House Hunting is for Suckers!!

We have been looking for houses basically since the day we arrived in Tennessee and it just may be the death of me! It's so hard to find what we are looking for here. We are looking to rent since we aren't sure where the future would take us and honestly we have some stuff to take care of before we are in a position to buy. If we were going to buy a home here we would have no problem finding the perfect house, there are so many great houses here that are so much more affordable than homes in California! The rental market here is tough, though, and I've learned that the real estate agents here are MUCH, MUCH different than agents in California! No one works weekends here, no one returns calls and no one follows through with what they say they will do. Maybe these few agents are the minority here but so far each one we have contacted has made me wonder how they make any money in real estate! Maybe real estate is just their side job here, maybe it's not their career? Maybe they have enough connections that they don't actually have to work? Who knows, but it sure is frustrating to me!

Besides the fact that it's near impossible to get anyone to show you a house here the houses in our budget are just not anything like we were expecting. Our budget is small, Rob is the only one working, and in order for me to find a job and increase our budget we need a house! I need to put the girls in school and daycare, have a car and all of my nicer clothes out of storage!! So, we are working with a small budget but the list of what I need in a house is long!

My original wish list looked something like this:

• At least 3 bedrooms
• 2 bathrooms
• 1400+ square feet
• a large, fenced backyard for kids and dogs
• allows dogs
• 2-car garage
• excellent schools
• close to Rob's job
• safe neighborhood
• finished basement

After a few months of searching I revised my list:

• 3 bedrooms
• 1 1/2 bathrooms
• 1400+ square feet
• a small fenced yard
• allows dogs
• 1 car garage
• good schools
• close to Rob's job
• safe neighborhood
• basement??

Now, after the last two days of searching and searching my list is more like this:

• 3 bedrooms
• 1 bathroom
• close to 1200 square feet
• a patio? (please!)
• allows dogs
• decent enough schools
• I guess crime is everywhere?
• within an hour drive to Rob's job

Even with this revised list I am having a hard time. We have been considering an apartment because for the same price as a tiny house we could get a bigger apartment. The thing with an apartment is that our kids and dogs are a bunch of rambunctious wild animals that cannot be controlled. I worry about our neighbors and how annoyed they will be hearing "I hate you, you big jerk!" "GET OUT OF MY ROOM!" and the constant banging on walls my children like to do. Also, my dogs like to bark and whine A LOT! But, I guess if we want to stay here we've gotta do what we gotta do! I just wish I could get everything on my list in our budget, my list isn't that bad really. Also, what do people that live on the second and third floors of the apartment buildings do during tornadoes? Make friends with someone on the first floor? We would never live on the second or third floor, because of my wild beast children but I was curious.

There are two house that meet most of our criteria that haven't been removed from the list just yet. One I refer to as the "cemetery house" (because it backs to a cemetery), it could also be called the "no living room house" because from the peering in the windows we did it didn't look like there was a real living room/family room area. I do like this one because it has a detached two car garage and an excellent yard for the kids and dogs. And, while I was at first weirded out by the cemetery, at least our neighbors would be quiet! :)  It's in a neighborhood that I typically wouldn't consider and the schools are okay but I do kind of like it. We didn't get to see inside this house because when Rob called the guy listing this house he said "call back after 6". We didn't have time to do that so if it's still available this weekend maybe we will call again and see it.

The other I call the "lady no call back" house (also, self explanatory but the woman listing the home for rent doesn't answer her phone or return voicemails!). We drove by this house also. And, we tried calling the woman listing the house three or four times. Rob left her a message and she never returned the call. This was Monday, it's now Wednesday and still nothing from her. The house is still listed online and even if it was already rented isn't it common courtesy to answer the phone and let someone know it's gone? I guess not! I like this house because it's in a more rural area. It's on a busier street but has a decent sized yard and a one car garage. It also has a partially finished basement which makes me happy!

I don't know where we will end up but I hope we have a house soon because the walls of this RV are closing in on me!