i am not excited about buying a house anymore.

not even a little.

I'm excited about living there and owning it and whatever, but holy shit. Today, if I could, I might say "um, you know what? no effing way."

before I tell you my story, let me back up a little.

I am a first time homebuyer.
(this is not entirely true as justin and I bought a house together, but he honestly did like 90% of the negotiating and paperwork stuff, so for all intents and purposes, I am a first time homebuyer.)

Now, I actually like my realtor. She is a friend of mine. I am using the lender she recommended, and earlier that lender made me sooooo angry. FOR THE LOVE I WANTED TO SLAM DOORS AND KICK THINGS.

I typed Jackie an email and was seriously clinching my fists and then typing and the clenching again. it was not cool.

long story short:
they didn't tell me what was paid when. they gave me an estimated amount that i'd need to bring to closing and then when I was asking questions about it she was like "oh yeah, this doesn't include the cost of the inspections."

that's another six HUNDRED smackers.

by the by, this was thing number three, the other involved not explaining closing costs and not explaining home insurance.

so, as this was the straw that broke the camel's back, I called my lady and flipped my schizz a little. I was like---I feel like you're forgetting to give me information, I feel like every time we turn around it costs more, I feel like no one is communicating the details to me. I AM A FIRST TIME HOME BUYER, I AM NOT SUPPOSED TO KNOW THIS STUFF, THIS IS YOUR JOB, TELL ME ABOUT IT!

for the record, I did not yell.

but I really REALLY wanted to.

so now i'm all recovered from it, and I've let it go and I've moved on and I get a call from my mortgage lady's broker, being all "if you need more info or have questions you can call me" blah blah blah. and then HE STARTS EXPLAINING TO ME WHY THE INSPECTION ISN'T INCLUDED and why IT'S NOT THEIR JOB TO PUT IT ON THE CLOSING.

apparently my mortgage specialist is a wimp and can't fight her own fights. I am NOT happy. because the issue is NOT where the money goes on the sheet. It's about how NO ONE TOLD ME when I pay for it, and therefore I thought I was spending $600 less than I actually am. previously I thought I was spending almost 4k less than I am. this is oh-oh-cee.

so.

after I was angry, it just so happened that I spoke to my insurance agent, and seriously, I could kiss this woman she's so nice to me. in our conversation I apologized for the rush and said if I'd known sooner I would've talked to her, but my mortgage specialist wasn't clear, blah blah blah. this nice lady told me that like 75% of people are upset at their lender by the time of closing. that actually made me feel a lot A LOT A LOT better. She told me she'd had a great experience, using the same lender the past three times. we talked insurance, she promised me quotes and we hung up.

so anyway, called my granny to ask an insurance question, ended up telling her everything. she was VERY keen on me asking for the insurance lady's lender. so when I called her back, I did.

I called him. He was friendly. He *just* got back from his honeymoon and from talking to him on the phone I want him and his wife and Matt and me to go get a beer. He was helpful and understanding and anyway, just great. Like a person you're paying to loan you money SHOULD be. He offered me a quarter of a point lower rate, lower closing costs AND another $250 off those closing costs because my company and I both bank with walk-all-over-ya.

(who, incidentally, I kind of used to hate and now think are more bomb-diggity and less shit.)

oh yeah, AND he could meet my closing. we talked more later in the day and he wants me to do an FHA loan--save me money up front, let me invest my cash instead of put it towards my house, lower fees and actually $1 less on my mortgage payment? yes, please. I talked to people and it seems like it will be JUST what I need. It will be hard to do it so quickly, but tomorrow he'll officially give me the go ahead and I will change it.

my realtor and, of course, my lender will not like the change, but too bad, so sad. these are my hard-earned pennies and I'm gonna hoard every last one I can, so there. :)

also, though I consulted my mom and granny and they were very helpful but limited in knowledge on the fha subject, I've gotta say that Matt's family was AWESOME tonight. I tried to do my research but there was so much conflicting information--I really, REALLY love it that his family is so nice and helpful! And not just George and Tonya, because honestly, I know that Tonya especially would be extra helpful even if I weren't with her brother in law--but his parents and Tonya's brother and anyway, that was just amazing, and I am super thankful. super-dee-duper.

all in all, I still feel suuuuper tense but also kind of relieved. And I totally appreciate y'all saying that this wasn't roots, it was just a good choice. thank you thank you. little less stress that way, y'know? maybe some day soon I'll stop blogging about stress and get back to blogging about the environment. that's more fun anyway!

so, it's late and I'm sleepy and I have to take gobi to the vet in the AM. I've a feeling one of my cats has something pretty wrong, maybe diabetes. With my luck, it's Gobi, but at least if he has to have shots I won't have to worry that he'll claw my arm off. I'd tell you why I suspect it's hime, but I don't know that all of you want to know. anyway, they have to collect some urine and we'll go from there. and I have to leave him there all day! boo, hiss! no fun at all!