Hunting for a House

Well, because we are in a spot where we can financially- and because of a great $8,000 government incentive, Billy and I have decided to look for a home. We've only just begun and its already a tedious process and I'm not incredibly motivated because we love where we are; our apartment, neighbors, ward, everything! But we cant live in this basement forever ...although I think we could live here comfortably with 4 kids; but I wouldn't wish that on Marilyn and Bill! So, we are on the lookout. We really want to close by December, but other than that there is no real rush. We are already working with someone but if you know of someone selling there home, let us know!

This is what we really want:
AC- This is a requirement, I refuse to live without air conditioning, especially because well be there for a while and I'm going to have many more pregnant months with future kids.

5 bed/3 bath- This is a little more flexible. We put an offer on a home with only two baths, and we are planning on putting an offer on another home that has only 3 beds, but an unfinished basement with the possibilities of another 3. Neither home has great chances of really happening.

American Fork area- We really really want to be close to Billy's work which means living in American Fork/Lehi. We are okay with looking in pleasant grove, Orem, Lindon, even Saratoga springs or Provo, but the further away it is, the better the house has got to be for us to be motivated to move that far! There are some nice homes in Orem we have looked at, but have ruled the out because they are in Geneva, Sharon, and Suncrest elementary schools. Schools are important!

Minimum 2,000 sq. ft.- There is no way to get around this. Every home that we've walked through with less than that has seemed much too small to grow into. However, it doesn't all have to be finished. The home that we are planning on putting an offer in has more than 1,500 of finished space, and a little more of unfinished basement space (so when its finished in 5 years it Will be 3,000 sq. ft)!

Decent sized lot- Preferably this would be fenced too. We looked at a home that is pretty close to us in apple grove, but the lot size is .05 of an acre! The minimum that we could seriously consider would be .15 but most of the homes we've seriously considered thus far were about .25

Good condition- I'm not saying it has to be move-in ready, but after house payments we wont have any money for a year to do hardly anything but paint- so it has to be in good condition, or priced accordingly.

I cant think of any other real big requirements (oh yeah, we are only comfortable with $180,000 which is making the process a little difficult) and there are other preferences like having a garage and a minimum of three bedrooms together on the same floor that have put a kink in the works.
However, I feel comfortable that we will be able to find something in the nest year that will meet our needs. If not- off to Texas we will go next summer! I know the Lord will guide us through this process and as long as we get an "OK" from Him, I'm comfortable with whatever happens!