... The thrill of victory... and the agony of defeat. I mean, shouldn't house hunting be classified as a sport? Recently, I spent three weekends hunting with the same buyers. We went deep into the country to hunt for the ideal home. I typically work in the more populated areas of my county. But, this house hunting excursion really felt like a "hunt" and I had so much fun venturing into new and unfamiliar territory.
On second thought, maybe those winding roads through the upstate NY countryside were not really all that fun to navigate after all. See, climbing those hills and meandoring the curvy and very treacherous narrow roads - made me a little car sick at times. In the past, I've occasionally gotten car sick - but this time, it was ME doing the driving. And, my poor car probably will need a front-end alignment now, after all those bumpy dirt roads. Even on the paved roads, I was sure my SUV might possibly be swallowed up by ominous pot-holes. But this didn't stop me.
So, what exactly made it fun? Well, these buyers were just so delightful to work with. They are first time buyers and they started out not so sure of what they were looking for or where they would settle. A remote walkable village? A country setting with a generous slice of land? Older home? A newer, but unique home? One thing was for sure, they did not want a cookie cutter house in a cookie cutter neighborhood. No, these were not the typical buyers and that's what made it fun. I LOVE the not so ordinary and very unique properties! But, the challenge is finding one - in almost move-in condition too. 
By the third time out, I was finally in their mindset. I was starting to get a feel for what they wanted. On the final day of our search we looked at 6 houses. The first one was really nice, and then each property after that got better. I felt like we were getting real close to finding THE home and it was hard to surpress that little voice in me saying "whoo hoooo - this is THE day". I could just feel it.
As we drove through rough terrain, we would wonder where the road would lead us and what we would find when we arrived at the next property. It was adventourous. At one point, as I was rounding a bend and making my way uphill, I turned to the husband and said "I just love the hunt." He looked at me and laughed, as if I took the words right out of his mouth. We were getting warmer and warmer, and hotter and hotter. It was like being on a safari! Our hunting expedition involved finding the perfect home - out in the middle of no where. Boy, it sure felt like a game of some sort. Why isn't house hunting a sport? 
At the next house ...Eureka! We found it! THE home! ...And, speaking of hunting - attached to the family room wall was a great big moose head staring right down at us. The hunt was over - we not only found THE house, but we found a moose inside the house and we didn't even need a gun for this hunitng expedition!
...Ah! The thrill of victory! I consider myself an avid hunter who doesn't even own a gun. House hunting - it sure feels like a sport!
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