Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Back to reality...

Please pardon my absence!

I wish I was exaggerating when I say our life has been crazy, but, no, really, it's been CRAZY. We've had an unusually emotional week, and I've done absolutely NOTHING creative since finishing Dru's quilt. (Which I'm taking pictures of tomorrow, if it doesn't rain!!) The baby threw up one day driving into work, my mom spontaneously ripped up her carpet in a cat-pee induced rage (that's Laney helping pick our potential carpet), and my grandpa died. :( BUT, work at the print shop has been busy for me, we're working on the new website for Pilates Napa Valley, and I got to have a long-overdue lunch with a great friend today.

Also, we've abandoned the rental-home search. After a marathon of My First Place, I checked out our credit scores against the FHA requirements. While our credit isn't awesome, we're right at the cusp of being eligible for a FHA loan. Like, 30 points away. So, after talking to a mortgage broker today, we're going the buckle down, repair our credit, and actually buy a home in the summer/fall! This is huge huge news, and will definitely take some hard work and sacrifice to clean up years of neglect of our financial resume, but it's nothing unmanageable.

The idea of owning my home before I'm 25 is something I never really considered as an option. But, I'm a hardworking mama, with a great hardworking man at my side, who's to say we can't have that American Dream as our own? City of / County of Napa has some incredible Homebuyer Assistance Programs to help us along the way, and prices in Napa are low low low right now. We could buy a larger home, and have our total monthly payment (mortgage, insurance, taxes) be $400-$700 LESS than we're paying to someone else's mortgage.

So, we're taking the money we set aside to move, and putting it towards a secured credit card for each of us. Then, paying off the smaller debts (stupid, utility type bills of $100ish), to encourage positive credit reporting. We're resetting our budget, based on our new incomes and gas prices (boo), and following some of John and Sherry's advice.

More good news is that now I have time to finish Mom and Randy's quilts before their May due-dates, without worrying about a move in the meantime. True adulthood awaits! Stay tuned for the inevitable trials and tribulations.

3 comments:

  1. Holy crap i'm famous! Blog mention!!! :p househunting is overwhelming, frustrating, exhausting, depressing, annoying, and fun. Be prepared to say no way LOTS of times. And contrary to hgtv, closing does NOT equal keys.... Heh. Enjoy it, take pictures of every house, if for nothing else than entertainment value. It was great to see you.... My, how we've grown up! Baaaaaaaa!

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  2. Yes, I've missed your blogging. Glad you are back. :D

    So sorry to hear about your Grandpa. I just went to a funeral yesterday for a really special lady and have another memorial in 2 weeks for an old friend of mine. Big hug for you.

    I'm so excited to hear about your plans to buy your own home!!! There are some good finds out there in Napa too. Make your list of what you want (you probably already have) and send it out into the universe. We were really blessed to buy the house we did, when we did, firs time homeowners too, etc. I will happen for you too.

    Happy Smiling! :D

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  3. Finding a home to own. Sounds so easy. Oh, we just went through it. Good luck in finding a perfect home for your family!

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Somedays I feel I'm talking to myself! Input is appreciated :)