NEWS
Tuesday, May 25 1999: 
    O.K., It's been a few days. No news for 10 days on the house, but on the UP side, I've updated my website! Go check out the new pics under "A different Phil..." you'll have to click on the picture above the phrase -- I didn't link the text. Anyhow, I've optimized the load time, so even on a slow link it should be a quick load.

    On the social front, Jen (Grover, friend from work) set me up on a blind date with one of her roomates. I went, I enjoyed myself -- enough to want to go out again -- so we watched her Saturday shows together. That also was good. I intend to continue seeing her, given she feels the same (or at least close to the same : )

Saturday, May 15 1999: 
    I have now heard from NHS, they countered with 105,000. It was tempting to send back a reply, 102,000, but after a short discussion with the BIG guy (God, for those who didn't get it), I feel very secure in sticking to my original offer. I have let them know, that it's okay for them to reconsider, but if they choose to decline, they'll need to find another buyer. Although I am saddened that they are unwilling to work with me (105 is probably what they WANTED from the house -- no one in their right mind puts a house on the market thinking they'll get the asking price, even if they do get it), I am surprisingly comfortable with the outcome. There will be other houses. 

    On a different note, My hometeaching companion and I went to see the Vatuvai's (sp?) today -- it's been a considerable time since they've had home teachers, and it was great to finally visit. Incidentally, we would not likely have gone even now, had we not been paying attention to the Spirit last sabbath when we felt we should be sure to deliver Mother's Day flowers. The Gospel brings about great things, and tiny miracles -- gotta love it. 

    Another point of interest to me, not necessarily anyone else -- This past Thursday thru Saturday (today) was E3 down in LA. E3 is the big computer game convention -- turns out they released alot of new info on Diablo II (computer game by Blizzard) progress. Looks like now I'll have the money to make the purchase when it comes out.

Thursday, May 13 1999: 
    I've now signed my counter offer, and I should hear back within a day or two whether it is accepted or not. If so, I move on to the next step which is to make application for my loans. As I previously mentioned, it seems I'm likely to get the first mortgage. I don't know about the second yet. After that, I still need the approval of the board for the purchase -- I'm going to see if I can push a little to get it through so I can know before the board meeting in June -- I have to give 30 days notice to move out of my apartment, and I'm supposed to close on the 1st of July. We'll see how it goes. 
Wednesday, May 12 1999: 
    Yesterday I talked to my real estate agent, and decided to make another offer on the house.  The new offer will be the same as the old one, but with the price reduced to 99,900.  I'm making this offer because I cannot get the financing that was expected with my other offer.  Hopefully, this will not only reduce my mortgage payments, but get me the house at a more appropriate price.  Today, I need to find out just how much of a mortgage I qualify for.  Once I do, I'll be in a better position to make the new offer.  I'm optimistic that I will be able to get financing through a type of Utah housing loan, and to be able to buy down interest so the first year of my mortgage will be a lower rate than the second, and the second lower than all the remaining years.  This will allow me to finish my schooling, which should be done in one year, before committing to pay a more common mortgage payment.  This is important because I will only be working 30 hours a week during this next year, with the exception of this summer. 

    I'm quite excited about owning house.  Although it will be large debt, it will be an " investment" in the future.  What I mean by that, is that while it's not really a true investment, it will be kind of like an automatic savings account in that the equity I gain in the house will always be available later on for future house purchases, or other significantly important purchases.  Significant does not include a car for example, but rather emergency expenses or other such important things.  If, instead, I choose to continue renting, every bit of my monthly payment will belong to my landlord rather than a portion for me. 

    Other benefits of owning house include being able to redecorate as I choose, plant as I choose, and add-on as I choose.  Owning a house will also be an important step in preparing myself for marriage.  If I already have a house, my future wife and I will not need to go through the hassles and struggles later.  Owning a house may also show that I am "stable," which tends to be one of those things women look for in a marriage partner.  I would hope however that a woman would not want me just because I had a house.  That is simply unacceptable.  I guess a downside would be that I would have to include "screening" for just such an opportunist. 

    I promise the news items will not always be about "the house" — but for now you can expect quite a bit, because that is what is on my mind.  There are some other important news items, and as I think of them I will post them.

Sunday, May 9, 1999 — 3:24am: 
    Today I may post again, but for a quick post to get things going, you're getting this. Saturday I met with my realtor again and reviewed the possibilities for purchasing the house I made an offer on at 509 S. 700 W. in Provo. It's a clean, newly remodelled 2-bedroom 950 sq.ft. house in what looks to be a clean neighborhood. The seller is Neighborhood Housing Service, who also is attempting to help with financing. Unfortunately, they want more than it's worth, but for the opportunity to own a home, I have decided to consider it. Tom Jr. feels that because of it's location (Provo), the 109,000 is probably about right, though even he admits difficulty seeing it at more than 100K. 

    In any case, today and Monday I will take the opportunity to pray about it and consider my options. If I need longer, I'll take it. My impressions as they stand now are to make the purchase, even though the mortgage will be considerably more weighty in the second and remaining years. One option I have is to rent my second room to a roommate in a year (assuming I'm not married). I should not have too much difficulty getting around 260/mo. out of him or her (JK—she'll have to marry me before I house a woman at my place ; ).  

    So that's what's up recently. I'm gonna attempt to keep up on general news and thoughts on this page, archiving when it seems to get too long. Don't count on seeing my deepest desires or doctrinal guesses here - I'll leave that for my diary. You will likely find generic personal things though, like if I get a date, just not the details...