Looking is Hard

Looking for a home can be fun, but after a while it becomes tedious and one can easily easily discouraged.  This is our experience and some advice.

We all look forward to Saturdays, well all of us who work Monday through Friday jobs.  Well how would you feel if your Saturdays have become so busy that you only have a few hours available for relaxation, working around the house or something fun each week?  You would want to drop whatever the thing is that is taking up half of your Saturday, right?

Such is the case when you have been looking for a home for a while. It is difficult to look for a home during the week because of work schedules, and we won’t go on Sundays because we don’t want to cause someone else to work on the Sabbath. That leaves Saturday – the one day that I can do everything that I didn’t have time to do during the week.

After looking for a house for several months, and spending most of my Saturdays week after week doing it, we began to feel discouraged by the fact that we cannot seem to find a house we want that will work out.  The Pre-Forclosure Fiasco only added discouragement.

We began to consider signing another 6 month lease and giving up on the house hunting for a while and give the market a chance to change a bit and get some more fresh homes available.  We assumed we were probably frustrating our realtor, although she would never admit it – and if we do find a home, she would be well compensated for her troubles.  In the end we decided to not give up.  Here is why.

1. We realized that we had a goal in mind, we want to have a home, garage and a yard.  Whatever hard task you have, if you have a goal in mind, focusing on that goal can help you see the task through.
    
2. We just needed a break.  Take time to relax, but don’t become a procrastinator.  A good break can do you good when you are facing a frustrating situation.  Take a day off for yourself and enjoy nature or a good book.  Taking time out to appreciate the beauty of the world we live in does wonders for the soul and enlightens the mind.  After taking the break and before starting your task again, revisit your your goal or plan and revise it with any new ideas that may have come to you during your break.
3. The alternative wasn’t appealing.  We realized that if we completely stopped looking for a home right now, we could miss out on opportunities that may arise and end up renting for much longer.  It is true that future opportunities and losses are an unknown, but without consistently taking action, one can never make improvements to their situation.  Consistently searching for a home will not only help us find a home, but help us become better at finding homes.