A little over 2 years ago, we moved to South Carolina. π΄π‘ We didn't have a place lined up, just an Airbnb for 2 weeks. It ended up taking 3 weeks to find a place.
We could only find a 3-bedroom house within our budget. π Initially, our landlord was hesitant to rent to us because we had children, but after meeting us, he changed his mind. π«πΆ
We needed a 4-bedroom, but we made do with 3, meaning Shay and I had to turn the living room into our bedroom. Shay decorated it beautifully! π¨ It was home, the first home I had lived in as an adult. We didn't invite people over because we didn't have anywhere for them to sitβwe didn't have a living room.
This year, Shay was pregnant, and we decided we needed a bigger place for our growing family. πΆ The thought of buying a home scared me. I wanted to rent a bigger place, thinking, "Who will take care of the maintenance issues?" The truth was, I didn't see myself owning a home. My limited mindset said, "Why should I?"
But Shay wasn't hearing it and applied anyway. π After applying, we were instantly approved! π
Shortly after, we lost the baby... π We went through a rough time. Despite the heartache, we decided to keep looking for a houseβmainly Shay, as I was still feeling undeserving and unsure.
We saw a house we liked, but it was under contract. π‘ The first two houses we looked at would have required us to settle in different ways. Even though we didn't have a big budget, we didn't want to settle. Then, the house we originally liked was back on the marketβthe buyer had backed out. We visited the house the next day, and we knew it was perfect for our family.
We put in an offer. π The house was a little above our budget by $5K. We took the kids the next day, walked around the house, and prayed, claiming it for our family. π The owners accepted our offer, and we were excited! π₯³
We asked for a $5K credit, and the owner agreed, which put us right at our number. πΈ Our lender, who saw the credit score, had skipped over the income when approving us. When the lender came back with three different numbers, each one lower than the last, I thought, "I guess it's not meant to be." He told us what he offered was the best we could find. We were fed up with the lender's false promises.
With 2.5 weeks to go before closing, our realtor suggested we switch lenders. It was a risky move, but we went for it. The new lender asked for every document under the sun and the moon. π
The seller was nervous about the deal not going through and asked if we needed anything else. We asked for another $2.5K in credits, and they agreed. The new lender was able to get us the exact amount we wanted and close on time. We got a house that gave us more than we were even looking for, and now we can host people anytime we want. π‘β¨
Moving to South Carolina has broken the frame of what I thought was possible. We've been through so much, but GOD has truly shown up and shown out for us because we were obedient. π I didn't know how all this was going to work out. Had we not gotten pregnant, we would have kept the idea of the house on the back burner. Had I not had a wife that kept moving forward despite her own pain while I was fighting for my limitations, we would have never gotten this far with the house.
Looking back, if the lender had not overlooked the income, we would have never applied for this house. Sometimes, when things don't seem like they're working for you, they are when you look back and connect the dots.
I said all of this to encourage you to go after it and not listen when people say there is no way. What is for you will be for you! Stop fighting for your limitations and start fighting for the blessings you deserve. GOD did!!! ππ
Love y'all! π