Where was Kin?
It’s been awhile! I am back! So where has I gone? To put it simplest, I am now a homeowner.
Everything in the past month happened so quickly and unexpectedly. At the beginning of August, I was not even seriously looking. That is, until I spotted a lovely unit on an online listing in a familiar neighborhood, haha. I will let you in on the feat that I like about this place:
- 2 bed and 2 bath with a master, which means my own bathroom, walk-in closet, and much more space for myself!
- Both nicely remodeled bathrooms
- A nicely remodeled kitchen with a gigantic sink and one of those pull-out faucet
- Vaulted ceiling that makes for a greatly enhanced spacious feel
- A pretty and serene view on the balcony
- Better interior and more space in general
I saw the unit at the open house and then one thing leads to the next. From getting in touch with loan agents and receiving a loan approval, to doing all the paperwork with my realtor and getting my offer accepted, everything happened in a matter of days. There are many things that made this possible. Just read to the end.
On the same day of me signing all the paper and my realtor presenting the offer, she called me at night tell me, “You got it.” To which I responded, “Huh? What…? I what? woah… WOAH!! Wa~~~!!” Ok, a bit exaggerated… or may not. I was expecting a counter, if not an out-right refusal. The fact is that I went in with a price that is lower than my realtor advised because I know how far I can stretch… and I certainly do not want to over stretch. So I thought I’d start low and let fate decide. Apparently, Lady Fate gave me the go-ahead sign, instead of the middle finger.
Therefore, last month or so has left me in a daze, together with other personal stuffs. I closed escrow on 9/10, and I chose to be out of my rental by the 9/15. In those couple days, I moved everything, painted my master bedroom, and cleaned my old apartment… without the help nor blessing from a few of the most important people in my life (so you would think). That is a story for another day. On the flip side, I am very grateful for the help from those who provided and thankful that they are around.
And here I am today, writing a blog post in my own new (shall I call 1st? since I never had much of one…) home for the 1st time. Takes me a bit to focus. For the past week, I have been running around cleaning, organizing, buying necessities, and fixing all the small things around the house. I dislike clutter. So until everything is more-or-less tidied up, I am restless. I swear I have visited Home Depot and Bed Bath and Beyond more times in the past week than in my whole life.
For the next few months, I will be careful with my cash flow, until I have a clearer picture with the numbers. Yes, I have all the estimates of income and expense, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.
Now two things I’d like to highlight:
- During all the mess and mayhem in this past month, it was the best opportunity for me to practice doing everything with peace and calmness. It is tough because of all the rush and chaos, but I think I did a pretty good job. So, the best opportunity to practice awareness and to observe any effect from meditation if you do, is at the worst time.
- For the bigger decision in life, it is important to look for signs. And these signs require attention and awareness. It helps to make the decision easier and for a better choice usually. There are a lot of them playing into me becoming a homeowner.
- The location of the property being somewhere I am extremely familiar with. Ok, truth be told, it’s in the same neighborhood where I lived.
- A 2/2 condo with such interior condition is a rare sale in this complex. And the sale happens at a time when I can afford and that the mortgage rate is not very high (could be lower but nothing is perfect).
- Having a roommate who readily moved with me. That provides a nice cushion for my cash flow. He likes the location still (actually slightly more convenient for him), and he gets his own bathroom now. Also, we get along very well, so I’d hate to have to look for another roommate during the move, or any time soon.
- The way I found my realtor is pretty interesting. I happened to meet and speak with her because I randomly strolled into the open house in the unit across from my old place a long time ago. She has been most friendly and helpful. You may argue that she is working for money, but I think she could do her job much worse, and therefore I am appreciative. I remembered her because at previous meeting, she was nice enough to brought me district school information, unnecessarily, after I mentioned my niece. I don’t have her business card, and I only somehow found her on the internet.
- The seller agent was not present at the open house. Instead, the male owner was there. Our meeting somehow contributed to the acceptance of my offer. Of course, the owners liked how quickly I got the paperwork and loan approval worked out cleanly also.
- The unit requires no work to be done… except I wanted to different color in my room. That part of labor I put myself through.
So there you have it. What has happened to me. Although I pulled this off mostly on my own, I am glad to have my sister and the friends who were there… despite the less than ideal fact of null, if not negative, contribution from other important family members. But that has always been my reality, and I have long accepted it. And like I said, this is a tale to be told on another day.
