A house!

Nope, we're not getting the ex-meth house. To make a long story short, the realtor (from Michaelson, Connor & Boul, or MCB) who told me that we would be the first to get the property after the cleaning process had no authority to do so. Further, the Teacher Next Door program was since replaced by the similar but more stringent Good Neighbor Next Door program, a new appraisal of the property had to be done because MCB took way too long for remediation, and for some reason, the condo was under contract with someone else for about a month, yet no one seems to know anything about it. In short, we're no longer eligible and therefore cannot buy the place. We had been so patient in waiting for it because we would have made a lot of money - we would've gotten it for $37,500, and after 3 years, we could sell it at market value (according to Zillow, it's currently worth $120,000). How about that for instant equity!

But don't worry, just as the MCB realtor feared, we didn't go down without a fight. We appealed, we complained, and we spoke our minds. In the end, we're okay with the outcome, because who knows what new doors will open for us...

One blessing that we've already gotten is that we've found a nice little house in West Jordan, UT. A rambler with only 1100 sq. ft., it's a good size for our needs and sits on a spacious .23 acre lot on a quiet cul-de-sac.

Hardwood floors throughout (except for the kitchen & eating area where there's ceramic tile), a huge picture window in the living room, a kitchen that was remodeled last year, new furnace & water heater, 3 bedrooms (one with pink carpet for our upcoming baby), a 2-car caport, a 2-car 25'x25' garage with a workshop on one side, and a super long driveway to park our RV. (if we had one) The yard is absolutely beautiful with flowers planted all over (100 flower bulbs in the front yard alone), 2 huge willow trees that give plenty of shade, 3 apple trees in the back, and an immaculate lawn. It's perfect!

Sure, we won't make nearly as much money as we would have with that condo, but now we have our own house with a yard, and no fear of the remote possibility of the ill-effects of meth...