How To Buy a House in AZ

A few weeks back, I was reading tips on a blog about how to move to New York City...you know, helpful hints on how much money to save before moving, how to find a job, where to look for an apartment, etc. I'm not sure why I was reading that particular post at that particular moment; I was probably supposed to be packing at the time. Anyway, reading that post made me think that I should use my recent experience to do the same kind of thing for people who are looking to buy a house in Phoenix right now. There are a few different ways you can do it, so just pick the one that works best for you.

Scenario 1:

Find a house that you like on realtor.com.
Decide that it could work really well for your family.
Discover that it is already under contract but that no one has updated that info on MLS.
Sigh.

Scenario 2:

Find a house that you LOVE.
Rush to see it the moment you can.
Put in an offer.
Get outbid.
Cry.

Scenario 3:

Find another house that you love.
Make an appointment to see it.
Prepare an aggressive offer even before the viewing.
Find out that another offer has been accepted
before you even get a chance to see it in person.
Cry again.

Get your Kleenex ready and prepare for discouragement, folks. Then follow these simple steps and you'll never be able to buy a house here.

Welcome to Arizona.

Moving Buddies

In the course of moving this time around, I have fallen in love with two invaluable companions.

Companion #1: Tape Gun. Seriously, how have I ever moved without one of these?

Companion #2: Vanilla Diet Coke from Sonic. Seriously, how have I ever moved without 25 of these?

On a side note, I had to laugh when I saw that the girls had their Barbie car packed up much the same way that our car will be shortly (minus the giraffe in the backseat). I love a little foreshadowing.

The Upside

Of course, living in a house that you are about to move out of does have some perks. Like caring a lot less about messes. And getting rid of stuff.

And having a wealth of boxes for the kids to put on their heads for an hour.

Oh, and doing things like this:

So, you see, it's not all bad.

Moving On

I am good at some things.

Moving is not one of them.

Which I why I am blogging instead of packing, like I should be.

Putting 5 years of my life into boxes is not easy. And, to make things even more fun, my old nemesis, "the grass is greener syndrome," has come back with a vengeance. (Okay, who am I kidding? He never really left.) Turns out, I start packing stuff in the kitchen and I find a good box for books, so I exit abruptly to start packing books in the den, leaving the bewildered contents of the cupboard strewn all over the counter. Etc., etc.

It will be a miracle if all of our belongings make it out of this house in the next two and a half weeks.

Our tiny family in late 2006 when we bought the house.

The current (sad) view from the front.

I keep looking around at our newly painted neutral wall color and thinking "this is not my house." But alas, for a few short more weeks it still is. And then life will carry us on another adventure (not too far from here, thank goodness) and I will weep and wail and gnash my teeth while I think about the amazing memories that I am leaving behind.

 Because, while I am horrible at moving, I am even worse at change.

Brand New Laptop

We got a new laptop. As you know, these things don't come cheap. Thankfully for us, we got it at a minimal cost. Apparently Julia's computer skills resemble those of her father's and she built one. From scratch.

Looks like the only materials she required were two pieces of paper, tape, and markers. Sheer genius, I tell you.

She even installed the Sesame Street laundry sorting game that Alexa loves so much.

I'm pretty excited to see what else she comes up with. Maybe I should tell her that I need a new blender.