Joy Johnson 8/19/15 Joy Johnson 8/19/15

How To Paint A Ceiling Fan

Ceiling fans are weird. Honestly, it is so hard to go into a home improvement store and actually say the phrase, "Ohhhh that ceiling fan is gorgeous!"

They're fans, and they aren't super attractive.

That being said, we had been really on the fence about keeping the fans throughout our home (they're everywhere). In the guest room, the temperature tends to get a little warm because it's the only room in the house that gets a lot of light, so we are for sure going to keep one in there. Below is said fan:

Personally, I found the dingy, brushed silver to be pretty ugly... and in general, this fan has such weird curves to it. Of all the ugly fans in our house, this one was the ugliest (Tom disagreed). When redoing the guest room, after much discussion, we decided that instead of spending money on new fans, we'd just try to "update" them a little. Though ugly, the quality of them are actually pretty good. So until we could throw down a lot of cash on better looking, high quality ones, we're fixing up these babies.

I have to admit though, I really didn't think about the fact that you actually need to take the entire fan apart in order to spray paint it (oops!). Tom was all duh... did you just want to tape it up, spray paint it, and let it goop up all the gears?? And I was like uhhh... oh right, can you just like take it apart though? thankkksssss..

This guy puts up with me and I'm super blessed. Taking apart a fan and putting it back together is actually a real pain in the tush (not that I would know.. but Tom said it stunk).

Anyways, I found this color of Rustoleum on Young House Love when they sprayed some hardware on their door handles and such. It looked really great on their post and since I don't know the first thing about spray paint, I went with it. Here's a few photos for your general enjoyment:

After a good 24+ hours to let them dry, Thomas got to work putting it back together.

The thing we loved about this color is that it isn't completely matte (which I thought I wanted). It gives off just the smallest hint of bronze metallic... we both really love the final product.

What do you think? Big improvement, or not so much?

Joy Johnson 8/1/15 Joy Johnson 8/1/15

Removing Ceiling Texture

Long before we even closed on our little abode, we decided our first project would be to remove the icky ceiling texture. When I told my family about it, they seemed to shrug it off as if ceiling textures are NBD. Okay, fair enough... you can live quite comfortably in a home without the ceiling textures affecting your ability to dwell there peaceably. But let's be honest. These are real ugly:

See how "shadowy" it makes the room seem? The ones in our house are not "popcorn." They actually have several names (crows feet, panda paws, slapbrush, etc), none of which sound particularly pleasant.

The first thing we did was look up YouTube tutorials and read a few how-to's. After trying several methods throughout our entire upstairs, Tom has come to a good system for smoothing these cavernous babies out.

You'll need:

bug sprayer
putty knives
sand paper and tools for sanding
masks and eye protection
drywall mud
primer
patience!

We started in a secondary bedroom and used it as a "test room." We would spray an area, let it sit, and then scrape. The problem was, this particular texture was so thick, we had to scrape two layers to get down to the sheet rock instead of just one. Spray, set, scrape... spray, set, scrape. It took a couple days and serious manual labor to remove everything, but we succeeded! And there was only a layer of dust on every surface of the house! It was really messy, guys. What we realized though, was we didn't actually need to get ALL the way to the sheetrock. Not only was it difficult and time consuming, but it didn't give us the best results. Part of the reason contractors texturize ceilings is to mask imperfections. Getting those perfectly smooth ceilings isn't easy, so they save themselves some time.

Now, having done this process room by room, this is the process we've landed on. It isn't as time-saving as some other methods we've tried, but it gives the best results with moderate effort.

So sorry for the image quality. We weren't planning on using these photos for posts!

Remove one layer:

Freshly mudded, sanded, and primed:

Painted:

After my family saw the before and afters, they realized what a huge difference it makes. We live in Georgia, which has very dense forests, so our house is extremely shaded. This leaves us with limited natural light, so removing those shadow-casting-ceilings was so refreshing! Our goal is to give off the illusion of a naturally lit home by smoothing out the ceilings, choosing cool/bright paint colors, and using fabrics that seem "airy."

