Ray and Susan (mostly Susan) want to buy a house. Ray says their small condo is adequate, but Susan has pitched more than one screaming fit, demanding that their two-bedroom hovel is unacceptable for their growing needs. Ray is a lawyer for the city of Los Angeles and Susan is a elementary school teacher in Los Angeles. The young couple, 27 and 28, have been married for four years, have a 2-year-old child, and are expecting their second bundle of joy in less than 2 months–one of the reasons Susan is pushing to close the deal on a new house A.S.A.P.
Ray’s base salary is $85,ooo year, but with his extra work as a writer he thinks he can push it to $110,000. Susan has a masters degree and has been teaching for 4 years, but due to California’s financial crisis, the Education budget was slashed and Susan lost her job. However, she was called back to work for one year. She’s not too upset about the fact that she will only be teaching one year since her real desire is to be a stay-at-home mommy.
Even though their bank has graciously pre-approved them for the loan, Ray has spent many sleepless nights wondering how it could be possible. Susan’s logic was that their friends can buy a house, they can too. After many screaming fights and numerous threats from Susan, Ray caved and agreed to make an offer on the lovely little “bank-owned” property that Susan said, “…was not perfect, but she did like the big yard for the kids.” She said they would have to remodel later.
The bank’s asking price is $490,000 for the “not perfect” property. Susan is anxious and wants to close the deal and get moved. She argues that there’s not enough time to look for another house before the baby comes. She told Ray they must make a serious offer. They presented the bank with an offer of $485, 000 and crossed their fingers.
