Meant to Be

Where did we leave off last time?

Oh, yes—we should not have gotten this home.

The house first listed in July 2021. We had just accepted the offer on New York Ave and were getting our feet wet* in the open house world**.

*In other words, we were nowhere near ready to buy.

**The open house world is not what it used to be. We have stood in lines to get into homes. We’ve walked around houses packed with 20 other people. It is a vicious and cruel place.

We went to see this house just to see it. I did not have high hopes. I did not expect to like it.

But when we entered through the front door—I was in love. Everything about this house was what I’d been wanting, and I knew we’d have to walk away from it because we simply weren’t ready.

Still, I hoped. I favorited it on Realtor.com and I watched it.

I watched it go under contract.

And then, I watched it reappear on Realtor.com in January. My friend, Drew, texted me when the listing hadn’t even been live for an hour, essentially screaming at me through messaging that I needed to schedule a viewing immediately.

I won’t get into details, but again, we shouldn’t have gotten in to see this house because finding a good realtor right now is about as frustrating as going to an open house.

On MLK Day, we went to what I’m calling an ‘on the DL’ open house. We met the seller’s realtor for a second time and learned the seller’s deal had fallen through because of the septic system at the house they were buying. She asked what kind of house we were looking for, and Lance said, “This,” nodding to the interior of the house.

We put in a bid* that night and two days later found out we’d been outbid.

*Yes, over asking because that is unfortunately the new norm now if you’re serious about a house.

This house has a lot of personality

The next day, Lance and I were walking Stitch and feeling bummed about not getting the house*. For some reason, I looked up at Lance and said, “I don’t know why, but I think we’re going to get that house. I think this deal is going to fall through and this is our house.”

*A feeling we’d have with another house a few weeks later, but in the end definitely not the “meant to be” house

I can’t explain why I thought it…or why I said it. And I didn’t go on living as if this thought was true. I continued searching for houses. I stressed over the housing market and how impossible it seemed. But somewhere, deep within, I kept feeling that nagging sense of: “This is our house.”

I knew what house the sellers were buying because I have somehow been able to get all the deets on everything happening in the real estate world directly around me. It was a beautiful house—via the pictures I saw online—and above our price range. Still, I’d tried to get us a showing of it, but their offer had been accepted before I could.

So, when in March I saw this very house BACK on Realtor.com, I began to sense that my feeling was about to come to life. A day later, our seller’s realtor called saying their deal had fallen through due to, yet again, septic issues*.

*Thank goodness our house is public sewer.

Drew, said friend who scream-texted me to get in to see this house, had this adorable sign placed to greet us after closing

The last eight and a half months have been a wild ride. We’ve gone to somewhere around 35 open houses, checked into building on my parents’ property, bid on three houses, were outbid on three houses, and contemplated building in a development set to be finished construction in October 2022*.

*Despite the fact that only 1 out of 8 homes has been built.

But the wildest part is that I have this complete assurance that each moment of these eight and half months was meant to be, and that I’m right where I belong.