Have you ever done a little ceiling reno before? Did you add, or remove texture? Never before have we put so much thought or research into ceilings (does that make us sound old? ...ehhhh.. we're over it.. we're obsessed with this ceiling and not ashamed to say it)

Joy Johnson 6/23/15 Joy Johnson 6/23/15

House Buying // Part 8 Finale

In my last update, we were waiting for everything to go through (appraisal, inspection, loan, etc...). After that, it was simply a waiting game until our close date. We had a couple small ticket items come back from the inspection that we asked the current owners to fix, which they did. So let me explain what happened in closing and the weeks prior:

PART 8: Closing time.

Since we had a flexible close date, we let the current owners decide on some dates. They gave us two options and we chose the one that gave everyone involved the most time to pack and get out. I think that was also their preference, so it was perfect. In those weeks before, there was very little going on. We would get an update on where our loan was in the approval process, or the time and place of our closing meeting. So when the afternoon finally arrived, we were soooo ready. Our apartment was all packed and cleaned, and I had a "weekend box" of an air mattress and cleaning supplies that I was going to bring to the house immediately afterwards. We would be in the house a couple of days before moving, so I wanted to spend that time deep cleaning.

In some states, Georgia included, the final closing meeting includes several people: The buyers, the sellers, each side's Realtor, the buyer's loan officer, and a closing attorney. Everyone all together at one table. I had asked my Realtor if these meetings were ever awkward. She told me they can be.. usually everyone is just kinda quiet, or if there had been disagreements between buyer/seller it could get uncomfortable. Thankfully, we already liked the sellers (based on what we knew of them, and the way they took care of their house). We hoped they'd be just as excited to meet us..... and guys?... they were. They were a younger couple, but older than us (they have young children). They were the age of my older siblings, so I felt comfortable with them. The four of us were the first ones to the law office - we greeted each other right away and everyone was all smiles! Remember that heartfelt letter I had written them while they were deciding on multiple offers? They reiterated SEVERAL times to us and the Realtors that that was the overarching reason they chose our offer. They said it was an answered prayer, and after reading our letter, there was no question our offer was "the one." What a sweet thing to hear!! Usually in these situations you expect that people would choose whatever benefits them the most financially... but these kind, caring, genuine people wanted something greater than that. They wanted someone to love their home the way they loved it. It was their first home, and the one they started their family in. It held so many memories for them, that they didn't want it to go to someone who had no heart to care about that fact. They wanted their beloved neighbors to have a new little couple to love and see them start a family there too. I know I'm beginning to ramble, but these two were seriously the sweetest people!!! Our closing meeting was SO positive! Not to mention, our Realtor was such a sweetheart and brought us a housewarming gift - a chime for the porch!

Throughout the couple hours we were all there, signing papers, etc... we kept talking and getting to know each other. Everyone was laughing and sharing memories and she was telling us about all the neighbors. We asked questions about the house, they told us about things nearby, as well as good trails behind the house. They were actually building their next home, but admitted they were almost more excited for us to have this one - so sweet! We weren't even paying attention to the papers we were signing! When everything was over, we all hugged. It felt like we had made honest-to-goodness friends who were simply passing the torch down to us (the wife and I almost cried as she handed me the house keys and garage openers across the table).

Seriously guys, the whole experience was so endearing. Saying goodbye was very bittersweet!

At one point during closing, I had asked where they got a certain piece of carpet that had been in the living room. They explained someone had given it to them, and I mentioned I would probably do something similar. When we all got off the elevator in the lobby, we said goodbye once more and Tom and I lingered to speak with our loan officer (who, by the way, we LOVE). We had some questions as to why our loan offered us so many grants, etc.. Then I made a comment about how wonderful the sellers had been and we all agreed. She told us that whole situation was so unusual and such a beautiful thing to see... she said we all seemed like old friends! Suddenly, the wife came running back in the doors. She asked Tom and I if we'd like to have the carpet that had been in the house. We didn't want to make her feel obligated, but she insisted.. she said they had gotten in the car and she and her husband decided they just wanted us to have it. At this point, I couldn't handle their kindness anymore and started crying. I hugged her again, and we said we'd figure it out over email. I shoo-ed her out the door because I was starting to cry and she said, "Me too...! Okay, bye!!" and ran out to the car. My jaw was just dropped and my eyes were welled-up when I looked at my loan officer... WHO WAS ALSO CRYING!

Tom had to go back to work, but we chatted for a minute in the parking lot about how blown away we were. We agreed that when the time came for us to sell this house, we would treat it the same: we would pray for another sweet couple looking for their first home, and take an offer not just based on financial implications.

