Staying Positive...
Have you ever gotten some crumby news? Like you have a plan and you're working towards it, and then, wham!
Recently, this happened to Megan and I. We have been renting an apartment for coming up on two years and had planned to live here at least one more year, while we save up a down payment for our first home. The plan was to rent here until we could comfortably purchase a home (more on this in a bit). We ran some numbers prior to being married and have recalculated since being married and the plan was to hopefully purchase a home in the Spring/Summer 2019.
The news we received was that our leasing company was not going to let us renew our lease, not because we are bad tenants, but because their son wants our specific unit. It is frustrating to us on many levels as we take care of this property better than most, and probably the son who will live here for free.
Since our wedding, and receiving many gifts (thank you family and friends!), we have really continued to make our apartment our little home for the time being. We felt like we were finally settled in. We repositioned the furniture, hung pictures and artwork, used that new pizza cutter and apple slicer. How can they make us move now?!
Neither Megan or I have ever been a homeowner. I've rented since I moved out of the dorms (UWL Angell Hall shoutout) in 2005. While I haven't built any equity in a home to this point, I haven't saved up enough money to buy (or start a mortgage) a home, or have someone to share that experience and privilege with. By following our Dave plan, we have no debt, a 3-6 month emergency fund, are currently saving for retirement through our Roth IRA's, and putting all extra income in a separate savings account to use as a down payment for our house. Our goal is to put a minimum of 20% down on our future home to avoid PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance). We will also be putting our home loan on a 15-year fixed rate mortgage.
Being denied a lease renewal caused a brief hiccup in our plan. We started looking at homes considering a 3.5% down payment and trying to get approved for a loan and tour homes all in the upcoming two months. After spending time on Zillow and texting home links back and forth, Megan and I came to the realization of our original plan. We had the epiphany and came to our senses and we are sticking to the plan we had in place. We are not going to let someone else's decision impact our life and how we do things. Since starting to look for apartments, we have browsed Craigslist, toured apartments and spent probably 10+ hours on something we didn't even want to be doing. It has been very stressful, but been a learning process for us to work together and know that we will get through this stronger than we were before.
I didn't want to share this post to receive your sympathy or help in bashing the company, but rather to share a point of view. We have done some complaining and griping about the hassles of moving, spending money on moving, time it will take to find a place, and even the time we spent considering purchasing a home in a hurry. The reason for sharing this post is to remind us, and you, to stick to a plan and be optimistic. We (or you) put a plan in place and need to stay determined to meet our goal. Believe in yourself, and your spouse, keep pushing forward and keep that positive attitude. Most of us are physically and mentally stronger than we look and think. The biggest bonus in our story of bad news, we get to take the best things with us - each other!
Disclaimer - we may ask for your help in moving if you are family or close friends, or just one of those people who really like helping with moving!
Here's to having a clear vision, remaining focused, an optimistic perspective and grinding harder than before to reach our goals. We got this.
Leave a comment below. I would love to hear from you about where you're at, or what questions you have. If you don't want to do so in a public forum, DM me or share your email address and I'll add you to the list to receive an update when a new blog is posted.
Recently, this happened to Megan and I. We have been renting an apartment for coming up on two years and had planned to live here at least one more year, while we save up a down payment for our first home. The plan was to rent here until we could comfortably purchase a home (more on this in a bit). We ran some numbers prior to being married and have recalculated since being married and the plan was to hopefully purchase a home in the Spring/Summer 2019.
The news we received was that our leasing company was not going to let us renew our lease, not because we are bad tenants, but because their son wants our specific unit. It is frustrating to us on many levels as we take care of this property better than most, and probably the son who will live here for free.
Since our wedding, and receiving many gifts (thank you family and friends!), we have really continued to make our apartment our little home for the time being. We felt like we were finally settled in. We repositioned the furniture, hung pictures and artwork, used that new pizza cutter and apple slicer. How can they make us move now?!
Neither Megan or I have ever been a homeowner. I've rented since I moved out of the dorms (UWL Angell Hall shoutout) in 2005. While I haven't built any equity in a home to this point, I haven't saved up enough money to buy (or start a mortgage) a home, or have someone to share that experience and privilege with. By following our Dave plan, we have no debt, a 3-6 month emergency fund, are currently saving for retirement through our Roth IRA's, and putting all extra income in a separate savings account to use as a down payment for our house. Our goal is to put a minimum of 20% down on our future home to avoid PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance). We will also be putting our home loan on a 15-year fixed rate mortgage.
Being denied a lease renewal caused a brief hiccup in our plan. We started looking at homes considering a 3.5% down payment and trying to get approved for a loan and tour homes all in the upcoming two months. After spending time on Zillow and texting home links back and forth, Megan and I came to the realization of our original plan. We had the epiphany and came to our senses and we are sticking to the plan we had in place. We are not going to let someone else's decision impact our life and how we do things. Since starting to look for apartments, we have browsed Craigslist, toured apartments and spent probably 10+ hours on something we didn't even want to be doing. It has been very stressful, but been a learning process for us to work together and know that we will get through this stronger than we were before.
I didn't want to share this post to receive your sympathy or help in bashing the company, but rather to share a point of view. We have done some complaining and griping about the hassles of moving, spending money on moving, time it will take to find a place, and even the time we spent considering purchasing a home in a hurry. The reason for sharing this post is to remind us, and you, to stick to a plan and be optimistic. We (or you) put a plan in place and need to stay determined to meet our goal. Believe in yourself, and your spouse, keep pushing forward and keep that positive attitude. Most of us are physically and mentally stronger than we look and think. The biggest bonus in our story of bad news, we get to take the best things with us - each other!
Disclaimer - we may ask for your help in moving if you are family or close friends, or just one of those people who really like helping with moving!
Here's to having a clear vision, remaining focused, an optimistic perspective and grinding harder than before to reach our goals. We got this.
Leave a comment below. I would love to hear from you about where you're at, or what questions you have. If you don't want to do so in a public forum, DM me or share your email address and I'll add you to the list to receive an update when a new blog is posted.
Nick, I like your mindset on change. Unwanted change brings uncomfort. It definety sucks that you are forced to move. I can say that I understand, we were in the same boat. We were renting and pretty much outgrew the lower half of the house we were in. The owners century 21 decided to put the house on the market. Previosusly I thought about buying but I was not ready. I put a plan together to formulate a better income to debt ratio, my plan was working but century 21 deciding to sell created a change. I did research as you did and I decided that I no longer wanted to pay rent in the amount that others were paying to own. I accepted the curve ball and swung! My plan didn’t necessary change, it just altered a bit. Currently I have no regrets. Our house is becoming a home, we’re buidlong equity, and currently I could sell for 40k more than what I paid. Also century 21 selling our rental gave me a passion for real estate as I’ plan on picking that up part time. Moral of the story is, whatever decision you make, make it together and understand with the mindset you have, the sky’s the limit !
ReplyDeleteP.s. I could definitely help out with the move
Love the insight and your story! Life is all about stages and albeit through social media, I've seen your family grow from you and Kelli to a family of 4. You guys seem so happy all the time from apartment living to buying your house. It has been great to see your home projects come together too, even when she invades the man cave! It is great to hear another story of someone who was in this same position. I think we have made some strides and have our next apartment picked out. Like you said, it was a curveball, but it was one we could hit. We'll keep making this lemonade over here.
DeleteIt has definitely been too long. I don't want you helping us move to be the way we see each other, but it just may be a way to reconnect!
PS - how's that book coming along ;)