Bank has come back with the final appraisal, everything is A OK! We are GO for launch!
Just to give God the credit here is a brief time line of the Benjamin house hunt.
2001 Abby & Jon wed
2003 Abby & Jon have first kid
2004 Abby quits her job (she was the larger breadwinner and only source of health insurance) while pregnant with second kid
2004 Abby and Jon open their own business. It fails.
Fall 2005- Winter 2006 Abby and Jon move 3 times, to 3 different states trying to find a job for Jon with enough income to support a family.
Feb 2006 move into current 2 bedroom apartment in a Maryland Suburb of Washington D.C.
2008 First House Hunting search. Epic failure!
2010 Second House Hunting search. Repeat failure.
Summer 2010 Abby cries in Target, says to God "all I want is to be the happy Mom with a house and a minivan. Why did you give me an eye for beauty when all I can afford to buy is total ugliness!"
Summer 2010, Abby and Jon decide to post-pone house hunt until six months after Baby Tess arrives
August 30, 2010 Tess arrives. Spends 3 weeks in Children's National Hospital. Her hospital bills threaten to wipe out our entire house hunting fund and threaten to mess up our only recently reestablished good credit reports.
Winter 2010, Abby and Jon decide that God must want them to rent "for the foreseeable future" Turn down chance to move to 3 bedroom in same apartment complex because it's a 3rd floor walk-up.
Middle of Lent 2011, Abby get's surprise call from apartment office. They refuse to allow us to resign lease in current apartment because we have "too many kids." Complete shock.
Lent 2011 Can't find an affordable 3 bedroom in our neighborhood. Run into problems with moving into special "low income" apartment building near our church
Lent 2011 Decide to table apartment hunt for remaining 2 weeks of Lent. Want to focus on preparing for Easter.
Easter Day find prefect house rental within 2 miles. Jon says "we can't afford to turn on the heat if we pay that amount of rent per month." Abby considers issuing parkas for all children to wear on the inside during winter. Go on line, find affordable places to BUY in a small town 50 minutes away.
Late April Discover we qualify for a special federal home loan with near miracle terms.
May 9, 2010 Put offer in on first gleaming house. Offer falls apart within 48 hours.
(Abby cries!)
May 15, 2010 Find second house in better neighborhood. Get lots of back-up houses nearby.
May 16, 2010. Discover house has a cracked foundation. 99% of our 12 back-up houses already have contracts on them. (Abby cries again).
May 18, 2010 Put offer in on third choice home, which just came on the market on May 13th.
May 20, 2010 Offer accepted.
House passes Home inspection.
June 10, 2010 Bank passes special loan appraisal. The Benjamin's have a new home. Closing date is scheduled for June 29, 2011.
Thank you St. Joseph!
