Saying Goodbye To My Dream House

Saying Goodbye To My Dream House - picture of large bedroom

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Yesterday, I wrote about how we received a completely legit offer on our home.  And, despite the fact that our buyers had to sell their home before they could buy ours, we weren’t too worried about it.  After all, they had a legitimate offer on their house as well and that buyer was in the midst of getting their financing lined up.

Anyway, what I didn’t mention yesterday was that we made an offer on another home late in the day.  My dream home.  A house that I didn’t think we had a chance at getting.  Let me explain.

My dream house had crazy green countertops! (I would have replaced them!)
My dream house had crazy green countertops! (I would have replaced them!)

We first saw our dream home when we were touring open houses last weekend.  And, we both instantly fell in love.  It had everything that we wanted – solid construction, an open floor plan, a Jacuzzi tub, a finished basement, and an office.  Oh, and it totally had a hot tub out back as well which didn’t hurt.  But, after talking with the realtor at the open house, we realized that we had a very slim chance at buying this house because there was a relocation company involved.  Because, as their realtor explained, the sellers of the home weren’t allowed to accept any offer contingent on the sale of the buyer’s home unless the buyer’s had a legitimate offer as well.  Which we didn’t.

So, we put the house on the back burner thinking that we wouldn’t get an offer on our own home in time.  Meanwhile, we totally did.  So, as soon as all of the details were worked out on the sale of our home, we wrote an offer on our dream home.  And waited….

Unfortunately, we got bad news late last night.  The relocation company that is making decisions decided that they wouldn’t consider our offer.  Apparently, they don’t like the fact that there are two houses that have to be sold first for theirs to sell.  What this means is that we can’t buy our dream home unless we were willing to buy it without selling our own home.  And, at this point, we aren’t.

I Don’t Want Two Mortgages

I loved the kitchen in my dream house......
I loved the kitchen in my dream house……

Although we could afford both mortgages, I don’t want to put ourselves in that position.  So many things could go wrong!  What if the offer on our house falls through?  And, what if we didn’t get another offer for months?  No, thank you.  As much as I would like to buy my dream house, I don’t want to put us in an awkward financial position.  I also don’t want to cause us any more stress than is necessary.  Moving in itself is stressful enough, I think.

So, we can’t buy our dream house.  However, life will go on.  We’ll just have to keep looking until we find another house that we both love or prepare for several months of apartment dwelling.  I’ll keep you posted.

Would you buy your dream house if you were us?  Would you be scared to get stuck with two mortgages?

I wanted to send a special shout out to Rock Star Finance for mentioning my latest post.  If you haven’t yet, check it out!  Also, here are the carnivals that I was mentioned in last week:

Carnival of MoneyPros hosted by Money Pros

Yakezie Carnival hosted by Money Life & More

Finance Carnival For Young Adults hosted by Degrees and Debt

Carnival of Financial Independence hosted by Savvy Scott

Carnival of Financial Planning hosted by Mom and Dad Money

Carnival of Money Pros hosted by Money Wise Pastor

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61 Comments

  1. Have you considered getting a home equity line of credit on your house if your buyer doesn’t come through. You can use that to put as a down payment as a bridge loan on your dream house to secure it. Since it is an equity line the payments will be minimal and will secure the home. We often do that here as the market is very hot and sellers do not want to wait for homes to be sold.

    1. It isn’t a matter of not having the money. We just decided that we didn’t want to be put in that position.

      1. Ask yourself:
        Do we have 6 months of living expenses saved in cash in an emergency fund?
        Do you have all your debt paid off except current mortgage(ex. Autos, student loans, credit cards)
        Do you save a minimum of 10% into each 401k every month?
        Are you saving each month in a 529 plan for kids college expenses?
        Are you living well below your means?

        If you said yes to all the above then you are doing great.

        Less is more.
        Focus on living your dream life vs dreaming of dream houses, dream cars, and more debt.

        1. Yes.
          Yes.
          Yes.
          Yes.
          Yes.

          But, that’s the whole point of the post. I am focusing on living my dream life and my dream life DOES NOT involve two mortgages or making my life any more complicated than it has to be.

          I couldn’t care less about cars. I drive a very old (paid off) periwinkle minivan.
          As far as housing goes, less isn’t always more. I work at home so I need a space that I’m happy spending the majority of my life in. These decisions are important! =)

  2. I think you did the right thing. I’ve been hearing stories about how my aunt and uncle are currently waiting for their house to sell and they have already purchased a new one because of a job start time. They live in the states and are dealing with a relocation company and one house is in NYC and the other is in Kentucky. It’s very stressful to see them still have 2 mortgages to pay for.

