Attorney review

We've bought a house. Well, we're close anyway. Our second counteroffer was accepted, and we've signed the contract.... now we're just waiting for the sellers to sign and then begins the period of attorney review. My mom is scared that in New Jersey, it's entirely possible for another buyer to swoop in with a better offer and "steal" your house during the attorney review period. I'm not worried, though, because the market here just isn't that hot. The house has been on the market for over 2 months and ours was only the second offer. The first offer was contingent on the buyers selling their current home, and our offer had no contingencies so we won.

The new house is in a new congregation, but I won't be spreading the news to my current congregation until it's "official." Anyway it's only about a half-hour away, so we can visit whenever.

It's starting to sink in that a home is a big responsibility. We have no idea what's involved in maintaining a home, so I've been reading consumer-advice websites to figure out which maintenance tasks need to be done at which intervals. There's more to do than I ever dreamed. When I was a kid, my parents never let on that it was so much work to take care of a house!

Speaking of my parents, the new house has a relatively big in-law suite with its own bedroom, living areas, kitchen, and bathroom. So they'll be moving in as soon as we are ready for them. There's no big rush for either of us, though, so it's a little strange to be rushing right now. But we have to rush because our contract allows 3 days for getting this done, 10 days for getting that done... we have to hurry up and get all that stuff done. So I expect to be pretty busy for the next coupla weeks!