I’m a home owner!
Feb 22nd, 2010 by Eryk
As of last Friday at 4:00 PM, I’m a home owner once again! It’s an amazing feeling. There was this euphoric moment when I was just standing in my yard, looking around and thinking, “I own this.” Part of my elation comes from my previous belief that I would never be able to qualify for a mortgage all on my own. I make a decent living, but I’ve got a high debt-to-income ratio because of my car payment and student loans. There’s also the embarrassing fact that at one point my credit report was riddled with 90- and 120-day lates… But apparently they have all dropped off because my credit score is suddenly quite high and I qualified for a fantastic 30-year fixed interest rate!
I often have trouble understanding why lines like that are drawn. Like turning 21 and suddenly being magically old enough to drink, my credit score went from the low 500’s to the mid-700’s in an instant. If you think about what a credit score represents, this doesn’t even make sense. It essentially means that one day I existed as a terrible risk to lenders and the next day I was a desirable borrower. It all adds to my feeling that so much of everyday life has been ruined by bad people. I can rant about a lack of common sense in the world and make sarcastic comments about replacing under-writers with policy robots, but the simple fact is that those policies exist because there are bad people in the world who exploit good-will and those people have ruined it for the rest of us.
Philosophy aside, I’m so happy in my new place! Jaxon and I stayed there this weekend and had a good time. The windows are almost floor-to-ceiling windows so Jaxon can easily look out them. He loves climbing up and down the multi-tiered deck in the yard and he had a great time running through the house and hiding in closets. The house came with a hot tub, and while I didn’t really think I’d use it all that often, I soaked in it for a bit on Saturday when Jaxon was napping and I can honestly say that it’s something I can see myself doing on almost a daily basis. It was lovely!
I’m already envisioning all of the updates I can make to the house. First on the list was to mount my computer to the wall of the built-in desk in the kitchen. Done! Next up is pavers in the back yard with a small fire pit. Or maybe new lighting fixtures around the house. Or perhaps I could put together a small garden for spring. So many options! Of course, I could just focus on actually moving my stuff over first. One step at a time.