  3. I agree with Erica, you definitely did the right thing. Having two mortgages, two houses, two everything, can be really stressful, something that I´ve witnessed through my parents struggle with real estate. You´ll find the right house for you, it might not be the dream house just yet, but many houses has potential to become YOUR dream home!

    1. I think we will. When we were looking at comparable houses that have already sold in the area, there were several houses that I would have been interested in. It’s just a matter of time.

  4. This is a great lesson Holly. No matter what, the financial security of your family has to come first. If that means missing out on your dream home, that might suck but sometimes that’s the cost. I think it’s easier to go the route of thinking it will be fine, but that’s how people end up getting themselves into huge trouble. I think you guys are absolutely making the right move. Besides, another dream house will show up down the road.

    1. We hope!
      The thought of having two houses just freaks me out. I’ve heard too many horror stories!

  5. Sorry to hear about the dream home situation, but I would definitely be worried about having two mortgages. I know you will find another home that you absolutely love!

    1. Awwww……we’re disappointed but not heartbroken!

  6. Was there a non-contingent offer on your own home that you could have accepted making it worthwhile to be able to get this house? I think I would have been willing to take a cut of some money on the sale of my first house to get the job done and move on with life.

    1. No, just one offer. And, we’re probably lucky to have that. Remember, we’re in central Indiana in an awful buyer’s market. Lots of houses are sitting on the market a while then going for much less than asking price.

  7. Like others have said, I think you definitely made the right call. In the end, it isn’t worth the stress and headaches of potentially having things fall through and end up with two mortgages. I think the easy thing would’ve been to buy it without thinking about what could happen, but the financial well-being of your family is much more important.

    1. Yep!
      And, watching my neighbor across the street take so long to sell their home definitely molded our viewpoint.

  8. Holly, I think it’s awesome that you guys have the discipline to say “no” to that house. I’ve had friends who were stuck with two mortgages because they weren’t willing to do that, and it wasn’t pretty.

  9. I don’t know what I would do. It probably depends on how big of mortgage payments we’re talking about and how many other dream houses I thought there were on the market in the area.

    1. Well, the mortgage company will only count Greg’s income so we could buy the second house but only on a 30 year mortgage. I know we could refinance afterward but that just seemed like a bad sign.

      1. With the way rates are going, a 30-year now might be lower than a 15-year in a few weeks… Not to complicate your thought processes…

  10. Definitely would become a nightmare with two mortgages! Glad you stuck with it and didn’t sign up for two mortgages!

  11. As much as that sucks, I think you did the right you. You don’t want to have to deal with two mortgages, that would be super stressful! Another great house will come along.

  12. I think you did the right thing as well. You want to do what you are comfortable with, and having two mortgages is scary!

  13. I might have bought the house only because of that pond which I think makes it special. If homes like that are easy to find, I guess wait but something like that would be a little diamond where I’m from. If you could have afforded both mortgages temporarily, you could even rent out your first home. However, you may find a house with a pool or something just as special and it could turn out to even better!! Experts say you shouldn’t be emotional about home buying but I think that’s hard because you’re buying a lifestyle and a dream not just a house.

    1. Even though we own other rental properties, I just cannot bring myself to rent out our home. It’s way too nice. The thought of it gives me nightmares!

  14. I definitely would have done what you did and held off. I would not be down with having two mortgages. That’s just a lot to have to carry if your house doesn’t sell right away.

  15. I would have done the same thing. Selling a house is just too variable, and having to keep looking is way less stressful than carrying two mortgages if you have no intention of having a renter in your old house.

  16. I would have done the exact same thing! I wouldn’t want to stress about having 2 mortgages because it’s very risky and stressful. I hope that it all works out for you.

    Hang in there Holly, you’ll find the right house!

  17. Speaking as someone who is mortgage free, I would be petrified of having two mortgages at once. Besides there are plenty of house of the north side. There is bound to be another dream house up there. Maybe your dreamhouse is in Fortville? 😛

    1. OMG. Wouldn’t that be hilarious?!?!? That would be a tough decision to make, honestly. It would have to be on the outskirts of Fortville so that I could go to another nearby town to go grocery shopping and stuff. I would consider living in the Geist part of Fortville. My brother lives there. They have a Fortville address but aren’t really in Fortville.

