I was in the market to buy a new home in GA!! I was all happy and excited.. We would get a little fixer upper and... Well... Fix it up! We found one.. Very inexpensive, but too much to pay cash for.. We figured (and "we" being my husband and I. :p ) we'd get a little bank loan for it, after all it was a foreclosed home on the banks site. Surely they'd be willing to give a loan for such a small amount. (And they were. Just needed to check the house out to make sure it was a good investment. Still.. NO problem..) But I'm getting ahead of myself.

So I contacted Macon Realty Group Inc.. They were the listing realtor. First thing, kind voice on the phone... Until I spoke..

Well.. What you have to know is you can HEAR the southerner in my tone first off.. The next thing you'll hear is BLACK.. OK, now having said that.. I'll continue..

First question. Are you a realtor, or broker, or just a person wanting to rent the house out? OK.. That's ok, honest question...

I messed up and said I wanted to buy it for a personal residence.. I wanted to live in it.. I can smack myself..

Now the neighbourhood and details behind it.. This is a HOOD.. Most of the houses are boarded up and vacant. It's an all black neighbourhood. I'm pretty sure there isn't even a MIXED COUPLE living in this hood. Now most of the time, Realtors and banks can't WAIT to unass this kinda property.

Side fact.. Across from the street this neighbourhood is on, is a new Marriot hotel being built. Now that's the kicker.. You know what happens when fancy places open up near a black neighbourhood. They 'clean up' the place. Meaning buying out all the black home owners at a 'good' price, build new homes there, sell em at a price 'those people' can never afford and white the place up. Seen it a million times. And it sucks everytime.. That was one of the reasons I wanted to buy the place. To try to keep the neighbourhood going.. Not just to be an all black hood, but not let those snobbish upity bastards get their way. Plus I wanted to buy that house. :)

Alright.. Now I've put my foot in it saying I wanted to live there... Before I could even tell her whether I was going to get a loan or just out right buy it.. (Hey there are rich black folks. Ever heard of Oprah? ) She just ASSumed I didn't have money and had to finance. I was a little offended, but wanted to remain polite.. I wanted this house.. Well, not even telling her that I was planning to finance, she ASSumed my black ass could not afford the house and that it would be a waste of 'both' of 'our' time for her to show the property.. I'm like, "FTW?!" What if I was some rich black person who wanted to 'take back' the neighbourhood? With that attitude, even if I wanted one of those $100,000 homes they showcase on the website, after that convo, I don't think I would be interested. From there, things would look up, and then spiral down hill. We found a realtor we trusted, and she showed the house to us, didn't really see a problem with the place. Even saw potential in it for us to fix up.. However, in the end the listing Realtor got her way and it was no deal.

In the end maybe it was for the best. I'm not one to argue with the universe and apparently that was not an area for me to live in . But it was a reminder of how far we've come, but still how far we have to go in this country. ESPECIALLY down here in the Dirty Dirty. :)