Weddingbee boards

So.... Fi and I have been regularly cruising the MLS listings up here in Tahoe.  We were planning on getting into a serious house hunt after the honeymoon, so we've just been casually looking.  We've found a couple places online that we have gone to look at in person, but nothing has really stood out.  This morning before work (exactly 9 days to the wedding) my Fi found a place online. I looked at it and thought it was nice, so we decided to go look at it at lunchtime.

Basically, the house is awesome!  I'm so excited!  It's not as big as we will (eventually) need, but there's an opportunity for expansion over the garage.  And anyone up here in Tahoe knows that if you already have the coverage to expand, that's worth quite a bit extra.  Plus, the house is a short sale; even though the price is incredibly low (for up here) we could possibly even get it for lower if the bank is willing to settle.

So, we immediately called our two top mortgage lendors and put in apps for pre-approval.  We could put in an offer right now, but we want to wait to include the pre-approval letter so the bank and the owners know we're serious.  We get married next Sunday, so everything is happening very fast, but I'm seriously so excited!  Even if we are still going back and forth with offers during the honeymoon, I feel like it will definitely be worth it.  Here's some pictures!  Wish us luck!

Here's some more pics:

Thanks, bees!  I am really excited about this, and now I can't wait until Monday!  I appreciate all the encouragement and well wishes, and especially the short sale advice, from all of you.  Good luck to all of you who are also buying homes right now!

Just an update on the house...

Long story short, we put in an offer on the house on the Thursday before the wedding (basically 3 days before).  We left after the reception for the honeymoon having heard that the owners accepted our offer, but the bank hadn't made up their minds yet.  Since it's a short sale, the bank has to approve all offers before anything can go through.  The realtor kept in touch during the honeymoon, but we didn't hear anything else other than that two other offers had been made and there was lots of interest. 

Fast forward to yesterday...  We checked the MLS listing and the house is currently under "sale pending."  Since we haven't heard anything, we're assuming another offer was accepted.  Our realtor is trying to find out exactly what happened, since we were never notified, but it was kinda disappointing to come back to.  We just know that there are lots of other opportunities out there for us, and we'll find the house that is right for us.

Thanks for all the support and encouragement!  And good luck to those of you who are currently buying a home!

Thanks, guys.  :)  We are continuing to look and have actually found another place we like.  We're talking to the owners right now, trying to see if we can work something out.  It's not as great as that other place, but it's definitely workable; and since it's a fixer-upper, we'd be able to really personalize it and make it our own.  I'll keep you posted!

@pvaulter718 - Most places will give you the pre-approval letter, and that lasts for 30 days.  Truthfully, if you get pre-approved and then find a house after 31 days that you'd like to put in an offer on, you don't need to go back to get a new letter.  In fact, you don't have to include a pre-approval letter with your offer at all.  However, with the loan market really tightening up, it's best to include a letter or some proof of how you're going to pay for the place to show your seriousness and committment to the purchase.  Plus, sometimes you think you can afford more/less than what you can actually afford, and it's best to know exactly what your comfortable limit is.  For example, we feel comfortable with monthly payments on a certain amount, but our pre-approval actually came back quitew a bit higher.  It's nice to know we can get a home for that pre-approved amount, even though we are still looking for cheaper homes.

Congrats, Lillindy!  That's awesome!  (And thanks for the sweet words.  :)