House Hunting

Have you ever been faced with having to move on a short notice? Not just any move, but one that requires room for two horses and two stock dogs? Let me tell you it isn't easy! We recently discovered, quite by accident, (our landlords didn't see fit to warn us) that the old dairy next door was going to be renovated and opened again to up to 1,000 head of milking cows. Now in case you are unfamiliar with living next to a dairy, let me explain. First there is the noise, mooing, stamping etc; then there is the smell (I don't need to describe that); and of course the flies! Also all the workers coming and going at all hours. So you can see why it is necessary to move.


Next came looking for a place with a couple of acres, that would be in our price range. I soon discovered anyone with acreage and a decent house on it thinks it is very valuable. No matter that they paid about half the amount they are asking; but when you are desparate you consider all properties. Finally we found one that was in a good location, didn't need a lot of fixing, was fenced, and priced too high. We made an offer, rejected with counter offer, we countered the counter offer with our original offer which was finally accepted.

Now we come to the financing. I had wisely checked with a couple of banks before we started looking, and was told what was available, interest rates, amount needed for down payment on property within our price range. OK, didn't sound too bad. They checked our credit and said we would be good to go. One stipulation was we didn't want to use all our savings and we wanted to keep the monthly payment no higher than what we were paying in rent. After all my husband and I are on Social Security, which means a fixed income. Oh, no problem they said.

All right, I go to the lending institution armed with bank statements, proof of income, and various other papers. This won't be any problem, just put down most of your savings, and we can get your monthly payments, including interest and insurance, down to only $150 more a month!

I ask you, does that sound reasonable? The nice lady then reminded me that if we got everything in order right away we would be eligible for the tax rebate of up to $8 ,000. In the meantime, we will be hoping nothing happens to either of us, and cutting back on anything in the way of fun and relaxation.

That dairy isn't looking so bad after all.

Written by Carrie