Santa's bringin' me a house for Christmas.

So, as if I didn't have enough going on this holiday season, I've completely lost my mind and decided to buy a house. Yes, I already have a house. No, I'm not selling the one I already have. No, I'm not kidding. Let me explain.

Last May, I put my house on the market, with the intention of buying a house closer in to town. I love my current house, but it's kind of in the middle of nowhere and it's not turning out to be the investment I had expected it to be when I bought it six years ago. At the time, it seemed like a good gamble. It was in the only area of town that really had any room for growth, and there was a brand new tollway coming in only a couple of miles away, and it was a fantastic house for the price. I figured I'd have it about two years, and then I could sell it for a profit and move up/in.

The problem is, they kept building more new houses (meaning I was competing against brand new houses with builder incentives), but they didn't build any of the infrastructure I expected - more roads in and out, a grocery store, etc. There's been a *little* of that - a traffic light installed, the road widened by the elementary school around the corner - but overall, it's the same remote kind of setup it was when I bought. So, the value hasn't increased. In fact the appraisal is less than I paid. Not cool.

So, I decided to sell and see if I could at least break even and try again in a more optimistic location. And then the market crashed. Before I even got an offer, I was competing against foreclosures. After 5 months on the market, I never got an offer. So, I took it off.

But all this time, I was watching the listings in the area I wanted to move to. I figured I'd try again in the spring. Until a week ago. I had seen a house worth watching get listed the week before. I added it to my stack. Then last week it suddenly dropped in price. Like a lot. Like...I could buy the place and still keep the one I'm in. Hmmm...

The next day we're looking at the outside and calling Realtors. The next day we're in it, looking around. The next I'm making an offer. The next the offer is accepted. The next we're calling inspectors, insurance people, filling out mountains of paperwork. Bottom line, here we are a week later, with every indication that I will very soon have a new house, 8 minutes from my job, and be looking for someone to rent my other house until the market comes back enough for me to sell without losing my shirt. CRAZY!!!

Luckily, I have several friends who are doing exactly what I'm about to do, so I have lots of people to lean on for advice about renting out my house and renovation, etc. And as fast as it's all going, it also feels like it's all been going on since May, so it doesn't really feel as fast as it sounds. It's just a little different from how I first expected it to play out. But I'm excited, and I really think it's going to all work out very well!

So, wish me luck that all the t's get crossed and the i's get dotted and I will soon have lots of DIY posts to bore you with!