House-Hunting

We have spent much of our time this weekend in the car. Yesterday, we looked at houses with a realtor in the morning, regrouped over a taco at Torchy's for lunch, and then saw 2 more rentals after naptime. Today, we loaded up this morning to drive around and look at more houses (stalking as Eric calls it) just from the car - no actual viewings of the insides.

We loaded up with snacks, plugs, toys, iPad, plenty to drink (see below) and lots of fuel - and we never got more than about 5 miles from the apartment!

So what did we find, you ask? Well, first, I am reminded of our house-hunt upon relocating to Austin, so I'd like to share that story...

Last June, it was impressed upon us that Austin looked more and more like where God was calling us, and much sooner than we thought. So like any couple faced with relocation, we placed our house on the market immediately - it was not the best time in the housing market. And 3 weeks later, we were under contract, slated to close just 8 weeks to the day after the house was listed. God is good!

However, that gave us a hard and fast date to be out of the house, which we weren't so prepared for. So we spent several days over several weeks searching out different areas of Austin. And much prayer accompanied this. We needed discernment as to where in the city we were called. The answer came loud and clear - settle on the south side of town. And that was as much clarity as was given. So I went to looking for jobs, we went about looking for rental options - mainly houses. 

One Saturday, we drove in, spent the better part of the day with 2 cranky kids in the car, stalking 32 different rent houses on the south side of town and eliminated all of them. I cried on the way back to Fredericksburg at the thought of having nowhere to live. The following Monday, 2 days later, we drove back to Austin for an interview for me. On the way, Eric and I discussed the option of apartment vs. home rental, and both discovered that to each of our surprises, the other was open to an apartment. 

Oh, but where to start - in prayer, of course! Of the seemingly hundreds of apartment complexes on the south side of town, only 2 had 3-bedroom availability when we needed it. After visiting both properties, it was clear which was our answer. And the job came through, further justifying our decision. God is good!

So back to the present. We've been perusing the internet for weeks (thanks to Zillow, HotPads, and Realtor.com, I think Eric and I could find all available houses for anyone in any area...just let us know your needs) looking for both rentals and purchases, mostly rentals. We're just not quite sure of the area, and not quite easy with the funds required for a home purchase at present. We have watched at least 2 cycles of rentals come up for lease and be leased in the past month, and are amazed at the rapid turnover of rental properties in Austin.

This weekend, we looked at 2 rentals and 2 homes for purchase, and liked the first rental a lot. Saturday night (only hours after viewing the property) I e-mailed the realtor we used to view it and asked for an application. Only to our dismay, the house had been leased already - since our viewing that morning. And for about $100 more than listed for! We called on one at lunch Saturday that was listed on Thursday, and the listing agent informed me it rented within 24 hours of the listing posted - no longer available.

We view one more rental tomorrow, but the date for move-in is already listed too late for us by a couple of days, so if the landlord isn't willing or able to let us move in earlier, it won't work either. So what did I do? I talked to a realtor this afternoon (one I like very much) about purchasing homes. Not on our original list of plans. Something that will definitely push us both in terms of ministry and comfort - God really must be calling us here, and He really must want us here for a few years.

I write this lengthy post to remind myself of the similarities of the situations. In July and August when we were looking frantically, we were also praying fervently for a home and a people to whom we could minister, and God changed our human ideas (of needing a house) into ones that He would use in the short-term (an apartment with a next-door-neighbor who Eric's built a friendship with). At present, we're spending (could be read 'wasting') lots of time looking at all options, really hoping for a rental to make things easier, and I know I'm in prayer, but not as life-dependent as I was last summer. I truly want our decision to be His decision - not one that's made just for ease of our situation or because of lack of confidence in His calling us to a certain area and people. He directed our situation once before, so recently too, and I pray He does it again.

God truly is Good!