Our First Home (hopefully)

Sorry that it's been so long since we've been on and posted, it just seems that we got so busy after we got back from PNG.  So yes, for those of you who didn't know we have returned!!! PNG was absolutely amazing, we loved it very much, and are sure to be back again!  It was sad leaving our new friends there as well as old one's (Kumor's).  

When we got back to memphis and settled in somewhat, we started in looking for a house in Columbus, GA.  We'd heard that these things take a bit of time and knew that we needed to get at it.  We researched online and found a bunch of houses that we were  interested in and Sarah got us hooked up with a realtor.  We took a weekend and went down to Columbus to look for houses and meet the realtor.  I know that sarah loved that day, but for me it was a pure nightmare.  It felt like we were shopping at the mall for the ENTIRE day!!  Two women and Josh going from house to house to house to house, critiquing the big things and the little things.  But I guess it was worth it because we came up with a short list to pray about and ponder over.  Ultimately we decided to bid on a house that the agent listed as an, "investor's special".  I'm sure that when you hear those words you're not thinking of the nicest house.  Well 4551 Papaya Ave isn't the most beautiful place to look at right now, but let me tell you there is potential there!  I've posted some pictures here with the blog so that you can get a smell for what I'm stepping in.  

Before we could officially bid though we had to get our pre-approval for a loan.  Us, looking for the best deal, shopped high and low looking for the best overall loan.  Being a doctor to be there are some pretty sweet deals out there.  We decided on one, but the catch was for some reason there was this problem with our credit report, some collection that shouldn't have been there, just standing in our way, we took care of it and had it removed from our credit report, and were approved, but this whole process took a week, a seeming eternity when we found the house we wanted.  And to top it off, the day we went to bid 2 other people were bidding!  But alas, God has opened the door thus far and we won with the top, yet still killer-of-a-deal bid.  The lady was being forclosed upon, so she needed to get rid of the place or the bank was going to get rid of it for her.  We decided to help her out.

The place isn't in the best of condition right now.  There are no appliances, the rooms are dirty and carpets are gross, walls are purple and pink.  Work needs to be done, but we got the place $20,000 cheaper than comparable nice houses in the neighborhood, and there's no way we're putting 20 grand into this place, so hopefully we'll turn a decent profit.  We're excited and are hopeful that all the bank stuff/inspections go as expected so we can close on the 16th of may.  

Tomorrow we're heading up to Canada to visit sarah's family and her Uncle Tony, cousins Stephen and Jamie who are visiting from Northern Ireland.  We'll be up there for a week at the end of which we'll spend a day or two at Niagara Falls with family as well as a bit of a celebration for Sarah and I's 2nd anniversary.