Last weekend Whateley and I talked to our bank to be considered for a home loan. We got approved for a modest amount, and in Southern California, that wouldn't buy us squat. Actually, no, it would let us purchase a manufactured home. What are also called mobile homes. Yeah... not much choice there.

But surprisingly (or not-so-surprisingly), we could get a decent house here in Texas. I'm talking 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom in actual Austin proper (though a bit in the outskirts). We can definitely afford a nice house in Round Rock, which is a suburb just north, where Dell used to be. But it's not like an Los Angeles suburb where it takes 45 minutes to get to the city without traffic. It's only about 25 miles away. That's closer than the commute we used to have for work in SoCal.

So now, I guess we can shop around for mortgages to see if we can get a better deal elsewhere. But there must be stiff competition for mortgages nowadays since we got a really good program from Wells Fargo for first-time home buyers. Well, it helps that we've got pretty good credit. I am so thankful that Whateley and I are not huge spenders (perhaps me more than him... I've been known to keep a Vulcan grip on my wallet). We know too many people got huge credit card debt, especially in college. Whateley had a co-worker once who got a $10k limit credit card and maxed it out in 2 months. Yipes.

Anyway, we also need to contact a real estate agent. At least, I'm sure we have to, right? I don't know what I'm doing, and I don't think Whateley and I can buy a house without professional help. But the problem with that is, there are a bazillion real estate agents. Heck, my sister is one herself. Too bad she doesn't live in Austin. =) But how the heck do you find a good real estate agent? So far no one's come knocking on our door with free notepads, and we hardly ever step inside a bank, so there's no raffle to enter. (I actually won a gift basket that way once. I think the real estate agent was disappointed that the person who won wasn't looking to buy a house then and certainly didn't have a house to sell.)


On a different note, Halloween is coming! We actually have the day off. What will we be doing? Umm... probably playing WoW, giving out candy if any trick-or-treaters actually come, and maybe letting Whateley force me to watch a horror movie. What will you, my devoted readership, be doing?