As I shared a couple of weeks ago, the current location of the rental GTD Office (which is also where I live 7-9 months per year) is coming to an end. It has been a great & affordable run for 12 years! I can't thank the owners enough for all they've done to bless me and the ministry! (And many thanks to my friend Steve for steering me to this place 12 years ago!!)
For the past 4 months I've been learning as much as I can about buying a home. Although I'm 47 years old, buying a home has never been on my radar. So family, friends, and Google have been teaching me so much. It has been a very fun and educational journey! It's also very time consuming. It has been a 2nd full-time job for me. Although the objective is very simple - buy a home... the process is full of complexities and overflows with "middle-men". For most people like me, buying a home is the single most expensive purchase of their/our lives. Thankfully I've so thoroughly prayed about this that it isn't a worry, concern, or source of stress... it's the next part of God's adventure for me and I'm full of eagerness and sober excitement!
So the update is that I've found at least 20 homes that I love, but one of them stands out the most to me. It was the only one that I felt like "I could live here for the next 20 years!". I absolutely love it! Mind you, it's a fixer-upper. But, it would be a perfect fit for all the big priorities in my life - family, ministry, fitness, personal enjoyment, financial investment, animals, etc. I won't go into details about it, because I'm still going through the process. It's not a done deal. Several things could still prevent the purchase from going through, but every couple of days a new hurdle is cleared. My family and friends like it. I've been approved for the loan. I've got an experienced real estate agent. We've negotiated the price. I've signed a contract. I've paid for the inspections. I've completed my 8 hour mandatory First Time Buyer Educational Course (see picture). Most importantly, I've prayed through every aspect of this journey. Now I'm awaiting the appraisal. If that comes back fine then I move on to the next hurdles like a title search, etc. Lord willing, the closing date is set for the end of April. If we run into any big snags then we navigate them or move on to another home. Either way, my hope is in God, not an outcome. I'm guardedly ecstatic! Life is a crazy and exciting ride, but you'll get emotionally wrecked if you invest your hopes, dreams, and emotions into a certain expected outcome. It's much more fun to keep the outcome as a suspense and enjoy running the obstacle course one obstacle at a time =)
I want to continue to thank our prayer warriors for lifting this up to God in prayer. I believe that wherever I end up - it will be a great blessing.
More updates to come =)
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