Hunting for a home, part 5

Okay, so when I last left off, our loan application was approved to be underwritten. However, the current owners were having trouble buying the house they wanted to move into. In fact, I think their deal on that fell through. So they asked to push back the closing date, which we were okay with since we're currently renting.

So when we agreed to that, we went to the bank to try to lock in our interest rate in case it rises while we're waiting to close. We had to pay extra for it, but in the long run, it could save us money. So while we're waiting for things to get settled, we learn that the current owners are willing to close a little earlier if we let them stay in the house, rent-free until the original delayed closing date. Again, we accommodated, but now we had to go back to the bank and re-negotiate the rate because the rate went down and our target closing date changed. Hubby was the one that handled all of this. Personally, I have no head for these things.

So anyways, the rate was successfully renegotiated and the bank had to re-review our loan application and accounts and stuff before they can give us the clear to close. Once the bank gives us the clear to close, we can schedule the closing date as a done deal. The whole thing has been a pain the rear so far.

With the tentative closing date coming up and the potential moving date creeping in, we have decided we should start furniture shopping so we can ditch most of the stuff we currently have and move into a house with new stuff. I'm not particularly worried about getting a new desk or a new bed, but I am worried about getting a new couch. Couches can take as long as 6 weeks to deliver and possibly longer for something custom made.Generally, it's a good idea to shop around anyways so we have an idea of what we like and don't like.

Unfortunately, hubby and I don't always see eye to eye on stuff. His aesthetic, in my opinion, leans towards the look of the old-fashioned man's smoking room or den. You know, dark furniture, mahogany desks, navy blue couches and dark drapes. My aesthetic is more towards bright, airy and cool. My hope is to be able to coordinate stuff so all the pieces work together and look good together. Right now, all our furniture is completely mismatched with many needing repair. The placement of the furniture was set before I moved there and there had been no plans to really re-arrange the place and actually think about the look and feel and coordinating stuff.

I'm hoping to have a nicely decorated house. The reality is that decorating and re-decorating requires a serious amount of money. That is, money that we're not going to have once we pay everything off on Closing Day. Well, one step at a time, I guess.