It’s a few weeks before closing, I’ve worked out situations with my lender on what I need to do and find out NOT one but TWO of my deals are falling through. In real estate, every deal doesn’t go through. Those aren’t the things I share publicly because that isn’t sexy. How many Realtors out there are really talking about those things? One of the two was deal set to close FOUR days before my home. That WAS my downpayment. I couldn’t sleep at all after finding out. I really was about to watch something I dreamed of walk away so easily. However, when you really work your business, you are never without business. I had another deal come through and close a few weeks prior that secured the extra funds I needed to pay off my car. We even worked everything out to where I brought in $1300 at closing.
I swear every call I received from the lender, my heart would drop. I’m like I have no more money to give without completing falling out of my living comfort zone.
What I learned from the whole process is
1. Never depend on others to do what you REALLY want to do. I know deals may fall through however that one deal set me back because I was dependent on it for my home. Had I not had my house tied to it, I would have been okay.
2. Be resourceful. Just because you have one way or doing things doesn’t make it the only or best way. I was able to use a mortgage credit certificate (which helps me qualify for a tax credit for the life I own the home) to help offset my debt to income ratio. This helped me not really break the bank after paying the car off.
3. Always have MORE money. Down payment assistance route was never my option because I knew the cost of that would have me way out of my comfort zone. I settled for a slightly higher rate than I felt I should have gotten because of the money I wanted to bring to closing. I still feel like my rate should be lower and somewhere between now and April, I hope that can happen.
4. Don’t sweat the small stuff. I tossed and turned every night until I signed the papers. I never got to really enjoy my home when I moved in because I suddenly had to move as my lease ended the day after closing. In my mind, I had to grind for the first mortgage payment. It’s like bills are due and there is no time to slack off. This made me not really sit back and enjoy my hard work. I overworked myself for 2017 because I had grand goals. The first and most important one has been accomplished.
Let’s take a look at the process: