Hubby and I have been talking about having a home to call our own someday. We've been saving for a down payment from the time we got married.
However, that dream was always off in the distance; we figured it would be our long-term goal. Why rush into adulting? Haha We had a good place to live, Clara was close to family, and we weren't going to buy a home in Vermont anyway. Too expensive.
Well, that all changed late this summer. We got in touch with Heather Morse at Greentree Real Estate and asked her what the process was to look at homes in the area. She guided us through, we got a pre-qualifying letter from the bank, and Heather started looking for just the right house for us.
We had a whole list of things we wanted in a location, a home, land, etc. We were limited by the loan amount, but Heather assured us that the right house would come along; we just had to be patient.
We looked at a duplex; not the right fit. Looked at a house that would have been great, but it needed too much work for the asking price.
All of the listings that seemed perfect, weren't.
Friends of ours even offered us first dibs on buying their home, but that didn't work out either.
I was getting very discouraged. Once I had accepted the idea of moving off the farm and gotten excited about the prospect of having our own place, I was upset that God seemed to be closing all the doors.
We continued with the loan process. Oh the paperwork! Hubby was working long days and extra days at his dispatch/EMT job so I was in charge of copying and scanning and emailing everything. Just when I thought they had everything they needed another request would come through.
On Wednesday, September 30th, Heather texted that she had a listing for us that had just hit, and she had taken the liberty to schedule a showing for us the next morning, was that okay?
At first I was hesitant, I had several reasons running through my thoughts why I didn't think it would be a good fit for us. But after talking it over with hubby I knew I needed to trust Heather and go see the house. Hubby was working that next day, but his mom was here visiting so she went with Clara and I to see the house.
As we parked in the driveway, my mom-in-law exclaimed, "Karen, this is cute!"
I agreed. We walked around outside waiting for Heather as we were early. It had a bigger yard than I thought, and mostly out back, so with a fence it would work well for Clara. The garage/barn was cute. The neighboring businesses were closer than I'm used to and right on 22A (a main throughway in Vermont), but it was still relatively quiet, even with traffic whizzing by.
When Heather arrived we stepped inside and I knew.
Did it tick all the boxes on my list? Nope.
Was it the right house for us? I sure thought so.
I called Hubby as soon as I could. Do we put in an offer?! Are we ready for this?! Yes.
We were the first people to see the house after being listed. I don't know how many offers they got besides ours, but they picked us!!!
And then the roller coaster began.
I will spare you the extremely long story, all the gory details; but just know that if you haven't had the privilege of acquiring a loan during current times, you're missing out. (total sarcasm right there LOL) There were several times that we were sure we were not getting this house. Or any house for that matter.
Through it all, Heather fought to keep the process moving forward as much as she could and encouraged us along the way. If you need a realtor, PLEASE hire Heather! She's the bomb dot com!!!
When the time came to sign power of attorney with our lawyer and final loan documents with the bank, I didn't have the excitement I felt I should have had. Hubby and several others assured me that I was okay feeling those feelings. My emotions had taken lots of hits over the last several weeks; no wonder I didn't feel that this was really happening.
Friday, December 4th, all of the documents had our signatures and our lawyer had the cashier's check. Closing was set for Monday. Hubby looked at me as Sabbath began and commented, "it's as good as ours now." I sighed and responded, "I hope so."
I walked in Monday morning, holding our key, and a weight dropped off my shoulders.
Abba whispered in my ear Welcome to your home, My daughter. You deserve good things.
