Adventures of a Non-Binary Author – Not the week we were expecting

We contacting our mortgage advisor on our way home Friday. He thinks our offer seems about right for what the property is worth. And this is where the fun of miscommunication happens. He thinks we’ve put the offer in. We think he’ll put it in on our behalf. So we spend Saturday waiting for news that can’t possible come.

We’re sure of the mistake by Monday. And that’s when the offer goes in. It’s in by lunchtime, which means it’s not impossible to hear something by the end of the day. It would be a nice little bit of good news on my birthday. Something positive to counterbalance the concern over Zelly. We make it through the day with no updates.

We’ve not told either of our families yet, that we’re putting an offer in. Since January, we’ve not had the best luck with properties. Buying or renting. The temporary accommodation we’re in might be working well for us. However, we’d be lying if we said it was our first choice. Although that’s mostly down to location. The rooms are plenty big enough for our temporary needs. The place is clean and well maintained. The landlord is genuinely a nice guy. If we were a mile closer to the city center we’d have no complaints. And, even with that one complaint, we still couldn’t have asked for a better situation right now.

But that doesn’t mean there’s no reason to be cautious. Our offer could easily be rejecting. The other interested party might have sold over the weekend. Which would put them in a better position to make a counter offer. We know our top limit for this place. Especially when there’s a similar property on the market a few streets away. We are hopeful, but that doesn’t mean we should place all our eggs in one basket. Telling our families might feel a little that way.

Tuesday, we’ve still heard nothing. My partner chases for some news. Still nothing. It’s Wednesday before we get an update. Our offer is too low, compared to the one they’ve had. So we put in a secondary offer. Going to the max we’re willing to for this property. We’re chain free, so that could still put us in a better position, even if our offer remains lower. Plus there’s always that similar property we’ve got booked in for the weekend. Not to mention all the others which keep popping up in my inbox. So we have other options. It would be a shame, since this place feels like a home. But nothing is ever a guarantee, and everything happens for a reason.

I’ve been playing around with a room designing app. I know roughly how we’d get our current furniture into the available spaces. If we don’t get this place, I can use it for whatever home we end up with. Admittedly, I’ve also been playing around with the options for how we could design the space after that. We know we want to update our furniture. And it’s fun playing around with it. Or at the very least, it’s a good way to kill time on my week off.

Thursday rolls in like a localised storm. The sellers claim the other offer is still higher. But since there’s a chain with them, they might consider ours if we increase it a little further. Our mortgage advisor has already told us he doesn’t think it’s worth the asking price. Plus the property we’re viewing at the weekend is practically identical, and on the market for less. A lot less. That definitely makes me reluctant to say yes.

We send a message to the estate agent, letting them know we’re sticking at our current offer for now. We then speak to our mortgage advisor again, who confirms our own feelings on it. It’s not worth as much as they want. So, unless they suddenly decide to go for our current offer, we’ve probably lost out there. But that’s okay. We have other options. We just need to keep moving forward.

What’s a little less okay, is how quiet Zelly is being. She was a little off first thing. And I only see her a couple of times after that. She’s looking really tired again. Obviously she doesn’t come out to play. And with her still sleeping under the sawdust, it’s hard to know what to do. This week feels like a bit of a roller coaster. Hopefully the weekend will bring more positivity back.

To be continued…