  18. I can understand not wanting to be stuck with 2 mortgages. Here in NYC, most people I know would not be able to afford 2 mortgages so the choice is obvious. Things seem to be moving quickly where you guys are located…how quickly do most houses sell in your neighborhood?

  19. I have never been in this position before and I feel for you all. And as hollow as this may sound, things happen for a reason, and hopefully one day you will all see why you are not able to buy the dream home you visited.

    Take care and all the best.

    Lyle

  20. Oh darn it, Holly! I wouldn’t have bought it either, but then again I’m a big chicken about big purchases and tend to avoid them at all costs. I admire your ability to stick with it and hold out with hopes that it would work. I am hopeful you will have good news soon!!!

  21. I think you made the right choice Holly! That could have potentially been a ridiculously stressful position, and, in my opinion, no house is worth that. What I’ve found from going to tons of open houses (for fun) is that there’s always another “dream house” right around the corner. We must have fallen in love with a dozen houses over the past few years, and it made us realize that if the time ever comes that we want a larger house, we will have no problem finding something in our price range. But it’s clearly sell first, then buy (or maybe even rent, which would be my preference…)

  22. That’s rough. But you have to do what’s right for you and your family. I’m an optimist so I bet there is another dream house just waiting for you and Greg to discover it! 🙂

  23. That really sucks! As tempting as it is I think you definitely made the right decision. And, hopefully your dream home will still be on the market when the sale on your home finalizes. If not you’ll find another dream home! It just may take some time.

  24. I wrote a blog post about having two mortgages and what our neighbours went through and no I would never do that. There are too many risks involved for me. The kitchen looks great!

  25. I think most people would get two mortgages because they don’t think of the financial repercussions. I would have done the exact same thing as you. You never know, something better could come up!

  26. I’ve never sold a home so I can’t say how important it is for that contingency. It certainly seems like a good idea! I wonder if the relocation company could be convinced in some way though…

  27. This reminds me of a post that I have coming up soon. It is when opportunity knocks early and how you handle it. I think you did the right thing.

  28. Sorry to hear that, Holly! But maybe there is still a chance that you can make an offer for your dream house. Hopefully your buyers will sell their house very soon and you’ll be able to make the offer. Don’t lose hope yet (but also keep looking :P)!

  29. Nice job. I said this earlier in your home buying process and I’ll repeat it again: you’ll find another dream home. There are so many awesome properties out there to purchase that it’s only a matter of time until the next one appears. Taking on two mortgages? That’s soooooo 2007…….

  30. When we were thinking of moving into a new house, I didn’t want to mortgages either. Unfortunately we were unable to sell our condo at the time, so we decided to hang on to it. So far it hasn’t been too bad to have two mortgages, but it is definitely a little more stressful than having one. We are renting our condo out for more than our mortgage payment though, so that is good.

  31. Sorry about that, it really sucks! I wouldn’t have gone with two mortgages either, I hope something nice comes along.

  32. Sorry to hear that, Holly. I am sure there will be other houses that you will fall in love with and who knows, maybe even more. I would not want to have two mortgages, I think one is more than enough.

  33. You guys know all too we how fast life an change! I wouldn’t have carried 2 mortgages either.good luck with you’re continued search!

  34. While your dream house does look lovely, I think you made the right decision. So many things can go wrong or get delayed in the house-buying process, it’s not worth the risk of having two mortgages. I would have done the same. It just means it’s not meant to be, and that there’s something else even better out there!

  35. We downsized 15 years ago when we sold our dream house on the hill. My children missed it much more than we do. It makes so much sense to to have a smaller mortgage payment and property taxes as well as operating costs.

  36. A house isn’t a home if you can’t sleep at night because of the stress of payments. It’s a great home, but you WILL find another. There are always great deals, no matter the market, and you know your risk tolerance well, and acted on that knowledge. Good luck in the future search 🙂

  37. I definitely agree with your decision. Having two mortgages at once is really hard and you may not even enjoy your dream house because of too much stress.

  38. I’m sorry to hear that. I probably wouldn’t want to get stuck with two mortgages either. Hopefully you will find something even better soon! <But I know that's not always comforting to hear.

  39. I would do the same thing as you’re doing…two mortgages would be too much! Who knows, maybe the potential buyer’s house will close in time.

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