<p>What a great story!!! You raised one wonderful kid (who I can see has a wonderful mom!)</p>
<p>I’m holding my breath. Its been a week since our Price is Right adventure(no air date yet). Today, I met with my realtor at my dream house to go over the inspection. It looks good. The termite report is minimal, the electric could use some updating, but there’s nothing horrid (well, that sulfur smell from the hot water - but the plumber says thats not a big deal - it might mean new water heaters, but don’t worry). We’re just about to leave, the listing agent appears. She has a potential buyer coming by…but didn’t we know there’s an offer on the house? The bank hasn’t accepted it…in fact they made a counter offer, which the buyer then countered…if I’m interested in making an offer I need to move fast. I have an appointment at 4 pm to interview a 3rd realtor about selling my house here & I have an email from a private party interested in buying my house. My broker on the dream house suggests I make an offer on the dream home, get a “bridge loan” and go with the “used car salesman-like” agent I interviewed on Monday to get this house sold fast. YIKES! (Note my dream house is about 1 1/2 hours away - I’m intending to get out of Oakland - I am done with all the crime and drama here, and that’s why I have a different agent for the dream house). Oh! My head is spinning and this makes our adventure to the Price is Right look easy. But I’m telling myself, if the dream house is meant to be, it will be, if its not meant to be, then the right house is waiting somewhere out there for us…</p>
<p>Oh, Oaklandmom–I feel for you and hope for the best. The beautiful thing is that there are lots of perfect houses out there, really. We’ve lived in 9 homes in our 25 years of marriage (lots of corporate moves in there)–sometimes we had a weekend to find and buy a house halfway across the country. I truly believe that if you do what feels right (after you’ve done some solid planning and looked at as many aspects of a situation that you can), what finally happens is going to be fine. But, I’m the kind of person who strongly believes that regret has no place in my life. Make the decisions that are right for you. It truly is crummy that you can buy a car extremely well-informed, but there ALWAYS unknowns in buying/selling a house–it’s one of the biggest financial decisions you make, and one you have to do based on a lot of “feelings.” Keep us current, PLEASE. (And I still want to know when you’ll be on TV. I’ve never KNOWN anyone who was on Price is Right–you’re my hero. 
Also, I want to freak my husband out and predict when you’ll win and what you spin for the Showcase and everything!!! )</p>
<p>“Bridge loan” can = very expensive - high points, high interest rate. I don’t believe anyone gets a “bridge loan” anymore for those reasons. YMMV. There are alternatives - eg, equity line on your existing home (but can be complicated if your home is on the market) being one of them. Just make sure you are getting good advice from a broker you trust and, more importantly in this case, a knowledgeable and reputable lender you can trust. Such a lender can identify ALL of your options and which is most cost-effective for you. Good luck.</p>
<p>Would you be able to rent your home and cover the mortgage/bridge loan costs if you could not sell it? Or at least most of them?</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I was in a similar situation some years ago. My agent was also putting immense pressure on me to close fast without knowing if my house sold. I held firm and didn’t and lost what I thought was my dream house (albeit if I’m honest I did have some reservations.</p>
<p>Fast foward – some time later I did sell my house and couldn’t find a house to move into! I ended up moving into a different town than the one I had planned to live in, but as it turned out, it was an excellent environment for my family and a marginally nicer house too.</p>
<p>There’s no right answer. It’s a sticky wicket.</p>
<p>But as a veteran of the hoopla and tension of TPIR we’re all rooting for you and know you can make the right decision under pressure.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>My H and I just found a great home in the town we want to retire to (not in Cape May but in more affordable close by). We think we could get jobs in that area eventually, but meanwhile the prices have dropped tremendously, so, though we’re still tied to North jersey, we went ahead and bought it. Pretty much used up our savings, and things will be tight, but then we go down there and walk to the beach, and know we did the right thing. HOpefully, we’ll be able to make the move soon and sell our house up here.</p>
<p>Good luck, Oaklandmom!!! Hope it all works out!</p>
<p>Does that beach house have guest rooms? <em>bats eyes</em></p>
<p>Thank you all for your replies. I am going to trust that the right thing will happen. I’m really not in a position to have two houses (and I worry what would happen if come January I have two houses & I had to indicate that on the finaid forms…hmmm now my mind is blank - do I show real estate on Fafsa…something else to research this morning). Third real estate agent thought I should drop the price on my Oakland home by $75,000 if I want to sell it fast. My day will be spent talking to real estate agents & banks…</p>
<p>Not wanting to have two mortagages, after a couple of phone calls, I’ve decided to not make an offer on the Craftsman at this time…if the bank accepts the other buyer’s offer, thats the way it is…who knows in this crazy market…anything can happen…(and just as I was writing this my agent for the Craftsman called and reassured me “don’t worry, you might still get your dream house”…who knows?</p>
<p>There are many dream houses for each of us - glad you made the decision that gives you peace of mind.</p>
<p>oaklandmom
a priceless story about your drop off/price is right saga.
