From Texas To China With Love

The seller has accepted our offer! Next week we are getting the house inspected. If the house doesn't have any huge defects then we will buy the house. We've never bought a preowned house, only new construction homes. But we've learned never to buy a house without getting an an inspection. Since this house has a septic tank we are also hiring a septic system inspector. Hopefully the house inspector won't find signs of termites because then we will have the added cost of hiring a termite inspector.

By the way, doesn't it seem that when you are saving up for a big purchase incidents happen which cut into your savings?

• Heidi has an infection on her paw and had to go to the vet.
• Scott cracked his tooth and has to go to the dentist on Monday.
• My "check engine light" came on in my car. The O2 sensor needs to be replaced.

The house is small which makes it easily manageable. Who wants to clean a weekend house when it supposed to be a relaxing place? It is 1000 square feet, two bedrooms, with one bathroom.

Why We Made an Offer on the House

Scott and I were not planning on selecting a house when we visited Port Lavaca. Sometimes though along comes an opportunity which is too good to pass up. We happened to come across a seller who was eager to sell so he could finance a new construction home which will be built a few lots down. (The seller apparently owns a few homes and lots next to each other. He has been slowly selling off the houses and the lots. I think with the sale of the blue house, he would own one house and one lot which will have new construction.) We expected to pay a certain amount for a vacation home, but this house was on the market way under what we were expecting to shell out. Not many come on the market that low. And if they do, they need a lot of interior or exterior work. The owner put in new carpet, painted the walls, new tile, and repainted the cabinets. It is move in ready.

We thought about buying a lot and building a house, but it just too much to take on when you are not there every day to oversee the construction. I don't know about you, but I am too cheap to go stay in a hotel every weekend for a year while the house is being built. I'm also too anal to just let a house be built without visiting every day. I want the contractors to know I am watching over them.

Yes, there will be the hassle of hiring a contractor for the dock and the deck, but at least those won't take months to complete. Well, the dock may take a month to build, but the deck could be finished in a week. Although Scott is getting cheap on me and telling me he will do the deck himself. Ahh honey! Then it will never get done because you'll be fishing all the time.

The dock is our neighbor's. Our dock would be built on the right.