworkers, I was given the name and contact information of what appears to be a top flight realtor. My coworker said that this realtor showed her two places, and she bought the second one. From their website, this team of realtors spend a great deal of time  getting to know you and what you are looking for before they actually show you houses. They also spend a lot of time with first time buyers (us) to help walk them through the process. I have an email in to her to set up a meeting time!

We also have a call in to the mortgage advisors at our credit union. From all that I've heard from members and employees who have worked with them, they are incredibly helpful and to the best possible job. There are a few products which I am particularly interested in: 100% financing so we don't have to have a down payment and 3.5% downpayment (if the first doesn't work out). We have lot of questions to ask them at our meeting.

The scariest part of this whole thing is that our apartment lease is up on September first. We pretty much have to have closed on a house by August and move in before September unless we want to sign another year long lease in our apartment. This complex doesn't do anything shorter than a year. Also, we will have to tell them we're moving out in July I believe. I'm not exactly sure when they try to get you to sign the next lease. It's a scary thought and we don't have much time at all!

So, that leads to the house hunting we did last night:

 This house was a no-go. It looks really nice, but it's in an area of town that is NOT where we want to be. I've been warned by several people to stay away from that part of town, so I'm glad we went to look before we did anything else with this house.

 This house is a cute one, but I believe it's way our of our price range. I think it's something like $230,000 or so? Anyway, we saw a house similar to this one but in a different neighborhood. It was billed at $339,900! It did have another story, but that's still outrageous!

 This is the same one from above.

 This house, I think, was my favorite. It needs a coat of paint, but we were going to have a showing. It's also less than $200,000, which is a big plus!

Here it is again. It's 3 beds and 2.5 baths. Unfortunately, we found out when we got home last night that it's pending already. :(

There were several other houses and duplexes that we looked at, but I didn't get pictures of. I will definitely post pictures of the ones where we have showings.

It's a little (okay, a lot) scary that we're going to own our own little piece of land!

Vacation, Texas Style

A few months ago, my manager came into my office and asked when I wanted to take my summer leave. Since I was new, I didn't realize that I would be able to take any time off, much less a week. I came to find out that every employee is required to take 5 consecutive business days off each year. After a huge hassle through which I discovered I wasn't actually supposed to have any time off and it's actually really bad to ask for leave without pay, I got a few days off so we could come to Texas.

First off, I just want to say that June in Texas is HOT! I had already forgotten just how hot it actually is here. At least it is a dry heat, where as with 60% humidity, 95˚ would be absolutely unbearable.

Second, life is better when I'm sitting in a saddle. A stubborn horse plodding along underneath me and a good friend riding next to me makes a hot evening positively delightful. I want enjoy Texas the way it was meant to be: from the back of a horse while getting completely and utterly covered in red dirt. Rebekah and I had a blast playing with the horses this evening. Poor Tigger had hives, so we decided not to ride him. JuneBug and Soldier were great though. It was great to know that those horses act just the same way after 6 months of not being ridden as they do week after week. It's also nice to know that I remember how to ride and each of the personalities of the horses. Anyway, after riding, Rebekah and I groomed all three of the ponies: brushing, combing, cleaning hooves, wiping down. That and holding a sleeping baby are my two main sources of mental therapy. :)

Third, I have missed the sky here. Tonight I saw a sunset behind the clouds and an orange moon rise and turn yellow then white. There's just nothing quite like the Texas sky. I tried to get a picture, but that didn't work out well. I guess you will just have to use your imagination.

Finally, children are sticky. That's just the way of things. And, anything they touch also becomes sticky, be it people, furniture, or toys.

It has been a great visit so far, and I'm looking forward to the rest. I'll do my best to update this post with any other exciting news.