Im sure your dream house will reappear when the timing is right.</p>
<p>garland-
my sister in law has retired(mid 60’s) to the Jersey Shore-Lavallet area- remodeled a small canalside bungalow,2 blocks to the beach side.She’s formerly from the area near the GW Bridge, with amazing condo and Manhattan views…shes single and loving it down there,though she does travel a bit. We thought she was crazy, what with things closing for the winter,etc but she says the majority of her block is year-rounders.She doesnt plan to work though may do some free-lancing.Makes excellent use of Atlantic City LOL.
The beach there is just gorgeous.</p>
<p>oaklandmom
I kept quiet as I know you love the Craftsman house. Who knows if the other person will be approved for a mortgage? This way you can sleep at night. If you do drop the price on your current house, it may not be as steep.</p>
<p>When selling my last house, I had several offers fall thru at the last minute, with most of my belongings packed in the garage. I stopped looking at homes, and just moved into an apartment when it did sell. This was the first time I had trouble with buyers, but it did make me nervous. Many people I know have done well and sold prior house within a few months. Once they had moved, they could have the house repainted and cleaned, and buyers could close quickly.</p>
<p>kep posting. I cannot wait to see your guest appearance on PIR.</p>
<p>Cheers–we’re on the Delaware Bay side of the Cape, and it’s a 12 minute walk. but if you’re still interested, we do have guest rooms–we just need furniture now. Bring a sleeping bag and lawn chair, and you’re in! :)</p>
<p>I love to think of us geezers still pursuing dreams, houses among them. I’m a house person so I deeply understand.</p>
<p>Don’t really know what I want to do. Mortgage is unwieldy (already posted about H’s financial problems), and my commute is an hour, and this was never my dream house, but it has grown on me.</p>
<p>garland: Your decision sounds perfect. </p>
<p>oaklandmom: I think you made the right choice. Financial anxiety is horrible, spoken by someone who has (I hope has) been there. Your house will there for you; I really think so, even it it’s not this one.</p>
<p>Today I’m breathing again…I listed the house yesterday afternoon with a new agent (the one who is really aggressive - the used car salesman/shark). My phone rang several times while he was here, but I let the calls go to voicemail. After the realtor had left, I picked up my messages. Someone who had seen the house on zillow.com was interested - he’s a cash buyer and wants to move fast. He’ll be by at two today to see the house. I called my realtor for the craftsman and told her of the developments, if the guy from zillow makes a legitamate offer, she’ll take care of negotiating with the realtor here that I just listed with so I don’t pay him the full commission for almost no work at all(but maybe he won’t make an offer so I’m not holding my breath). Then after I get off the phone with the zillow guy…someone else stops by to pick up some stuff I was freecycling. We chat. She and her husband are looking for a house. I tell her mines for sale & give her the tour. She’s off to talk to her husband. Who knows what will come of any of it. Meanwhile, I’m scouring the MLS in the neighborhood of my beloved craftsman, hoping a few other things come on the market as nothing seems to compare…</p>
<p>oaklandmom,
Will keep my fingers crossed for you during the 2 p.m. hour (PDT). :)</p>
<p>Wow! Something’s cooking. Good luck! Keep us posted.</p>
<p>OM–somehow, I feel this is definitely going to all work out! Keeping my fingers crossed!</p>
<p>So, the investor loves the house & is headed back to look at the numbers and is going to get back to me asap, he said it looks good. Oh, now I’m holding my breath again! I am hoping you all are right and this will work out! (In deed, even if the craftsman is sold, selling my house in this market will be a major accomplisihment!)</p>