So, we dodged a VERY big real estate bullet. It was so big and we almost did not even see it, till it almost hit us both in the head. Yes, it was that big. And I am afraid, a bit embarrassing. I am almost ashamed to tell this little story. I think it is a true testament to staying true to oneself at the bottom line, though we almost did not do that. The bullet was whizzing by pretty damn fast.
Jeff and I decided it would be prudent for me to get a rental/real estate broker to just take a look at what was around here. The rental broker said there was nothing available for dog owners. That was inconsistent with the Craigslist information, but I decided to see what the real estate agent had for me. She showed me a few houses, including a nice little short sale for 78,000. Yes, that would be 78,000. I really liked this house and the next day, I actually had Jeff see the house and he liked it; the agent hinted that her house had a view of the intersecting canals and was for sale. We went to her house.
She showed us her house with nice terrazzo tile; however, I think I started making some mental compromises about the closet space and the decor (wall paper and other tile issues I wanted addressed and fixed upon move-in). I saw past these issues and tried to see the place for what it was, a very open home with a great little floor plan and a view of canals. I swear, though, when she mentioned the alligators, my eye balls dilated a few millimeters. Ask Jeff. I even learned to see past the alligators. Then the agent had to open her mouth and share with Jeff and me the real reason she thinks her house has not sold. So let me tell you and please don't judge me, we should have walked out right then. Really, Jeff and I should have said "thanks for your time, but I think we will keep looking". We did not. We listened to the agent explain that "the people across from us are from Haiti. They are quiet enough and one actually is a nurse. But I think their little black faces are really hurting the neighborhood and my chances to sell...you know they are nice and all but those black faces scare people". OhMyGod. See.I told you. We should have not just walked out, we should have RAN out. The fact we hung out for more in order for a shot at this house made us feel dirty at the end. So not only did the "little black faces" disgrace her neighborhood, she went on to say she had a "suspicious contract from homosexuals" who may have wanted to sign a contract site unseen. She refused to sign it because she wanted to see who was going to live here, because, after all, she was going to be living up the street in her new house (another red flag we ignored immediately, but not ultimately). She actually could have had this house sold if that was all that mattered. It was NOT all that mattered. She wanted to see WHO was living in her house. And what do you know, she said "the homosexuals" refused to come to the table to sign the documents (do you think they were concerned about being judged?hmmm...). This was another opportunity to run very fast and very far away. But we didn't, because we thought we liked the place. We thought it was too good of a deal to pass up. So we left and had a deal. I went home and vomited. I felt sick and I didn't know why.
The next day when the comment about the "little black faces" and "homosexuals" and their "bad" contract came up. By then Jeff and I had lunch and he made me painfully aware of all the things that I would have to be satisfied with and made me commit to being okay with upon move in. It occurred to me that I was not okay with these compromises (carpet, wallpaper, kitchen decor). We had a financial deal that we were going to present to the agent/owner. When we got to the house and she started to mention these 'little black faces", I started to get the nauseated feeling. I think that is the dirty feeling that I got over all when we walked away from this. Jeff cringed, I think. I am not sure,but I know he was feeling a bit spiritually under the weather for taking a deal from a racist bigot. Fortunately and some how, she did not want to accept our financial proposal. We said we would call the next day with our ability to accept the proposal she presented. We left.
That night, we realized we were not taking that house. Honestly, we felt like shit. We felt dirty for almost accepting a deal from someone so racist. Although both of us found it slightly humorous that I would probably befriend the Haitian nurse and compare nursing stories with her. We knew we could not buy this house full of disrepair and bad karma. We knew she would be right up the street. I could not bear to show her the changes I made in the house. We gave each other a big hug and I promised Jeff if he did the morning dog walk, I would call this woman. The next morning when I called the woman, she informed me "oh after you left, I felt so sick and had an immediate headache and stomach ache about the whole thing". "You got sick?", I asked!! No, I didn't really ask (and some of you are wondering,I know...because you know me). She "totally understood" that we couldn't make the financial commitment.
We dodged that real estate bullet. Big Time!
So then, we said, for sure, we will stick with going through Craigslist rentals and not making such a big commitment.
Until the next day. Literally.
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