changing things that weren't working

On Tuesday I decided to pull the offer on the house. Last week a comparable house--smaller, but 3-bedroom and a bigger lot--went on sale for 13% below our offer price. And a couple other houses are listed for 20-25% below. I was expecting a price drop, but not that steep, and I'd hoped it would at least come over a period of years, instead of losing money right at the start. Given the amount of my savings going in (a 20% down payment around here is a ludicrous amount of money), I decided this was all a bad idea.

Because it was a short sale and the seller's bank took forever to do anything, we weren't even in escrow yet after more than 2 months, so I don't lose any money: the deposit check hasn't been cashed. (Or, if anyone tried to cash it, it bounced.) Backing out was just a matter of telling my realtor, who told the seller's agent.

Tuesday night we went to look at a pretty cool condo for rent, and once the owner confirms she has a rental place to move into (she's moving to another town so her daughter can use the better schools), we'll sign the lease on it.

I was also supposed to take the GRE this Saturday, but realized I wasn't going to be ready, so I pushed it out to September.

To recap, on Tuesday, I:

1. Avoided throwing my life savings into a bad investment.
2. Canceled an enormous standardized test I wasn't ready for.
3. Found a place to live where we'll have a bedroom! And a couch!

I feel much better.