We’ve been shopping for a house for the past few months. It’s a frustrating endeavor to say the least. The original thought was to purchase a home that was already built, however, since property values have been rising steadily for well over a year now, it’s actually a better bargain to have a new house built than to purchase an older home someone is selling.

Unfortunately, it would seem that everyone else has come to the same conclusion as my oh-so-brilliant hubby (aka Mr. Real Estate Appraiser, thank you… I’ve got better names for him, none that are polite enough to list here though). So, there are lists and the competition is fierce, among the buyers that is. This means that instead of the usual polite, customer service you might get at any other time, the lovely agents who keep their tushes planted behind computers in plush, air conditioned offices, in the middle of beautiful model homes, really don’t have to do much other than wave to you as you wander through.

I was at a model home the other day, in fact, I was the ONLY person at the model home, and getting information out of the rep who was there was like pulling teeth on a patient with severe dental phobia. Look, I don’t expect to have my butt kissed, although it’s not that I don’t enjoy it from time to time. I do expect for someone to greet me, ask me if I have any questions, and when it is obvious that I’ve never had a new house built, I expect them to explain the process.

It’s not that I’m not giving anything in return, I do fill out their “prequalifying” application. This application gives them access to all of my personal, financial information. So, I’m certainly someone who is very serious (as a heart attack) about purchasing a new home. I think that answering my questions and “demystifying” the whole process is the least one of these sales reps could do…

Once I had wrangled all the information I possibly could from this rep, she tells me that they are on a lottery system. Truth is, I was absolutely IN LOVE with the floor plan (although, I was playing it cool) and when she said “lottery” my heart sunk. This means that you show up with checkbook in hand, on a Saturday around 9am, and you get a number, if your number is called you get to pick a lot and a floor plan. Hundreds of people could show up and with each number given out - your chances of getting called are getting smaller and smaller, especially since they are only drawing maybe 20 numbers per release. And, they only do a “release” once a month.

I’m fairly frustrated today because I called on a new “community” that is in development right in the part of town we want to move to. I was told that this would be an ideal time for me to get on the list because they are expecting a tidal wave this weekend when the models have their “grand opening.” Laa-tee-dah… I was told to bring all sorts of copies of financial information down to their office (again, another plush little office in a model home in a community that was now sold out). I spent an hour gathering all of the things they wanted, scanning them into my computer, printing them out, obtaining statements online and printing them out, bundling it together neatly and efficiently. I grabbed Maggie and Ethan (Kate is still vacationing at Nana’s) and we run out the door.

We arrived around 3pm, their office didn’t close until 6pm. I asked for the gentleman I had spoken to (who had been so warm and helpful on the phone) only to have him brush me off telling me that he was leaving right then to go out of town on vacation. Oh so professional. And, just how was this supposed to make me feel after he had told me there were only 70 people on the list ahead of us and to secure a position I needed to run right over… with all of my financial crap?!?!?!?!

He brushed me off onto some little size 2, pony-tailed twit, trying to do her best Courtney Cox-Arquette impression, running around the office barefoot. I filled out the application, handed them copies of my most personal, financial info - and then I had to actually ask for a brochure to see the floor plans (because, again, the models weren’t open yet) of the new houses I was trying to get on a @#%$$!!%@# friggin’ list for.

After going through all of this, I get into the car and start going over the floor plans - only to find that the plan we would want (that is within our price range) does NOT have a 4th bedroom option. We need 4 bedrooms. I don’t mean to sound like I am whining here, but I’m in a three bedroom now with two girls stacked up on each other and it is not pleasant. Four bedrooms are very, very common and one would expect to find a 4th bedroom in a 2400 sq. ft. house.

Ridiculous. I feel like I have just wasted an entire day…

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