The Bohannon Family

We narrowed down our house list to three.  This is our choice order:

1.  The SLC House – this was the most expensive but once John showed us how much 15 minutes add up over the year we feel it’s worth the extra expense.  One hundred plus hours over the course of a year is a lot and that is precious time that we will never be able to recapture.  We are offering $15,000 less than their asking price and we have an amount we will not go over, so if they do not accept this price then we know it is not God’s will for us.

2.  The Big Trees House – this house was only $1000 more than the least expensive house.  The Blue House had a garage but Rod really did not like it at all.  We have offered $12,000 less than the asking price, so if this one is the one we end up with our price will be very reasonable.

3.  The Built-In Pool House – this house was the least expensive per square foot and if we fix the pool and finish the remodel then we should have a very good resale value.  We offered $12,000 less for this one too.

We should hear something in the next few days.  We would appreciate your prayers.  We are praying that if this is not what we should do that God would shut the doors.  We are also praying that whatever house we should buy would become obvious.  Thanks.

I feel like we are on HGTV’s House Hunters show.  We have several houses we are seriously considering.  We’ve made a spreadsheet with each home listed and all it’s features and such.  Here are the ones we are looking at:

The SLC Home:

This house is the most expensive but it is the closest to Rod’s work.  It is the cleanest and has the best landscaping.  This house has an amazing view of the mountains and the Salt Lake valley.  It is also the smallest (1622 sq ft) with the smallest lot (.16 acres) .  Even though it is closer to Rod’s job it still takes 20 minutes of driving time which is only 15 minutes shorter than the other houses we are considering.

The Blue House:

We are calling this the blue house because the carpet and even the counter tops are blue.  This house is the least expensive and is one of the smaller ones (1678 sq ft) but the lot is decent sized (.21 ac).  There is a one car garage but there is a workshop that the boys can use or we can remodel it to make the garage for two cars.  The house has a strange backyard with wood planks that have been painted red and lain over half the yard and it has some sort of weird fire stove thing.  The basement is not completely finished so there is room to add on.  It needs updating and is also on a corner lot.

The Big Trees House:

This house is the second least expensive.  It is very close to our church, with in walking distance and the area seems nice.  It has 1785 sq. ft and .20 acres.  The basement has enough room that each of the older kids could have their own rooms.  This house doesn’t have a garage or carport and it needs a wood fence in the back, right now there is a small chain length fence.  The backyard has a nice deck.  It  needs new carpet and paint and has a strange odor.  It is a foreclosure so we would be responsible for whatever repairs are needed.  However, it has a nice kitchen.

The Built-In Pool House:

This is another foreclosure house and is in the middle of our price range.  It has 1987 sq ft and is on .34 acre.  The back yard is very private and has a huge fruit tree, although I don’t know what kind of fruit it is.  It has a built in pool that needs major work and it really needs a fence around the pool (there is no water in the pool now).  The backyard also has an awesome deck.  The upstairs has been completely redone with new carpet, paint, and the kitchen is beautiful.  The kitchen also has a pop out window.  The basement needs new carpet and paint and part of the basement is not finished.  The front yard also needs a lot of work.  There is one carport.  The area seems like an average middle income neighborhood.

The Above Ground Pool House:

This house has 2250 sq ft and .29 acres.  It is the second most expensive house and has nice wood floors on the main level.  The backyard is really nice with some fruit trees and an above ground pool.  It has a nice deck but needs wood fencing since it has a short chain length fence now.  The kitchen has nice wood cabinets but the dining area is really small.  The basement is about half finished so there is room to add on down there.  There is one carport.  This house needs new paint, but comes with a home warranty.  The area seems fairly nice.

As you can see we have lots of options.  We had found a house we really liked and pretty much decided on but it went into escrow the day before we were able to see it.  So which one would you choose?  Would you go with the shortest commute time, the least expensive, the largest?  Why?  Thanks for the feedback.  Our Realtor said that we can put offers in on several houses and then make a final decision.  We will probably do that tomorrow, but we need to know which house we want the most.  Hm, decisions, decisions.

We are settled in the apartment.  The apartment itself is not too bad and feels kinda cozy.  I love having everything in easy access, like our laundry room being right off the kitchen.  I also love having the kids always close.  We are able to work on attitude problems that have crept up recently.  It is hard getting used to be surrounded by people at all times.  Rod and I are country folk at heart so being in the middle of a large city is an adjustment. 

We have decided to buy a house here.  The house prices in this area are more than they are back home but are still pretty reasonable.  If we buy a house then we can start working on our debt more aggressively because our monthly payment will be less than rent and hopefully prices will not go down further.  I do not think they will in this area since there is a very limited building area and it being so populous with the LDS and their large families .  We are really excited to be buying a home.  It has been a long time since we’ve owned a house and it will be nice to feel like we actually have a home.  It will also feel wonderful to know we are settled for a few years.  I know that the grandparents want us to move to where they are at (California or Texas)  but right now we need to focus on our family and raising our children (smile).

I am sorry that I have not been posting again.  With everything that went on recently I was struggling to stay hopeful and to trust the Lord.  It felt like we were taking steps backwards and that our future seemed bleak.  I still do not know what the future holds but I know that God is good and that our life is in His hands.  Our previous pastor used to say that, “If God never blessed us again we would have sufficient reason to praise Him” and that is so true.  I so quickly forget all of the ways He has provided for us and all of the many blessings He has poured out on us.  God is good all the time, and all the time God is good!