I drove straight to the house after that, crying all the way there out of gratefulness and a full heart. Who says buying a house is stressful?? This was amazing! God answered their prayers, and ours... what an awesome God we have! Truly, this whole journey was part of His incredible plan for our life and we feel overwhelmingly blessed.

We have remained in touch with the previous owners and they have truly become new friends. How cool is that?? In fact, the first full day there, I spent the day cleaning while Tom was at work. All day I had been thinking "Gosh, I wish they hadn't moved and we somehow lived in this cul-de-sac too.." When Tom got home, he said out loud the exact same thing!

Anyways, when your closing date comes up, don't be nervous about it. Maybe you'll have an experience as incredible as ours. I really hope you do, actually. On that note, though, have any of my readers had a positive or negative experience with house closing? I love hearing your stories - tell me in the comments! I hope you enjoyed this long-winded finale to this series!

Now, I hope you're all ready for a load of before and afters and decorating posts! Looks like I'll be adding a new category to my menu, huh? Stay tuned for sneak peeks of the place :)

Joy Johnson 4/30/15 Joy Johnson 4/30/15

House Buying // Part 7

Part 7: Moving Right Along

In my last update, I told you that our offer was accepted (out of multiple offers) and we would start our due diligence immediately. Now we are at the end of our due diligence and the financial side is falling into place. The appraisal and inspection have both been done and now we're getting down to the nitty-gritty.

Here's what happened:

The day our due diligence started, I had to turn in our earnest money check to be held in an account by my Realtor.
Then, I had to schedule an inspection of the home ASAP. Two days later, I met the inspector at the house and we walked through the exterior and interior and he pointed out anything that wasn't up to code or would be in need of replacement. He showed me areas where improper drainage could cause future damage, where an extra rail should be placed for safety, and he even discovered that the doorbell doesn't work! This was about 3 hours long, and my realtor showed up for the last part so we could all go over the items we would ask the sellers to fix before they go. This was honestly a really good learning experience and I'm really glad I went along to see everything he assessed. Overall, there wasn't much to report and the house was truly in amazing shape! The next day we received the inspection report that broke down every minor issue.. complete with pictures. There was a wiggly toilet and a couple small electrical issues that we ended up asking them to fix, and we'll have to wait and see if they'll take care of those or decide to leave them on us.
Next we met with our loan officer to get our loan to an underwriter. Basically we just had to provide a bunch of legal documents (paystubs, tax forms, etc...) and sign a stack of papers. She wrote up our loan based on the price we offered, but it would depend on the appraisal outcome.
The final piece was the appraisal. This was very stressful because we were CERTAIN it would appraise for $10,000 less than what we offered, based on the prices of the neighborhood. This would be bad, because your loan is based on the appraisal and they won't loan you more than what the house is actually worth. In the case that it appraised too low, we would have to negotiate with the sellers to bring the price closer to the appraisal, but if they didn't bring it down low enough, we would have to bring more cash to the table... which we probably wouldn't have been able to. Then, we'd lose the house and the costs of inspections, etc.. that we had already put into it. So the wait for the appraisal was very nerve-wracking.
While I was gone this last week on vacation, our loan officer called to let me know the results of the appraisal........ and it came back at the list price! This means that our offer was right on the money and our loan is being written up for the exact right amount. This couldn't have been more perfect! Praise the Lord!

Now, our due diligence is over and we are really, actually buying this house. It seems like a dream! Our close date is in June and until then, we basically just sit back, wait on our loan to be processed, and decide on paint colors ;) Thank you all for your prayers and continued support! Tom asked me what I'll write about once this is all over, and then quickly injected "House Decorating Journey?!" So maybe I'll have to try my hand at DIY again, afterall (even though I swore it off because I'm terrible at it). But again, until the keys are in hand, this house isn't ours!

Those of you with homes, what did you do during this wait? Should I start packing?! I'm thinking it's time to purge some of our things or sell them online.

Joy Johnson 4/22/15 Joy Johnson 4/22/15

Why We Love IKEA

When I say "we" I do not mean Tom and I... I mean you. And everyone else. E'rebody in the club. Lemme tell you whyyyy we all love that big blue and yellow.

