What started off as a light and non-serious conversation at the beginning of 2019 between Juan and I turned into a reality. This past Wednesday December 11, we became homeowners.
The process was long, tedious, and stressful. But we can honestly say it was worth it, we have a place we can call our own.
We got serious about purchasing a home in August, when we found out a house in the same neighborhood we’re at was on sale. This was perfect because we would be able to stay very close to family. And also give us the opportunity to have more space and move away from the neighbors dog that would bark incessantly almost every single day.
In September, we began making calls and reaching out to banks to see if we would qualify for a loan/mortgage. We sent out the required documents (tax returns, IDs, bank statements, etc.) hoping everything would go smoothly. There were a few moments during the whole process (sometimes a week or two) where we would hear/receive nothing back. It was frustrating not knowing, but apparently it’s common and part of the process.
Then we had the miscommunication with our mortgage broker when they would ask for documents we had already sent. It’s important to stay patient during this process because there tends to be a lot of back and forth. At the beginning of November, everything was moving a lot quicker, but with a the holidays (Thanksgiving), we weren’t really sure if we would close on the house this year.
During the first week of December, we sent out some final documents they had requested and it was just a matter of waiting when we would get a call. We were expecting to close on the house at the end of the month, or maybe during January 2020. We got a call on Tuesday December 10 that we would be closing the next day. It completely caught me off guard because I didn’t expect it to be so soon. And on December 11, at 2pm, we were sitting down with a huge stack of documents to sign, so we could become homeowners.
The signing process was about 3 hours, they would explain the documents we were signing and answer any questions we would have. My hands felt so numb after all that process. But it happened.
While driving back, during peak traffic, we were anxious to go to the house. We ordered pizza, bought some wine and had our family over so we could celebrate. It is a wonderful feeling. Even though we are locking ourselves in a 30-year mortgage (our plan is to pay it off in much less time), we are so excited to have our own house, our own space.
Our plan is to be moved-in by January 15, hopefully we meet that goal. The best thing about that house is that Juan will have a room for his studio/content creation and I’ll have my own room for my office (when I work remotely), streaming and content creation as well.
The goal with the blog during the next few weeks (and months) is to document some of the process of moving-in and decorating.