Hopes, Fears, and Real-Estate

We have been waiting 8 weeks to hear anything on the house we are trying to buy. It's in short-sale, so it has been a matter of waiting to hear from the home-owner's bank. Today our realtor called. Our offer of 39,900 falls short, the bank has requested 42,000. Our loan is only approved for 40,000. At this point, with money as tight as it is, we just can't come up with another 2,000 dollars. Our realtor said that she thinks if we put in a counter-offer for $40,500, we would have a good chance of still getting the house. I don't know if we will be able to do it or not, but we will see. So tomorrow there will be a counter-offer put in, for either $40,000 or $40,500, depending on what my parents decide they can do. It is their loan, they are the ones buying the house as an investment loan, and we will be paying the monthly mortgage to my parents. It is so stressful right now. I am trying to stay positive, but I feel like it's one of those "So Close, Yet So Far Away." moments.

Eight weeks of waiting, hoping, praying, and we could get denied all because of $2,000. Or, we could still get approved, with an offer of $40,500 - IF my parents are willing and able to up their original offer by 600 dollars. As I said, so close yet so far away. I feel like I am sitting in a glass room with my family, and everything my family needs is on the other side of that glass wall. I can see it, I can almost touch it, but I can't quite reach it. All I can do is sit here and wait for some unseen force to lift that glass wall. I have prayed, I have offered up my tears to the Heavens....

I can't live in this apartment any more. I feel so cramped, so trapped. My kids need more space. I need more space. If we get this house, our monthly mortgage payment will be LESS than what we pay for rent for this cramped 2 bedroom apartment. I don't ask for a lot. I don't want to be rich or famous. I know we have made mistakes in our past, and that has screwed up our credit, making our options very limited. My parents helping us by buying us a house is more than I ever hoped for, possibly even more than I deserve. But my kids deserve it. They deserve to have separate bedrooms, a backyard to play in, a living room that has room to play. I can't help but feel like time is running out, this window of opportunity is not going to be here forever and yet my hopes and fears lie in the hands of others - of some faceless bank of a homeowner that I don't even know. What do I have to give that can help my kids have a better life? What more can I do but have faith?