Bummer...

Multiple house showings have resulted in nothing short of disappointment. It has been on of the most frustrating experiences of my lifetime. However, I know the more we look the closer we are to finding the right place for us. The issue we currently face is all about timing.

I had hoped to find our new place by September and at least be moved in by Alston's 2nd Birthday. In March, when we first started looking, this seemed like a reasonable goal. Now, we've reached August and we're still searching for the right place to call home. Alston's birthday is only 9 short weeks away, which gives me a whole other kind of anxiety. It feels like we're still at square one, but we've actually made some progress.

We've been pre-approved for a mortgage by two separate mortgage companies.
We know how much we can afford and how much we're willing to spend.
We know that we're going to have to sacrifice something and have reasonable expectations.
We have a short list of would-likes and an even shorter list of must-haves.
We've marked off quite a few "possible scenarios" narrowing down our search criteria.

Here's what we're currently looking for:

AREA
Pell City, Cropwell, Vincent, Harpersville, Vandiver, Leeds/Moody
We would like to stay closer to family and friends, and aren't really willing to sacrifice moving so far away that they wouldn't come visit often.

PRICE
$50,000 - $135,000
We know that we can't get a loan for less than $50,000 and we would like to keep our monthly payment under $900; preferably closer to the $700 mark. At the current rates, including property tax and insurance (which is escrowed in) that puts our spending limit around $150,000. To stay around the $700 monthly payment, we should stick closer to $135,000. (These figures vary greatly depending on appraisal value.)

SIZE
3 Bedrooms, 2 Baths
This is something we're willing to compromise on only if the price is right.

AMENITIES
Outdoor Space
We really feel its important for Alston to have some room to run around. We would really liek to have a fenced in area where we can "let him loose" (so to speak) and be able to sit back and watch him without worries of him getting into something that may hurt him.

We have a few more showings scheduled this week and then our options will be almost completely exhausted. Whether we find a house or not, we plan on moving in September regardless. If we aren't able to find something we're willing to put an offer in on, we're going to be looking at the possibility of moving into an apartment. That's not exactly what we had in mind when we moved out of our last house, but it could be exactly what God has planned for us. We continue to pray the He will lead us in our journey and guide us in making the right decisions for our family.