Why won't I just shut up about house hunting already? Oh, wait. Because I am me.

I realize that when I get excited about something, I become obsessed. It is all consuming and I can't do anything but think about this one thing every minute of every day. I do realize this. 

There are exceptions to infatuation, which is things I love. My job, my pets, the boy, my friends, etc. 

But, a lot of time things are just infatuation with me. I am over the top excited, then I am over it.

House hunting is both...it is becoming infatuated with finding something I will love. It's like a 24 hour Realtor website in my brain. All the time. I catch myself in the bathroom at work checking to see which house it was that had a claw foot tub without the shower attachment. And which house had a partial block basement instead of a full block. And which house had that adorable little shed and which house had the garage and poof. My brain exploded. 

There are three neighborhoods we are interested in. 

The super nice one with all the classy bars and nice restaurants and cobble stone streets.

The really nice one that doesn't really have bars or restaurants, but is just east of the super nice one and has cobble stone streets.

The nice one that is south of the super nice and the really nice one and does not have cobble stone streets.

All of them have advantages and disadvantages. But, they all have the same character we are looking for...built in the late 1800's to early 1900's, hardwood floors, hardwood molding (typically handcrafted), and of course downtown. In all three of these neighborhoods, we can both reasonably walk to work. Which means we can get rid of a car. Which is huge.

The problem is, we can really only afford the nice neighborhood. And even then, typically only on the side of that neighborhood that is kind of questionable. 

However, everyone has said to just drive around and look for "For Sale By Owner" signs. Usually those houses go for less and are the steals in all three neighborhoods. So, last Sunday the boy and I drove around, oohing and awing at all the houses for sale then coming home and realizing we couldn't afford any of them. No "For Sale By Owner" signs. 

So, today I decided to do the same and just peruse the neighborhood. And I found one! Our very first one. The house across the street is also for sale, about $100K over our price range. But, this house has clearly not been remodeled for a while, so hopefully it is going for much less and needs some work. I am very excited. Also, ALSO...COBBLESTONE STREETS. 

I know three people who live within a few blocks of each other in this neighborhood. I totally saw one of them while I was stalking. I waved and kept driving because I panicked. I looked way creepy. Then my phone rang and he totally called me out on it. Oh, I am so very awkward.