Update.
For the past couple months, laughin' gimp and I have been house hunting. We made an offer on a cute little house in Crest Hill- and somebody else wrote a check for it. Then we made an offer on a condo in Joliet- and somebody else offered more than the asking price. Finally, we actually managed to get make and offer on a house and have our offer accepted without anybody stealing it away from us. It's a cute Victorian house in Lockport, right next to Dellwood park. It has a yard, and a garden, and a resident groundhog. I can't wait to get out of this stupid apartment.