patience is not one of my finer qualities. i’m a planner. i’m organized. i’m determined. i thrive on deadlines. so when i come to a road block and have to wait on someone or something, i get frustrated very easily. if things don’t go according to plan, i get frazzled. i am not spontaneous. to me, spontaneous is spelled S-T-R-E-S-S-F-U-L!!
so the process of buying a house has been quite a challenge for me. the plan was for us to first, save the money for a down payment. second, find a house . third, move in. i carefully organized our budget and knew exactly when we would have enough money to start looking. that part went according to plan and actually happened a little sooner than we had planned due to an unexpected blessing!! those blessings are reminders that you’re not alone in this process.
next step – find a house! i was prepared to look at a couple of houses and was pretty sure i knew what i wanted and thought since it’s a “buyers market” we would have many to choose from. well… we got to that point and hit a road block. there are TONS of houses out there, but the process isn’t easy. you can walk into a foreclosure and get a steal, but you’ll have to start from the ground up replacing everything. you can walk into a short sale (which is about 90% of the inventory where we’re looking) and have to deal with MANY different scenarios, some waiting 90-120 days just to get your offer approved. that’s not including your 30-90 day escrow. so from the day you put your offer in and assuming it gets approved to the day you actually move in, could take you up to 6 months!! or there’s the off chance that you’ll find a house with a “normal” sale where the owner doesn’t owe more than the house is currently worth and you MIGHT be able to afford it. we have been hoping for the third scenario and so far it hasn’t happened.
so i know our house is out there. everyone says, “you haven’t been looking for that long” (but honestly it feels like it’s been a million years). i don’t do the “not knowing” part very well. but i know that we have been here before and we looked back and said “wow! what an experience this has been (good or bad).” and i know the same will happen again. things never happen in the time frame you hope for or plan for, but they always happen in the best time.
despite being anxious. frustrated with waiting. and discouraged, i know that when this process is over we will own our first home and that makes the process and stress worth it. it will be the home where we have many memories. celebrate special occasions. and spend unforgettable times with dear friends and family. and the reality is, all of those things are far better and more important than the physical walls that will be around us.
often i think that we are focused on the outcome rather than the process. maturity and character are strengthened in the midst of the process. so for now, i’m learning to enjoy the ride. what a blessing it is to even be in this chapter of our lives.
