I have the house hunting blues....

Since the world has gone mad and the foreclosure rate has sky rocketed, the rental market is totally saturated and it's nearly impossible to find a rental to live in. I've looked.

So I thought maybe I'd try to buy a house. I found a really cute little house in Junction City for $105K which looks to be in good shape. It's got wood laminate flooring, a little over 1000 sq ft and is located on a .11 acre lot. It's a short sale that's been on the market for 306 days. http://eugene.craigslist.org/reb/2892093067.html.

My parents have agreed to give me money from our living trust for the down payment since I haven't been in my job long enough to have established that sort of capital.

Rather than go look at the house first I went to the bank to see if I could get pre-approved for a loan. There is no sense getting my hopes up if it's not possible.

My online application was referred to a loan officer which is a bad sign. I thought, because of my school loans, I would be denied for my debt load but I got an email from them today. Apparently, they won't accept a down payment that comes as a gift from someone else. It has to be all my own money. Really?! Does anyone else find this asinine? However, if I get the gift from them and hold on to it for 90 days then it becomes mine and I can apply again. In 90 days, a short sale may or may not be available. The loan is pretty specific and I'm unlikely to be able to buy much else with a 99K loan.

So now I don't know what to do.