There are several factors that contribute to the fact that we seem destined for a life of renting. Rockford and I have been married for seven and a half years, and we have yet to buy a home. Much of that is due to a history of financial nitwittery. Right now, though, the prevailing factor is the housing market.

I have heard rumors that this is the time to buy a house. They say that prices have dropped tremendously. Apparently we’re living in some sort of Realtors’ utopia, though, because houses here still cost a great big chunk of change. Even if that weren’t the case, it’s also become more difficult to get a mortgage, especially if you don’t have loads of cash on hand. (Which, should you need clarification, we do not.)

So we’ll continue renting for a few more years. Or forever, maybe. Whatever.

Anyway, our current lease ends at the end of August. I’ve already delivered our intent-to-vacate letter, which means we’ll definitely be moving somewhere. The question is, where? I want a house. With a yard. In my ideal world, we would find a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom house with a garage, a finished basement and a large, fenced backyard. Oh, and a beautiful, functional kitchen. And it would be within walking distance of to the library and grocery store. In the real world, I’d like to find a house with at least 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths and a yard that (a) doesn’t sit in front of four lanes of traffic and (b) isn’t a ravine. Beyond that, I’m not picky. (That’s not true. I’m extremely picky.)

I’m not in panic mode yet, but it’s been a tough search so far. We looked at one house that had a basement straight out of a B-grade horror flick. It even had a fallout shelter! Which could come in handy, I guess, but we passed nevertheless. We’ve also passed on: