Our buyers countered our counteroffer, and we have verbally accepted. Finally this long journey seems to have an end in sight! I’m trying not to think about how much less we’re getting for the house than we’d hoped. The important thing is that we have a deal hammered out with a closing date of Nov 1. To anyone considering a home purchase, hear this advice: never get a 30-year mortgage unless you plan to stay in the house for several years! Our sales price will be almost exactly what we paid for the house. When you subtract the realtor’s commission and other closing costs, we’re losing a lot of money. So we’re considering our first homeownership experience a rookie mistake. Learn from us!

I must also give a shout-out to Craigslist, which helped us find a buyer for my old bedroom set within 2 HOURS of posting! We’re also selling a sleeper sofa and breakfast table with chairs. We don’t want to move them and won’t have room for them in a two-bedroom apartment if we get picked for Apartment Life. Craigslist is pretty low-tech, simple to use, effective, and FREE! It’s kinda like EBay except it’s not an auction, and it’s mainly for goods sold in a particular area so you can pick them up directly from the seller. Great deals abound on good stuff, so check it out! It was a little weird to watch my bedroom furniture ride away in someone else’s truck, but it’s going to a good home.

And finally, I found a great new blog by a local leader named Larry James. Check out this story and the rest of his site, which offers a Christian perspective on the human side of poverty.