You know it's bad when...

My inspector actually offered to cut me a deal less than 2 hours into the typically 5-7 hour inspection so that I would walk away from the house without him having to write up a 75 page report on how bad the house is.

I took it.

By the way, this inspector is freaking awesome, and he will most definitely get my business when I finally find the right home.

( There were bees. )

I was expecting to eventually sink money into some remodeling to get the house feeling like me, but I'd be better off building a house from scratch.

I really hope the bees are in fact properly removed, but already there are some getting into the guest bathroom and dying while trying to escape back through the closed window. It was so horribly sad.

What now?

So, after looking at 50 homes, making offers on 5 homes, going under contract on 1 home, and just getting worn out from the entire process, I'm throwing in the towel for this round of house hunting.

What I've learned can be summarized by two equations, because I'm a math geek, so that's what you get:

Amount I'm qualified for === Amount/quality of house I'm comfortable with
Amount I'm comfortable affording =/= Amount/quality of house I'm comfortable with

And without a guaranteed roommate lined up, I'm not okay with making:
Amount qualified for == Amount comfortable affording


My goal now is to save, save, save. I still want a house. I've wanted one since I was in junior high. I have enough stuff (sans a couch set, because those got torn up in the Boyfriend Storm Of '99-'03), and I most definitely want a house in which to put all my stuff. I'm just worn out from the search. Saving up for a bigger down payment, getting my car loan down and/or paid off, and maybe adding a couple of revolving credit cards to my name will help me up the ante for the next round.

I've also driven my real estate agent bonkers. Granted, she lives in Arlington, so the drive to show me homes in the area I'm looking makes it a bit unfeasible for her. I'm surprised she didn't "fire" me any sooner. We've already agreed that she's going to refer me to someone that lives in the areas I'm looking**, and in return I promise to narrow my search down further before making a list of houses to go see. Tamping down my price-to-value cost points will help tremendously.

**Yay, she said she'd be happy to help next round. She's sure I'll be able to better narrow my search next time in order to make it worth her time and effort. This is good, because I'd like her to get the commission after all the hard work she's put in helping me.