1. It's overwhelming.
As you walk in the door and grab your tiny wooden pencil and complementary map, you're sure this will be a calm, stress-free cruise through the aisles. You're going to keep your wits about you, this time. But suddenly, you hit the showroom floor and realize they have your own personal style down to a T... along with all the other kinds of styles you could imagine, and maybe those styles can work for you too!?!?! IT'S SO EXCITING! LET THE FRENZY BEGIN!!! Throw care to the WIND!

2. It's cheap.
"A frame for $5.99? I need 10. Candles for $2? I'll take 20, you know, for next year... and as gifts. Salad spinner for $3... yep. Drawer organizer. Pack of hand towels. Little vases. Fake potted plants. Ohhhh new mugs?! Outdoor chair cushions? Not sure if they'll fit my current outdoor chairs... but I don't want to make the trip back here. Better just grab 'em!"

3. Their food is kind of off-putting, but oh-so-good.
You look at those little dished up cakes or whatever and you aren't entirely sure if they're fake, plastic models, or if they're the real thing. The line is so efficient, though, so it's moving super fast and you get pressured to keep scooting along... so you just grab it, only half sure if it's food or not, but whatever. Then you sit down with those meatballs and you realize IKEA food is the highest quality product in the whole store.

4. They make you think about the future.
Don't have kids? Well, you're planning on having them in five years, and look how cheap those stuffed animals are?! Umm cute kiddie organizing shelves? Probs need that. IKEA has got my neeeeeeds. Also, maybe your next apartment needs a portable kitchen island... better safe than sorry!

5. If you're an IKEA veteran, you know where the secret shortcuts will take you.
Lucky you. You can B-line it to textiles and skip the kitchen showroom, because you my friend, are a star. Forget something that's across the store? No biggie, you know there's a secret passage behind that duvet cover.

6. You get to run a marathon in the warehouse.
Except it's probably harder than a marathon because you have to push a giant, wobbly, flatbed. Which, if they run out of flatbeds for any period of time, and people wait by that distributing area just in front of the warehouse, there is a slight potential that you could be stampeded trying to grab the first one available. People get their claws out for that part.

7. Waiting in line gives you time to regret anything you grabbed.
This is the last call to take things off your cart that you grabbed in a frenzy. It's in that quiet 10 minutes, when you realize there is no place in your house for the three artistic lamps you picked up along the way. Also, in this moment of purging you get a twinge of stress that causes you to grab a couple rolls of those round chocolates that having nerve-calming capabilities.

8. You get to work a race-track-pit in order to leave.
"Honey, you bring around the car, I'll hold this spot in the loading zone!" A real-life game of Tetris and you've got everything loaded. You finally race down the garage ramps to freedom.

9. More Tetris at home... basically IKEA is just a game.
The time has come to put everything together. Between the wooden toggles and super specific screws, you race to finish getting your kitchen chairs setup. Now, your home looks like a perfect IKEA showroom *back-pat*

10. IKEA makes it home.
Yep, I got all sappy. It's true. Even with the stress of actually shopping there, the cheap, stylish workings of IKEA help your home feel like home. Just add the people (and maybe a Swedish meatball dinner) and it's HOME. IKEA, we love/hate you. Thanks.

Also, here is a Vine I took of my sister in the frenzy stage of IKEA shopping. You'll hear the phrase "SO CHEAP!"

Joy Johnson 4/20/15 Joy Johnson 4/20/15

House Buying // Part 6

Part 6: Offer Accepted! Lay on the Stress!

In my last update, we were dealing with a denied offer, a day full of disappointing showings, and our begrudging return to the hunt. But people, I am a story-teller and I refuse to disappoint.

So here's what's happened:

