Yesterday I scored quality time with Beff. She joined me on a drive out towards my Favorite Egg's place where we met him for a brief lunch before splitting off to go to open houses. I made the drive mainly due to one house that went up just over a week ago that announced an open house. It was a good trip, but disappointing at the same time.

I saw one place that was really nice - loved the fenced yard and all inside, but it was pretty pricy especially since they skipped some of the higher end finishes (it was a wood deck, not trex; standard kitchen counters, not solid surface, etc). Another was ok but not my favorite layout - it too had a nice fenced yard ready to roll and some lower end finishes. Then a couple that were scratched pretty quick as they weren't really what I want, but for the lower price and open house I forced myself to consider.

Before these last two we went to the house I came for. There was a piece of paper on the door noting that the open house was cancelled. We happened into another open house that we hadn't planned on hitting because we saw signs. In talking with that agent, it turns out my worst fear - his clients put a bid in on that house. So it's under contract, gone, I didn't even get to see it and talk myself out of it for some reason. Driving that neighborhood we saw a lot of houses with wavy looking siding, so I'm trying to tell myself the builder wasn't up to par.

Speaking of builders, I also drove Beff by some of the other places I had contemplated. As we drove past the one complex I saw the sign noting an open house on some of the current builds, so we stopped in and I got to meet the folks I have emailed with and see a couple of their in progress builds. It would be at the tippy top of my personally imposed budget, but I'd love to consider a new place. Of course, that would mean a 6-7 month wait for it be built.

On that front, it looks like I'd have the time... no word on the showings from last week at this time. It is a very different market here vs there, that's for sure.