We still haven't heard anything from the damn flaky lender. One of the suggestions I got on my post the other day was to check out USAA, which is open to those in the military or that have been in the past. We checked into it and it was a terrific suggestion because they have great rates on home and auto insurance, great bank accounts and even mortgages. Because they are a government bank, they actually have money to lend, unlike the rest of the banks. Unfortunately they don't do construction loans.

We did have an idea, though. We started looking to buy another house with more land than we currently live on, just so we can get out of here. Mainly because our neighbors are driving us up the fucking wall, but also because we need more room to do the fun and creative things we want to do. I really want to get set up and learn to make glass lampwork beads but have nowhere to do so, and Andy wants to get into more woodworking, but is limited to the cramped space between piles of stuff and my Jeep in the garage.

I think tomorrow we are going to drive around and take a look. We would still keep this house and rent it out, and we would keep the land and keep trying to build, but it might have to wait a bit. We have decided to go ahead and see about suing the county, since they screwed us over so badly that we can't build our house, but in the meantime we don't want to put our lives on hold and we don't want to have to put up with the ridiculously rude behavior of our neighbors, so the thing to do is to start looking around.

In perusing the listings, my favorite so far is actually located diagonally from our other land where we are trying to build. It is about two and a quarter acres and has a stocked pond in the back, a barn with stalls for six horses, and RV parking with electric. I love that area and it already feels homey to me, so I really like that one. The house is in pretty good condition with a new kitchen and baths, so it wouldn't need much work. The first two photos are of the barn property. The other photos are of another prospect.

The only other one we have found to be a possibility is one on about five and a half acres that is located on a producing citrus grove, and it has a fruit packing plant and warehouse with an office on the property in the back. It is a fixer upper and a short sale, so it could be a little more complicated, but the possibilities are endless.

The house looks like it probably needs a good bit of work, but it is HUGE- six bedrooms and four baths and over 2800 square feet and then there is nearly 4200 square feet of warehouse/office in the buildings in the back. There is even a little parking lot back there. But seriously, from the photos it looks like it would take some work. The house does have nice "bones," though. It just needs updating.

I can only imagine what we could do with all of that space. We would have to deal with the citrus groves of, course, so I am sure that would take up some of it, but it could be a neat property. Imagine the parties we could have with all of that parking and room! Of course we aren't big partiers, but that is beside the point. The grove property is listed for a higher price than the barn property, but is also a short sale, so who knows what amount the lender will accept. The barn property was just reduced by $85,000 in the last three months, so they probably won't want to come down much, but it has also been up for sale for nearly two years, so maybe they are getting desperate or tired of trying to sell it and would take less. It is a buyer's market now, and people are practically giving their houses away, so it is anyone's guess.

I feel slightly encouraged by the idea of getting out of the house we are in because it would mean getting away from the constant noise fest next door. Sadly, we could be content here for quite a while if it wasn't for them. We could use a bit more room, but we have some attic space that could be finished out to be a craft room for me, and there is a lot we could get rid of to make more room. I have been hanging on to a lot of things for the new place that I wouldn't need if we were to stay, so that would free up some space.

The biggest limitation of our current house pertains to the lack of workspace for Andy. He could do so much if he had a decent woodshop to work in. A corner of our garage just doesn't cut it. But we could make do if the neighbors weren't so obnoxious. It is pretty bad when your neighbors are so awful that they force you to move. Sadly, I feel like we should disclose their behavior to potential renters or buyers of the house later on, like it is a defect that we legally obligated to tell buyers about, but I don't think that qualifies.

We'll see what happens when we go take a look tomorrow-