Finding home starts with a search and search I have been doing! The good news is that, out of the blue, I was told that I have been fortunate enough to qualify for a home loan. The not-as-good news is that it is not a large mortgage loan. It is under $200K and will not allow the purchase of a manufactured home. Most of the limited housing inventory in this price range are manufactured homes. I am not going to even comment on the price of housing on the West Coast of the U.S. these days.

So, a challenge! I actually limited the amount of the mortgage myself. I could qualify for a teeny bit more, still under 200K, but I really would like to limit my debt load. However, I hadn’t planned that the loan would be restricted to a stick built house. I thought I would give it a try and see what is out there.

Thank goodness for Zillow! I originally opened up my search for a new home to both western Oregon and Washington. I have spent hours over the past few weeks combing through listings, looking at photos and virtual tours and factoring in the reality that they are never as good as they look. After having a good look around at what is out there, I decided to focus on Washington State. That decision is mainly based on personal reasons and circumstances.

So, what is out there in my price range? Mainly fixers. Actually, all of them are fixers in varying conditions. I enjoy the challenge of renovating a house as I grew up with parents who did this and I learned a lot from them. I have basic construction, plumbing, and electrical skills, and I have enough experience to know when I need to hire a professional. I will be in for a major project from the look of things.

It also seems that these fixers that are in my price range are of a certain age as well. The house above was built in the 1930’s. The square footage would qualify as a tiny home these days. It had a lot of potential and was sitting on a lovely acre plus of land. I did make an offer, at the full asking price, and…got no response from the sellers! I am not going to tell the whole story at this point but they have since taken the house off the market and I moved on.

To say all of this is a distraction is an understatement! I will be very happy when I am settled again. In the meantime, as the search, finding, buying, process unfolds, I need to get back to work. I have realized that I will most likely be moving to a rather small house. I have some artwork I need to start moving out. With that in mind, I will be selling some drawings and paintings in the near future. I will be putting a link to my art website up soon and will announce when work goes up for sell. The proceeds will help fund my move and, as always, a portion of the proceeds will go toward wildlife rescue and habitat conservation.

I have paintings to finish. The one currently on my easel is nearly done. It has been a bit more of a struggle due to distractions, not only in my personal life, but, needless to say, the entire world.

I will continue to post on my search and future home purchase. This adventure is just beginning!

-Renee of Red Twill Cottage