(no subject)

We looked at houses today with a realtor for the first time.  The experience was a mixed bag.  I do like this realtor but I'm still not impressed with her communication via email, so I may or may not hire someone else if we keep looking.  But we may not keep looking for right now.  Even though it is a buyer's market and it would be a great time to buy if we had the money to do so, crunching the numbers a little more tonight made it look like it may not be wise for us to do this now after all.  The plan was kind of to take a short-term loan from my parents to cover the down payment, and then a mortgage from the bank.  This is doable.  We *can* afford this in the price range we're looking.  But we started looking because we thought it would actually cut our monthly costs...and this plan won't.  At least not until we're done paying back my parents, which could be a few years of really tight budgeting.  Doable...but far from ideal.

The other option is to cash out some stock holdings.  But of course a down economy isn't really the best time to do that if I don't have to.  We're going to talk to my folks and look at more numbers and think...

And option three, I guess, is do nothing.  Keep renting for now, stash away what we can toward a more comfortable homeownership plan down the road, and try to let the excitement of the recent househunt subside.  Meh.

I want to write about the houses we looked at, but I'm crazy tired right now, so I'll save that for tomorrow I guess.  

I'm in a discouraged sort of mood, but I am maintaining perspective...in an economy with high unemployment and foreclosure rates, we are employed and thinking of buying another property (we still own the condo in Charlottesville).  We're doing quite well.  Just...meh.  I want to be doing wellER.  I wonder if I'm capable of being satisfied in this regard.  I suspect it takes more maturity than I've got.