The One?

We've been tied up in a housing deal now that has been going on for about 5 years. Yes. 5 years. It's been agonizing, and I've blogged about it several times before, because aside from my job, it's the single greatest cause of stress in my life. Well. That and infertility. But it's all tied up together because our housing situation is entirely controlling our cash flow and hence our ability to pay for expensive and emotionally draining fertility treatments. Basically my ovaries have been put on hold for 5 years because we either didn't know where we'd be living in the near future, or because our budget has been stressed to the max by carrying two mortgage payments.
I have been actively house hunting since November, and have to date looked at hundreds of listings and actually walked through over a dozen houses. I have fallen in love with multiple properties, only to have them snatched out from under our nose by greedy investors looking to flip them, or lost out on great deals because we couldn't sell our old place for enough money fast enough and ran out of time. It's exhausting never knowing when you'll be moving or where. Physically and emotionally exhausting.
We sold the investment house this month, and have been frantically scouring the housing market ever since. We narrowly missed out on the greatest deal of all time- a GORGEOUS 4300 sq. foot colonial on the most expensive street in Provo that we could have actually afforded. I was heart broken until I realized that even if we bought that gorgeous mansion I'd still have to work full time forever more. Then I thought about how much I hate working and how much I want to spend my time at home with babies. That's when I found what I think may be "The One." It's about 800 sq feet bigger than my current place, but is a ranch style home so it actually feels smaller and cozier. It only has 3 beds and 2 baths and 2 living rooms, compared to my current 4 beds, 3 baths, 3 living rooms- but that means that we simply cannot allow family members to live in our house long term because we don't have the space. Boo hoo, right?
It has a HUGE kitchen, an ENORMOUS walk-in pantry located right off the 2 car garage, and plenty of closet space. It's 20 years old, but doesn't look it on the outside. It needs some updating inside, but it's worth it because she also comes with a private driveway off of a very secluded cul-de-sac in what is arguably the best neighborhood in Provo, along with sweeping panoramic views of the entire valley. Every single nit-pickity item Luis and I had on our list of "wants" is in this house, as well as all the "needs." Basically it just needs new floors, paint, and some cosmetic touches in the bathrooms. Not a problem for us because we are good friends with a tile guy, a professional painter, and we know a carpet guy who owes us a few favors. There's even a sunny room off of the Master Suite that would make a stunning studio for me. See? EVERYTHING.
We're putting in an offer tomorrow. It's a short-sale, so there's really a lot of water that needs to go under the bridge before we even know if we have a shot at getting this house, so cross your fingers and toes, perform a voodoo witch chant, and light a candle or whatever for us. I think I really, REALLY want this house. The best part? If we get it, I can switch to part-time work, because we'll only owe about $175K after our juicy down payment.
Yes, please.