The Hunt

So we were on the hunt.  Honey Pie fell in love with a white colonial.  It was a repo, and in our price range.  I wasn't sold on it but since it is one of the FEW things he has EVER said he wanted, I was willing.  We put in the bid.  Our home did not sell.  Sigh.  He was disappointed.

Honey Pies mom had told me the story many times of a home they purchased when Honey Pie was an infant.  They had put a way below list price offer on a custom home.  The owners told them that they had 3 offers for several thousand dollars MORE, but they wanted them, the young Coltharp family, to live in their home.  It was a home they never could have afforded, but by a miracle it was handed to them.  I loved that story.  I still do.

One Sunday we visited yet another new on the market repo. It was a mess.  But, cue the music, across the street was the castle of my dreams.  Mind you, it was waaaaayyyyy beyond our price range.  Double our price range.  It made me drool just looking at it.  I pointed it out to Honey Pie who promptly said "Houses like that do not even make it onto the market, the seller will KNOW someone who wants it."  Remember this was at the high point of the selling market.

But I just could not get that house off my mind.  I started driving past it on my way to church.  The more I saw it, the more it called to me.  One day, on a whim, I stopped and knocked on the door.  I proceeded to tell the person at the door how much I looooovvvvved their house, and did by chance she know the genius who had designed it, as I would very much be interested in seeing their other work, in case they made this fine castle in a miniature cottage form.  Why yes indeed, she DID know who had designed it, her father.  She took my phone number and promised to give it to him.  A day or two later he called.  I prattled on about how his house was the most beautiful house in Aurora, and believe me, I'd seen them all, and did he happen to have designed any others around here?  He was gracious and told me about his design firm.  We parted on friendly terms.  I had it in mind to look him up when I sold a book (my version of the 'when my ship comes in' daydream) and have him build me one!

The house kept calling to me, and so I began to drive around it every time we went to church.  That is approximately 5 or 6 times a week.  The kiddos and I would drive by, slow down and pray for the family who lived there.  Several times I knocked on the door and asked if they had any prayer requests.  I called every 6 months or so to check on prayer requests.  Sure enough, prayers were answered!  I would invite them to special services, and we have plenty of those!  One day I got a call, it was the home owner.  He was going to build a new home in a neighboring community, and would I like to come see the inside of his house.  Would I?  Wahoo!  This would give me decorating ideas for my someday house, which we had not found yet.

I dragged Honey Pie and his mom & dad along for The Visit.  I assured them that we were meant to meet these folks, and that I had been inviting them for over a YEAR to our church.  They just HAD to come meet them and see this house.  To humor me, they went along.

We got the grand tour.  It was beautiful.  A thousand times more house than we had ever looked at before.  We sat in their living room and talked, and they told us they knew I loved the house (!!) and would like to offer us first chance at it before they put it up for sale.  They were planning to start building their new home and would be living in this one for a year longer.  They had the appraisal papers and house plans and specs for us to take home.  As we walked down the sidewalk, all three of my sweet ones pounced on me, lovingly, and said "Now Rachel, you know that people like us cannot afford homes like this, please do not get your heart set on this house".  I assured them that I did not have my heart SET on it, that I did love it, and was overwhelmed by the interior space, but that my vision was for the people, not the home.

Honey Pie and I had a long talk, he was reluctant to even place an offer.  He knew that our limit was way below the value of the home.  He worried that it might offend them.  I countered that our best offer was that, our best.  What did we have to lose?  He begrudgingly typed it up, assuring them we meant no disrespect to the value of the home, and the personal investment the designer had in it.  He explained our financial situation, the choice to be a one income family, the home we needed to sell etc.  He added in the dollar amount, wincing.  It was hard on his pride, but he did it for me.

He was too embarrassed to even deliver the offer to the man in person.  So he left it inside the storm door.  Four eternally long days later he called me, choked up.  Honey Pie was crying.  He said the home owner had called and told him "I know I could sell my house for a profit, but I want you to have it."  It was almost word for word the same thing spoken to his father 36 years earlier!  The house was ours!