A Deal Or A Steal?

Did you ever receive such a deal that you almost felt like it was a steal, something to feel guilty over? That's how Kirk and I feel right now about the house we are getting.

Yes, you heard me right! We put an offer on a house here in Pensacola last night and within two hours, the offer was accepted. We are going to be home-owners again!


There was no counter offer from the seller! No struggles or real stress. Could it really be this easy?


Granted, we still need to complete an inspection along with some paperwork. But if all goes well (and I believe it will), then we go to act of sale on November 16th - just a week before Thanksgiving!!


Last night I was overjoyed with this opportunity. I had started this post but didn't finish it (I became sidetracked with phone calls and putting Vivian to bed, etc.) Then as the night went on, I began to feel sheepish over my original reaction and wondered if I should be so thrilled with getting too good of a bargain?  I even woke up around 2 a.m. and my stomach was in knots over it. 



Did we just play the right cards? Have our chips finally fallen into place?


For those of you who don't know me well or who may be new to my blog, my family and I just moved to Pensacola, Florida a week ago.  Prior to here, we lived in a rent house in Montgomery, Alabama from May 2008 to October 2009. Before that we lived in Dayton, Ohio from November 2005 to May 2008. And before that, we lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and its surrounding areas for my entire life. (Yes, I'm tired of moving for awhile!)


Thankfully, we didn't have a home in Alabama to sell.  That is partly because our home in Ohio took eleven months to sell. ELEVEN MONTHS! We carried the finanical burden of moving ourselves to Alabama from Ohio and paying two house notes for just under a year. We took a loss on the house when we finally sold it - about half of our money put down actually. So we went from having a 20% down payment three years ago to a 10% down payment this time. (Very sad to see half of your hard-earned money go away!)


So aren't we just getting what is coming to us now? A nice reward for a wonderful house at a bargain price after struggling for the past year and a half?  After not being able to save money, we are now in a good position toward financial security again.


I mean, we work hard. Kirk and I make smart choices (or so we think). We pay our bills. We pay our taxes on time. We live within our means and don't purchase extravagant things.    As a general rule, if we can't afford it, we don't buy it or rack up credit card debt. We hardly travel these days either.  So isn't this fair?


But why do I feel a little bit guilty over this? Is this crazy?


In other parts of the U.S., this house we are getting would be double the price or more. In a different economy and housing market, we'd be paying more for this house and this house would be valued higher as well.


The seller seems happy with what she is walking away with so I should be zestful as well, right?  We had the fortune of meeting the seller (since this was a for-sale-by-owner) - a single, older lady looking to downsize since her children are grown or in college.  She took our first offer and already has her next place selected.  It's a win-win for all of us. 

I know that I will get over these feelings of guilt and enjoy my new home soon.  Frankly, I'm not even sure why I feel conflicted in the first place.  That is just me, I suppose.  I often think that some things are too good to be true and I wait for the sky to fall down on me.


Anyway, this is the latest news with my family and me.  We found a house.  We love the house.  We put an offer on the house.  And lo and behold, the house will be ours!  

Here is a sneek peak into the steal deal that we expect to be ours in just a month (a few highlights of my favorite rooms or things about the house):




















Vivian is already attached to this place:





Have you ever gotten a deal on something (small or large) so great that you later felt bad over it? Do you think I should feel guilty or just shut my mouth and resume my victory dance?