We picked ourselves up from the day of terrible, disappointing showings and kept checking every single listing that popped on the market... within MINUTES of it coming on the market. I mean it when I say this is a part-time job. It has been detrimental to be one of the first showings on a good house.
A house came up on the market on Tuesday afternoon. Tom and I looked it over and got pretty obsessed. In fact the texting convo to the right was our reaction. So I emailed our Realtor twice in 3 minutes and told her we wanted to see it ASAP... and then I also texted her to make sure she REALLY knew the extent of our craziness.
She got us a showing the following day (Wednesday) and it was exactly as we'd hoped. Perfection. However, we knew others had SOMEHOW seen it before us. So we put in a really strong offer before the day was out, to which they had 24 hours to accept or deny.
Thursday, we waited and waited and WAITED. Somewhere after 24 hours had passed, we FINALLY got word that they had received multiple offers and they wanted everyone's highest and best by Friday at 5pm. We decided our first offer was truly the strongest we could do, so we left it the same, not knowing how many others we were against. People, we offered their list price, and we assumed others went over. This is actually really common in the market here and in other cities.
Thinking they would get the offers and choose the highest one, we expected to hear something before the end of the day or in the morning on Saturday. Nada. Fearing we would lose this beautiful house, I wrote the owners a heartfelt letter praising them for taking such immaculate care of their home and property. I complimented them and then explained that we were looking for our first home and yada yada yada. Guys, I went ULTRA cheesy and talked about our future children and how I really want to raise them in this home. I put my heart on my sleeve, but admitted that I understood it has to come down to their best financial choice. I had my Realtor pass on the letter and let it be.
Late that night, our Realtor called and asked if I was with Tom. She told me to put her on speakerphone because OUR OFFER WAS ACCEPTED! Another offer would have netted them more money, but we have a flexible closing date (and I wrote the world's sweetest letter), so we won! We are over the moon excited and grateful!!!

So now the clock starts ticking. Our due diligence starts tomorrow. This means we have to officially put down our earnest money, meet with our loan officer and see what they can officially work out for a loan, and get an appraisal and home inspection done (which, for the sake of transparency adds up to 1K or more that the buyer pays out of pocket... and if you end up deciding the property needs too much work, won't appraise near enough to your offer and the sellers won't negotiate down, you just lose that money and never see it again... just FYI). Once you find out its actual worth or any issues it has, you negotiate that the seller needs to fix this or that, or they need to bring down the price to come closer to appraisal. All this happens in only TWO weeks or less.

This is all very exciting and we definitely spent Saturday night talking about how we'd decorate it and where we can put our furniture... but anything could happen and we or they could choose to back out. If we end up needing to renegotiate and one side or another doesn't budge, that could cause this train to leave the station. Hopefully that doesn't happen, but we need to keep it in mind. The house isn't ours until the keys are in hand!

Thanks so much for reading along (this was super wordy, sorry) and please send us your prayers that all goes smooth and without a hitch!

Any advice for this point? Something we should remember to look for while walking through with an inspector? Something we shouldn't forget to do? Breathe perhaps??

Joy Johnson 4/13/15 Joy Johnson 4/13/15

House Buying // Part 5

Part 5: Are we going backwards?

In my last update, we started showings and were trying to decide what's worth making a fuss about and what is easy to "deal with" after buying a home. Well, after another weekend filled with showings, that question has yet to answer itself. Haha! As I say every time, a LOT has happened in the last couple weeks... this time more-so!

Here's what happened:

After our first weekend of showings and nothing too impressive, a house popped up on the market and we rushed to see it. Our showing was splendid and we loved the house (huge kitchen, screened-in porch, large fenced in yard, super well-maintained, and loads of character). That evening, we thought long and hard and talked about it for hours. The market here (and apparently everywhere, so it seems) is a fast one. There is no time to look at a house, decide you like it, and then compare it to another home a week later. A good house is listed, then gone by week-end. We put down an offer over Easter weekend... and so did someone else. They took the other offer and we were put back on the hunt. A good rule of thumb is to keep emotion out. Yes, you need to like it, but this is really just a major business transaction, so we're keeping that in mind. Makes the break less painful when your offer is denied... we were bummed, but there's always more. Also, take note that Tom and I are not looking for our "dream home," but instead something to start off with and grow out of.
Right away after that, we sent our Realtor nine listings and had her see which ones were still available (she had told us in the past that we should expect that out of a group of listings, half of them will probably be spoken for). We ended up with five lined up to see that weekend following our denied offer. We don't mess around, people. Haha. We were in the car for over two hours, driving from one house to the next. Overall, it was overwhelming and mostly disappointing. Here is how I described each home to our Realtor in an email afterwards:
1. Loved the updates, hated the distance and neighborhood.
2. Loved the backyard and neighborhood, didn't care for the space itself, the price, or distance.
3. Hated hahaha.
4. Loved the land, potential, and location, hated the underlying problems, poor maintenance and smells.
5. Loved the potential, price, and well maintained space, hated the neighborhood, crime rates, and mismatched taste.

