And the stress continues

Well, have we mentioned that New Jersey stinks????? Of course that isn't referring to the entire state, but there are a few weird quirks about it that have come to haunt us. Remember I mentioned in our last blog that we were keeping our fingers crossed that the offer for the house went through without any hitches. I'm sure you've figured out that we didn't cross hard enough, and we're fit to be tied.

Apparently in the state of NJ, only lawyers can write contracts. That means that even though we put in a bid for the house and it was accepted by the owners (one being a licensed real estate owner) with the add in that they would only accept back up offers and all parties signed, the contract is not binding. The piece of paper means nothing until both parties present the information to their lawyers, and the lawyers draw up the contract. In the time between when the price is agreed upon and the contract is drawn up, the owners can accept as many offers as they want, in effect backing out of their word-and handshake in our case-and screwing you over. That's the most delicate way I can put it. We found the house, we mentally moved in, and now the not so nice people have accepted another offer meaning we have to make the decision on whether or not to offer more. We have made the decision to go ahead and offer full price, but only b/c due to this we've missed the opportunity to bid on our 2nd choice house, and we haven't seen anything close to the size vs. price. At this moment, we're sitting on our hands waiting to hear if they've accepted our second offer and then to see if the other buyers counter. It's the most frustrating thing ever, and it doesn't help that I'm still in AL and B's up there still looking at houses in the event that this all falls through. By the time we find a house, he may be transferred again!

So, that's the unfortunate update from here. If you have a voodoo doll out there, stick a pin in it for us!