#Tuestimony
I believe God led Wife and me to the home we bought in 2015. Tons of things aligned too perfectly for me to believe it was all just by coincidence/happenstance.
My apartment lease was ending in November. It would have been mad expensive to go month-to-month so I didnt want to do that. But I've heard a million horror stories about house-shopping and how long and drawn out the process can be. So it was suggested that we look for houses months prior to Nov. However, I also didnt want to find a house too soon and have things go smoothly and then have to pay the down pymt for the house… and still have months remaining on my apt lease. So... Wife and I decided to wait until October to do our house-shopping. (Risky... I know!)
I searched online for homes I liked. Michelle searched online for homes she liked. Then we emailed each other with our top choices. Turned out... both of our #1 choices were the same house!... and none of the other choices were a match. So, we immediately contacted the realtor selling the house and our realtor and set an appointment for the next day to go and have a looksee. After the tour… we fell in love with it, and all the questions we needed answers to were provided very satisfactorily. We decided right then and there that we wanted it for sure. There was no need to look at any other house.
The day after the house tour… we began all the paperwork and logistics and price negotiations and all that jazz. We had to get a survey done, and an appraisal and all that stuff. The Sellers agreed to cover/correct the items dinged by the appraiser. The whole process only took maybe two weeks... probably not even that long. But according to everyone we’ve talked to… it was a record turnaround timeframe. We officially “Closed” on October 30. But, the Sellers needed 2 weeks after Closing to get their stuff moved out and into their new home. So, we actually didn’t get the keys until November 15.
The ONLY caveat with the house was that the first floor only had a half-bathroom (commode + sink). This wouldn’t work for my Dad (disabled) because he wouldn’t be able to easily get up and down stairs to shower. But, the house was so dope!! Our goal was to hire someone to convert the half-bath to a 3/4-bath by taking a couple walls down and installing a shower unit. If we couldn’t get that work done by the time I needed to vacate my apartment, I would have had to go month-to-month. But fortunately for us… I had a Friend who builds houses who just so happened to be available a few days after we got the keys to the home. My Friend and his team were able to get the work done within 5 days. Generally, it likely would have taken longer… but my Friend committed to finishing the project before Thanksgiving so that we could have Family dinner in our new home. And boy was it down to the wire!! Homie started on Nov 20 and was finished up at like 11pm on Wed Nov 25!!!! Thanksgiving was the next day on Thur Nov 26!! I don’t even know if he realizes how much his dedication to completing the job meant to me. What also made it so special… was that that Thanksgiving (2015) was the first time my immediate family and my Wife’s immediate family met each other (Wife and I were engaged at that time).
So, I don’t take for granted that:
(1) Wife and I saw eye-to-eye on a desired home on the first try
(2) the house-buying process was quick and easy and not like other experiences we were warned about
(3) the timing of the home purchase was perfect for my apartment situation
(4) I knew a Developer/Contractor who was available to perform necessary work within a remarkable timeframe
(5) the house itself was able to accommodate the addition of a shower unit in the half-bath. *I recognize that there could have been all kinds of issues that would have prevented the addition of a shower unti (or at least made it outrageously complex).
I praise God for all those things! #WontHeDoIt!