I am buying my first house!
Do you ever feel like things are just meant to be? I do! I have always been lead more by my heart than my head. It all started at the beginning of this year. If you've been following my blog you already know about my decision to leave a job and an industry that I've been in for my whole professional life and start a new adventure. Never in a million years would I have guessed that that decision would have lead me to this.
I knew that it was time for me to make a change in my life. I was miserable and I kept receiving promptings from the Lord that it was time to move on. I didn't know where I would go; I quit without another job locked in. I had some savings and I knew from the promptings I felt that I would be okay. I got a job doing hair, which at the time I thought would be my new career. Was I ever wrong! I was working so hard trying to make this new career work, but still found myself coming home with a paycheck that was barely minimum wage + tips. I wasn't sure what was going to happen but I still felt really good about my decision to leave JB. Then one day I was getting ready for work and I couldn't use my left arm. I was in so much pain and could not lift my arm to do my own hair let alone 8 hours of doing hair in the salon. I had no choice but to quit. I didn't know what I was going to do now. Before I had hair as an alternative career...now what!? I didn't know what I would do, or where I would go but I knew that I was going to be okay because the spirit told me so. I had to make some tough decisions regarding my finances; I knew that I could get by if I cashed in some investments I had and got completely out of debt, so I did.
Four long weeks went by with little to no interviews even though I was applying for jobs like crazy. Then my friend got me an interview with her new company. I went to the interview with little information; I didn't even know what the position was for. I had 2 interviews and could not believe how perfect the job was for me and my experience. It was in the same field as my previous JB job, but for a handbag company! I knew that this was where I was meant to be.
For the first time in my life I was debt free and had a good job. So I started thinking about how nice it would be to own my own home. It was really just a thought; I didn't think it could happen for at least a year. I would sit and talk with my brother and we would daydream about what we would do, how much we could afford and how soon we could do it. Every time we talked I would get really excited, go home and look at listings. I would then find an online mortgage calculator and have my dreams crushed when it estimated how much I could qualify for. I kept talking about it, but never put any action in place. Finally my dad told me I would never know until I tried, so he suggested I contact a mortgage broker and try to get pre-qualifed.
Weeks went by I never put my thoughts into action. I was too scared to find out the answer. Then one day I got a mailer from a realtor with a mortgage website. I was curious, so I went online to take a look. I decided I would email her with my questions. She emailed me right back, asking me to fill out an application and said "I think you'll be surprised". So I did. Next thing I know, I'm pre-qualified and looking for listings!
I figured it would take months to find something and I wasn't in any rush. My realtor told me to go online and make a list of properties I wanted to see. I made a huge list; properties all over the valley but one kept coming back to me. I knew going into this I was going to let my heart guide me. (I had a previous experience when my family moved back from CA that we were meant to live in a certain neighborhood; I knew that was where we were meant to be just by driving down the street before we even saw the house.) That's the same feeling I wanted with my house. I went on the first appointment with the realtor and looked at house after house after house and I didn't see anything that really caught my attention. Then the last house for the night was the one that kept popping into my head. And it was the only property the realtor didn't have the key box code for! We peeked through the windows and I got that feeling I had once before. We came back 2 days later with the key box code and I knew that was the house. I had been officially house hunting for 1 week and I was making an offer! (Did I mention that the day in between peeking through the windows and actually going inside that the seller lowered the price?)
The house was a flip. The seller had purchased the home from the bank and completely renovated the place; new roof, windows, appliances, paint and flooring. Since it was a bank owned home, my realtor suggested we do a meth test. Which was a good thing because it came back positive. Extremely low, but still positive. So we went back to the seller and said that we would only proceed if he replaced the furnace, sterilized the duct work and took the necessary steps to make the home certified safe and clean by the state of Utah. He agreed so we proceeded with the home inspection and appraisal. We got back the results yesterday and except for a few minor corrections, the house passed with flying colors!
All of this has happened in 3 weeks! As long as nothing major occurs, I will be closing on the home the first part of November. I am so thankful for my Heavenly Father; I definitely would not be here if he had not lead me to this job and this house. I don't know what lies in store for me in this new home, neighborhood and ward but I know that if this is where I am meant to be everything will work out.
