House Lust

Mike and I are tossing around the idea of moving back to Milwaukee. We aren't sure that it'll be feasible, but it's what we'd really like to do.

As long as we were tossing around the idea of moving, we started tossing around the idea of buying a house instead of renting. We just finished off paying off our credit cards, so the only real debt we have is our student loans. Mike's credit has skyrocketed. So what better way to celebrate good credit by going into a huge pile of debt?

It's all very tentative, but buying a house is serious business and we don't know anything. So I figured we should start keeping an eye on real estate listings in the neighborhoods we liked so we could understand what we can get for what money. That way we will know a good deal when we're looking for real.

Makes sense, right? For most people, yeah. But not for us. We can't look at houses without wanting them now, immediately, YESTERDAY. When we find something we like we feel like we must pounce on it because no house that wonderful will ever be for sale again in our lifetime. I envy my friends who casually attended open houses, planning for the day they'd buy one of their own. I walk into a house and just want to say, "Hey, walls and a roof! Looks good! Where do I sign?" We were endlessly picky about finding an apartment because we'd have to live there for a whole year. But we're willing to jump right into thirty years of mortgage payments without a second thought.

We've been keeping an eye on the listings. We found some houses that we liked, that we could see ourselves in, but nothing earth-shattering. That is, until this week. When I found a house that would be PERFECT. It's in the Bay View neighborhood, which is the family-friendly version of the East Side, the hipster neighborhood we used to live in. It's within walking distance of a library, a grocery store, and a baseball field. It's on a bus line. It's next to a gym, and across the street from a bar and a church.

And the house itself? Well, it's a typical Milwaukee house. Small yard, not much square footage. But it's cute, built in 1912 and has its original woodwork. It is definitely a fixer-upper, but Mike always wanted to fix up a house. And the price is swoon-worthy.

Unfortunately we have a lease that won't let us out until July, and we can't afford house payments as well as rent for five months. Plus we have no idea if we'd even qualify for a home loan. So it's probably not even worth thinking about this house.

Or checking the listing five times a day.

Or calling the agent to set up a showing.

Which I already did.

I wonder if they'd just hold it for us for five months?