So here we are, still on the hunt and time dwindling down. Of course, in our disappointment we started wondering if we should raise our budget or settle and get a townhome instead. We really do like the interiors of townhomes, but it would mean giving up on a yard and continuing to share walls with neighbors... so many downsides (in our opinion). Our Realtor replied to my email, though, and offered encouraging words and confidence that we'll be able to find what we want in time... I so appreciate her saying that! We'll keep our chins up and continue scanning listings online (the bane of our existence).

This experience has been a great opportunity to learn. One thing in particular, I have learned in the overload of homes we've seen, is the need for a checklist. I made a rough one this last Saturday, so after each showing, we'd talk about the good and bad of each home in the car before reaching the next one.

Joy Johnson 3/31/15 Joy Johnson 3/31/15

House Buying // Part 4

Part 4: The Fun Part... Kind of

In my last update, we were hoping to start showings with our Realtor soon. This past weekend, we did in fact manage to catch an awesome open house and the following day, walked through a couple homes with just our Realtor. As much as this makes the process feel "real" now, it brought with it a new string of stresses.

Here's what happened:

We went to an open house on Saturday (Side note: we got there an hour after it was supposed to be going on and no one was there. So we called the number on the sign, and this cute old lady, who was selling it as an owner, but is also a Realtor IRL, answered and started cracking up because she totally forgot about the open house. So she came right over in her little sweatpants and gave us a tour) and the house was clearly well cared for. She had all new flooring put in, fresh paint, new siding, new water heater, was re-sealing the garage, etc... It really was cute and had 3 bedrooms and 2 baths just like we wanted. However, after more consideration, we realized there was no room for growth in it. There was no basement, no "bonus" room, and no extra storage. The kitchen was tiny. We had never thought about this before, but what about in a couple years when we maybe have a baby and there's no special space for them to play? We couldn't add a fourth room anywhere for guests in a basement or something. We felt that after 3 years, we'd be itching for more space.
On Sunday, we met our Realtor at a house we requested to see. Guys? It was horrendous. The flooring was put in incorrectly and in terrible shape, the rooms had bizarre sloping, the exterior and roof were in need of repair, and the electrical was exposed and looked like a total mess. Their asking price was higher than homes we had seen that were in far better condition. Basically, the main floor of the house was just the upstairs of a garage/basement... as if the actual living area of the house was an afterthought. Soooo it was an immediate "no."
The next house was adorable. It was on a half acre lot, had been recently painted on the exterior, and had a finished basement and tons of storage. The flooring was newer, the kitchen was open to the eat-in area and living room, and the bedrooms were generous sizes. But... the master bathroom was teeeennnyyy-tiny, there was no hood vent above the stove, the cabinets were in disarray, and the neighborhood wasn't exactly the right demographic for us. The house itself was in decent shape and their asking price seemed fair, but it did need a little work to fix a couple chop-jobs Tom found in the basement.

So here is what we can't figure out: What is worth buying and fixing up or replacing, and what isn't? How important is room for growth? When are you being "too picky" when buying a house? Here's an overview of the pros and cons of the first and last homes I mentioned:

Small Open House
Pros:

Move-in ready
Pristine condition
Great neighborhood and location

Cons:

No room for growth (it's only bigger than our current apartment by one bedroom)
Tiny kitchen with no options for better utilizing the space
The flooring in the kitchen and living/dining rooms, though new, was not good quality and not our taste, so we would change it.
The backyard was a steep upward slope. Curious to know if rain would cause an issue as it would run directly down towards the house.

Adorable Family Home
Pros:

Good flooring
Room to grow (in basement)
Slightly open concept
Large lot

Cons:

No hood vent or easy way to add one
Small fixer-upper projects
Iffy neighborhood
Poor cabinetry
Tiny master bathroom (like, we couldn't both stand in it at the same time)

So again, what is worth buying and then fixing up and what isn't? Is a bathroom remodel less of a headache than redoing the flooring throughout... or changing every light fixture? Is room to grow more important than a small home that's been better cared for? I feel like having a hood vent is important in a smaller kitchen, is that silly to think? It just seems crazy that so many pieces have to fit together in order to "make-it-work!" What if the house is perfect, but you hate the neighborhood? Should you just deal with it? It's so hard because we find a house we think we could make work, but if we wait to compare it to a home we see a week later, it'll probably be off the market! This is tough, guys! Any words of advice or encouragement?!