A Busy Day

 We’re back in OC and house hunting one last day before I take off to Thailand. We looked at condos (3 bed/3 bath) closer to $500,000. Two neighborhoods seem to keep coming up: one is La Mancha in Mission Viejo, and the other is the Crestline neighborhood in Aliso Viejo.

At the end of the day we decided to put a low-ball bid on a 1,943 square foot condo in one of those communities. It needs some serious TLC – but it is very spacious and we like the area. The seller is motivated as he and his family are moving to Texas next week. Also, he still owes the bank most of the house: i.e., he is practically in foreclosure. We’ll see where is goes. If it doesn’t work out, we will revisit the idea of renting for a while, as we have discovered that a 4 bed/3 bath house can be rented for $2,500 – a thousand less than a monthly mortgage would be.

If the seller/bank accepts our offer, our offer is still contingent on a full house inspection within 17 days, which will cost $300-$400. We put $5000 down as good faith money, but the check is not deposited until we make a final decision after the inspection. At that time that $5,000 goes towards the price of the house.

When we got home, we sprinted out for a little shopping at Loehmann’s and delicious BBQ chicken pizza at Upper Crust Pizza. I don’t fly out of LAX until 1:15 am, and we still have to drop the girls off in Santa Ana where Dawkins’ mom will be to take over care of the girls until I am back.

Next post will be from Thailand!

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