in april 2010, kevin and i decided to start the process of buying a house. we found the most amazing realtors, tony and linda kirk (who we HIGHLY recommend!), and began looking at houses in our budget. there wasn't much. we realized we might not be at the best place financially to do this. we found out a few months later, that kevin had the opportunity to receive a promotion...which meant a raise too! so we took a break for a few months while we waited and prayed. needless to say, kev got the promotion in september and we knew we could start looking at homes again. this was the first of many times that God intervened. our new budget added many more homes so we were very excited to start making offers!
october was our first month of really pursuing our dream full-force. we were really only looking at homes in the foskett ranch area of lincoln, near our friends and school where we would like kyri to attend. it is also where our church meets every sunday, a neighborhood we know and love. it wasn't before long that we were making multiple offers at a time. praying with each one. we fell in love with a house, and then it would slip through our fingers. we were being outbid on every offer. kev and i really didn't want to have to offer our max on any home, but we knew it was the only way we would even have a chance. those first few months putting out offers, was brutal. being let down over and over is not easy. so discouraging. we tried really hard to not get our hopes up, but we could picture our family living in so many of the houses we looked at. our hearts were being crushed.
in december, we finally got some good news. yay! one of the houses we put an offer on was accepted. it was a short sale so we knew there would be weeks of waiting for any updates. shortly after finding this house, we came across another house that was the same model, but with a much larger backyard. we loved this house! our offer on this one was also accepted (which we were offering our max of $205,000), so now the short-sale process for both of them was underway. i'm still not sure why they call them short sales....there is nothing short about the buying process. after a couple months of waiting, we got a super awesome phone call from tony that our offer on the house we loved (with the big back yard and hard wood floors) was accepted by the bank and we were moving forward! we thought in a matter of days we would be in contract. well, that didn't happen. the owners had claimed bankruptcy in years past so there was more paperwork to be done. more waiting. take note that this is another place God intervened.
on march 2, everything changed. our journey of buying a house got flipped upside down. kevin came home from work and he just wasn't himself. he was really down and said he didn't want to talk about it until the kids went to bed. when we finally had time to talk, he just broke down. tears. heartache. the news wasn't good. earlier that day, kevin's boss informed him that they were cutting back the hours of all best buy technicians. he would still be full-time, but to them that only guaranteed a minimum of 32 hours. crushed. seriously? how were we going to buy a house without kev's normal 40 hours, plus overtime? they had done this before, but it was always temporary. this time he was told it could stay this way for up to a year. oh Jesus, what in the world?
heartbroken is the only way to describe how we felt. after almost a year of pursuing this dream of FINALLY owning a home, we were shot back down to where we started. i remember feeling crushed, like i couldn't breath. what was God trying to show us? kevin pretty much felt helpless. he felt like he was robbing me of a desire that i have had for so long. he really felt responsible. i was so frustrated that i couldn't take away those feelings he was having. i knew this was completely out of his hands and there was nothing he could do. even though he felt like the door was shut in our faces, i still had faith. there was a glimmer of hope that God was going to pull through in what seemed to now be an impossible situation.
i emailed our realtor and told him, "we are not giving up hope." he was on board to continue this journey with us. so awesome having both a realtor and lender that both love the Lord! they were discouraged with us in all of this, but they knew that God could work a miracle. we started looking at homes in our new budget, which dropped significantly. we saw the numbers and thought, "oh man, this really is going to take a MIRACLE!" our dream of living in foskett ranch was slowly slipping away. would kyri get to go to school with her buddies? would we even get to choose the neighborhood where we raise our kids? all of these things were so important to us. were they important to God too? you bet they were!
this is where i sit back in awe of the goodness of my Jesus. a house in foskett ranch came on the market in our price range. what? the first time we looked at it, we knew it would be a lot of work because it was a trashed rental property. however, the layout was exactly what we had in mind for our perfect home. vaulted ceilings, open floor plan, 3 bedrooms, huge baster bath, laundry room, great yard for the kids...oh and did i mention walking distance to two of our best friends, our favorite park in lincoln and kyri's school? seriously awesome! our initial offer was countered so we came back with our maximum max of $170,500 (including closing cost, which they didn't agree to at first). on april 11, our offer was accepted by the seller! we were officially in contract. this house was not a short sale, which is another miracle, so there wasn't much waiting time. was this really happening?
we had the inspection on the house done. everything looked good, with just a few minor things for the owner to take care of. next up was the appraisal. want to hear something insane? our house appraised for $196,000! that means we got our house for almost $30,000 less than what it was worth in it's current condition. now the seller never received this information, it was only for our knowledge. if there was a time for us to see God's hand in all of this, it was now. He was doing things that were the impossible. now our eyes were being opened to all that He was doing this whole time. He saved us from getting that first house. if we got that house, which we would have if that bankruptcy issue hadn't come up, we would have had to turn around and sell the house because we couldn't afford the mortgage. thank you, Jesus! He knew kevin's hours were going to change and THIS house, the perfect house, was exactly what He hand-picked for our family.
one month later, to the day, on may 11, kevin and i went to the title company to sign the paperwork for our very first home! we were ecstatic to say the least...full of joy! i don't think we stopped smiling the whole time. both our realtor and lender both said to us, "you know, your situation just doesn't happen. buying a home and immediately having $30,000 in equity. it's a miracle." Jesus, you really outdid yourself! we walked out of there, feeling beyond blessed by what God had pulled off. on may 13 we got our keys...there was much work to be done! i'll post before and after pictures soon. it's quite the transformation!
God orchestrated every move of this entire process and even though we couldn't see while in the midst of it, He knew exactly what was best for our family. when we thought all hope was lost, He came to our rescue. i believe without a doubt that God wants to give us the desires of our hearts. He knew that having a home of our own was so important to us. we wanted a yard for kyri and kaden, a garage, to live in a neighborhood, a place to have church gatherings and birthday parties...my passion for people and hosting is one that God has instilled in my heart. He knew those things were important to us. even the little things...i really wanted to have a kitchen with a pantry and a window over the sink so i could see the kids playing in the backyard. our house has both of those things...those matter to Him just like they matter to me! that melts my heart. every part of this journey was all to bring glory to His name.
i know this story is probably one of my longest blog post yet, but i just had to share every little detail because God is just so AMAZING! one more crazy thing...the day after we got our keys, kevin had his yearly interview. he went in hoping for a 3% raise, which would have been awesome. God decided to blow our socks off once again and kev got a 6% raise! the amount he went up each month ended up being almost exactly the difference between our previous rent at our apartment and our new mortgage. God is so GOOD! i have learned so much through this journey...to never give up and never stop praying. God hears every single prayer. my desire to pray has grown so much though all of this as i have witnessed miracles first hand through the power of prayer. God has forever changed me. what a glorious adventure this has been! may our family honor and serve Him with this precious gift...our home.
1 comment:
That is sooo awesome Sarah I am so happy for you and your family!
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