Welcome Home

The pros and cons of buying a house flipped through my brain for months before Kevin and I took the first steps. I eagerly peppered friends and family with questions because I knew it would be one of the biggest decisions of our lives. Some days I heard complaints about paperwork, maintenance and insurance; so I thought it might too big of a headache for us right now. Other days, the look on a friend’s face when I shared our rent payment amount made me want to buy a house in a split second. “You are just putting money in someone else’s pocket!” I agreed, but understood that renting has its perks too. Last fall, my dryer was squeaking and my ever-patient husband finally had enough. I called maintenance and my Puerto Rican friend Alex came to bail me out. He not only tried his best to fix the dryer, he ordered me a new one! On that day, I was grateful for my apartment.

In December we decided that I would speak with a lender to get a professional opinion. Kevin was worried that we didn’t have enough. I had my doubts too, but I wanted to at least try. Once we had an unbiased third party tell us we didn’t have enough right now, we would then know how much we should save in the coming months.

Armando is a local lender that is about as friendly as God made friendly people. His wide smile and professional demeanor made for a pleasant conversation. I met him in my office at work, talking candidly about our financial situation. He didn’t even blink when I showed him our bank statement. His kindness was overwhelming and he affirmed my dreams without hesitation. I shook his hand and came home to tell Kevin the good news. As we met with Armando again, Kevin asked all the hard questions and really felt confident that we could move forward and approach a realtor.

We met Mario and Brandie in a conference room with fluffy brown chairs and a large, fancy table. Kevin and I felt younger with every second that ticked by, but they welcomed us into the home-buying world. They told us that we are in a better spot than 85% of the people that come to them to buy a house. They said our price range was reasonable, and they were confident that there was a home in Clermont waiting for us to cross the threshold. We felt a weight slide off our shoulders and a cloud rise under our feet.

Looking back at what got us to this point, I can see how everything happens for a reason. Seminary was a tough road; anyone who has gone through full-time education knows the feeling of endless tuition payments and tight budgets. Kevin and I approached budgeting and saving similarly; but I struggled to grasp the vision behind it. In my optimism, I knew the dollars would eventually buy me the American Dream, but I didn’t realize how much I had to give up on a daily/weekly/monthly basis to get there. Kevin’s approach was motivated by the strange feeling that everything his wife wanted would cost more than she was saving. It took us awhile to come to the conclusion that we were both right. Kevin’s approach got us to the point of buying a house with a decent down payment, while my approach helps with enjoying life along the way. We have been ultra-conservative with our saving habits, but it has led us to a major step in our lives together. We have been walking the crowded path through a dense forest and have finally come to a break in the tree line. A couple more steps, and we are at the doorstop of our first home.

Around the second week of January, our realtor Mario started emailing us links to homes in our area and we couldn’t wait to pounce on the chance to see the properties. After living in an apartment for 6 months with less than 700 square feet, the homes we looked at were a huge upgrade. Walking in each front door and peering around was always my favorite part. Three bedrooms! A yard! A two-car garage for our one car! The excitement built with each house we saw. Mario squashed some bugs, knocked on walls to check water damage and often laughed at my emotional outbursts. He commented on various aspects of each house, all while avoiding ceiling fans and dangerously low ceilings. (He’s over 6 feet tall).

We found a perfect house after looking at about six properties. It was a corner lot, a block away from Kohl’s with a beautiful floor plan. The lines on the carpet displayed the bank’s effort to spruce up the foreclosed home and I pictured our belongings set up in each room. We made a higher offer than the listing price and waited. After Mario told us we were in line with ten other offers, we gave up hope and prepared for the bad news. It wasn’t long before our first rejection email came and we were back to square one.

We continued house hunting and took Mario’s advice to expand our search. Kevin created spreadsheets to compare the different houses we looked at, and we rated what was important to us. One foreclosure was looking really good until Mario showed us the house a second time. He found significant water damage in the master bathroom, and advised us to run the other way. I loved the layout of that house, but he proved to have our backs and keep us away from potential trouble.

Our spirits were stagnant even though the emails kept coming through. Nothing really grabbed our attention. But then Kathleen Court waltzed into our life on a Sunday afternoon and the pictures looked promising. Then again, a lot of the pictures from the other houses looked good too. We hopped in the car to do a drive-by, and I heard strange words from my husband. “Kathleen is the one. I can feel it.” I laughed it off because I didn’t want to get my hopes up. We drove by the neighborhood and talked about the fantastically low price. It seemed too good to be true and because we hadn’t even been inside yet; I was expecting to be let down.

           On Tuesday we had a list of three houses to see and Kathleen was last. The first house was great but had a suspicious neighbor next door with pit bull cages and several security cameras. Mario and Kevin both expressed how detrimental one bad neighbor could be. Unfortunately, that was a deal breaker and we were forced to move on. The second house was on a cul-de-sac near the road and a bike path. We liked it, but I did feel that it was a bit busy next to a main road. It didn’t give me the warm fuzzies, but it was certainly on our list of possibilities.

Kathleen Court was last on the list. Kevin roamed through the house with a smile on his face, and my own face lit up when I saw the porch and vast backyard. The closer I walked to take a better look, I saw a second barbecue pit next to the screened in porch. The beautiful, flat backyard looked better than any house we toured. I ran my fingers across the granite countertops and glanced at the wood cabinets with a backsplash and stainless steel appliances. Mario even looked pleased. “This is priced really well.” That was something we hadn’t heard, so we drilled him about the various components that played into the value. He talked to us about the square footage, the age of the roof, the AC unit and the upgraded kitchen. Kevin was right. Kathleen Court for the win!

Mario looked at the pile of business cards on the counter and made a comment that he knew the realtor selling the house. He took his phone out to text him while Kevin and I poked around some more. He told us to huddle close together and cross our fingers. He snapped a picture and sent it to the seller’s realtor. We told Mario we were willing to go up in price to get the house if we needed to. “Woah- hold on! Asking price!” We didn’t believe that we could get the house at the asking price, but Mario sure did.

On the way home, Kevin decided to use the gift card he was saving for Valentine’s Day to go out to dinner. Even though Mario told us not to put champagne on ice yet… We did anyways. We ate at Outback Steakhouse and shared our thoughts about the house. Less than 24 hours later, I got a text at work and called Kevin to tell him the good news. Our realtor worked his magic and we got the house at the asking price. We got the house! Even better, three weeks later the appraisal came back $1500 more; giving us a little equity even before closing.

The weeks after the initial paperwork have consisted of more paperwork, inspections, learning about septic tanks, pest control and the previous owner’s lifestyle. The roof is on the top of our to-do list but is getting crowded with several other home improvement projects. We’ve researched washers and dryers, lawn mowers and carpet cleaners. Our naivety in a new house will only survive if we don’t educate ourselves. This is our new adventure and we are tackling it head on.

           Yes, it’s scary. We know there are going to be bumps and bruises, and a lot of you-tube tutorials. We haven’t written the big check yet, but we know that the down payment will be a huge payoff from all the years of saving. We will be home-owners. 

Closing day is set for February 29^th. So this year, we will be celebrating Leap Year by making Clermont, Florida our HOME.