First of all, just the idea of having a mortgage. What a scary word! As I told Rogers earlier today, I believe it is derived from the French morte for "death." Because this monthly payment very well may be the death of me. Granted, it will actually most likely be less than what rent would be at any apartment, but something about the concept seems incredibly grown up and foreboding.
Secondly, the process of offering and countering. This morning, I put in an offer on the cute little fixer-upper for approximately $17,000 under the asking price. Not necessarily a low ball offer, just starting out low, expecting them to counter. They did, for $8,000 under the asking price.
Which has led to the biggest headache of the night. Do I counter for another $2000 lower? That is what my parents suggested, but when you consider the amount of $2000 *relative* to the amount you are paying for a house, is it really that big a deal? Key word: RELATIVE. Two thousand dollars is a lot of money. I could buy a new computer and Adobe CS4 with that. But, when considering it in terms of a 30-year mortgage at today's rate (5.49%, in case you were curious), that $2000 turns into $10 a month. If I have to sacrifice getting take-out once a month or seven and a half songs on iTunes every month, I think I will choose paying an extra $10 on my mortgage while eating spaghetti and listening to imeem. Done and done.
I just never thought that buying a house would include seemingly meaningless squabbles about satellite dishes and window treatments. Apparently, it does.
So I am agreeing to the price they suggested and adding in some minor tweaks (about days for inspections and satellite dishes). Here's to hoping all works out for the best!
PS... if you are interested in playing with the day's mortgage rates and figuring out what kind of house you can afford, go to BankRate.com. Definitely the most up-to-date and comprehensive mortgage calculator out there.
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