Buying a Home in 2024

Our Journey

Our journey to homeownership has been a long one, it feels like it anyway. We never thought when we started that we wouldn’t be buying a home until 2024. The first time we ever looked into buying a home, was 14 years ago. It was a home we were renting from a guy that worked with my dad. We needed a bigger house, because we had just had a new baby. This man my dad worked with had one for rent, just around the corner from where we already lived. We would still be close to our family, and have the space we needed for our kids.

We moved in with a 6 month lease to feel the place out before we committed to the purchase. To us this seemed like a great plan. However, just before signing the contract to purchase the home, the man had a change in his situation and informed us that he would be retaking possession of the home. We had paid up for the following two months, and since he couldn’t pay us back we had 2 months to find a new place.

We were able to find a new house in the same little town, with just enough time to pack up and get moved. It was even within walking distance of a very large park. This was, however, no where close to our dream home. We continued to look for that perfect house to purchase.

God Shifted our Life

After about a year in this home we decided to move again. Staying in the same quaint town , but a bit closer to some family. It was nice. We had family members just behind us and across the street. There was someone over for diner every night. Anyone who knows me very well understands how elated I was to get to entertain every night.

We were in this home for again, about a year before God shifted our life. There were some horrible things going on in the church we were a part of that God brought out into the open to us, and we left. We knew God was at work, and that he wanted to use us. The question now was where. Where could we go and find what God had for us? While we prayed, and waited for the Lord to show us, we started a church in my cousins living room. It was great! We even had a man come in and get saved! But it wasn’t too long that it began to fizzle out.

We knew this would not be a long term thing, but had hopes that it would grow into something bigger. As things began to shift there we began attending a church about 25 minutes from home. One day the Pastor pulls Aaron aside to inform him that God wants him to become the new pastor there. Within 2 months of attendance here, we were voted in as the new pastor family. Talk about a whirlwind. As you can probably imagine, this meant we were moving, again.

Nothing on the Market

We looked for months for a place to buy close to the church. There was nothing on the market that would even come close to fitting our needs. While we were searching though, there was a property management company that we kept coming across. So, we decided to give them a call. They had a house that was actually pretty cool, and in okay condition, considering the location. It was even within walking distance of the church. Thus we found ourselves renting yet again.

About a year goes by and we found that this property management company, that promised to take care of their property had no intentions of actually doing so. That place had a lot of lipstick on it when we looked at it and moved in. It didn’t take long for it to begin wearing off. Our last straw was when I was in the basement doing laundry one beautiful day, and the air duct fell from my son’s bedroom onto my head. We called and reported it again, only this time to say that it had now fallen completely, leaving in it’s place a hole in my son’s floor.

They did nothing. We began the house hunt all over. About a month or so in one of the visitors at church came to us and said she was wanting to sell her home on contract. It was close to church and family so, we said we would take a look at it. While we were there we prayed that if this was what the Lord wanted that he would show us without a doubt. As we were praying the Lord very quickly told us no. So, we kept looking, until one day a lady at church told me that her and her husband had a house they rented that had just come available. We moved in two weeks later.

Another Change of Direction

It seems like for a long time God moved us about once every year and a half or so. This was no exception. After two years of pastoring this church my husband gets a call from his old pastor. He was calling to say that he was going into traveling evangelism, and that God had laid it on the heart of his wife and himself that we should take their place. They had not yet told their church or anyone else, including their children, about this decision. My husband abruptly said no. When he told me, though, I felt much different. I kept my mouth shut and cried later when I was alone.

After he said no to this other pastor we started noticing some things going on that were very alarming. Long story short, the Lord was at work preparing Aaron’s heart to follow what mine already knew he was to do. A couple of weeks go by and we were across the country with this pastor and his wife. At this point he had made it public knowledge that he was resigning as the pastor of the church. Every time he asked for prayer in finding a new pastor my heart fell. I felt God pulling at Aaron, but I believe he was scared. You see there were several of our family whom we had been working on trying to get them into church for years, that were actually coming. He was afraid of loosing progress with them if we moved so far away.

Once we got home to our babies I brought up to him that I felt bad for that pastor and his church. He agreed, and nothing more was said. Until a few weeks later, that is, after a very long and exhausting day, as we laid in bed trying to make sense of the events of the day. I looked up into his big orangish brown eyes and asked him if that church had found a pastor yet. He replied with, “I don’t think so,” as he texted the man. I said “It’s because they are waiting for you to say yes.” As the words left my lips his eyes filled with tears. He turned the phone, and the text read, “We are waiting for you to say yes brother.”

Big Move

Needless to say, he took that pastorate pretty quick after that. He pastored both churches for about a month and a half before leaving the first one completely. We had hoped that in that time they would have found a new pastor to take over, but they were having a hard time. We continued to pray for and help them in any way we could, and eventually they did find a new pastor.

Our new church family did not care for the neighborhood we were living in, it was a rough one. It was also about a 45 minute drive out to church, which was not much fun on Sunday morning. There was a profits chambers in the church building that they wanted us to move into. My husband hates moving and we had done a lot of it so far. So, when he went to Israel I plotted with some of our friends to not only run our business alone, but move all of our possessions into that profits chamber. They all laughed at me, I almost killed myself, but I did it! I thought that my husband would be so very happy and like the Lord had just blessed his socks off through me. NOPE. He was not pleased at all.

I picked him up from the airport and took him to the empty house and he felt very misplaced. You see I did not think about jet lag. Or the fact that he had not been in his own house in over three weeks. I just thought I would bless him by doing the one thing he hated to do the most for him. He eventually thanked me but we did spend his first two days home at my dad’s house. He said that felt more like home to him.

The hunt was on again

As our family grew we decided it was time to start looking again for a home we could make our own. We contacted a realtor and a mortgage broker. We had a sizeable down payment and could prove we had ample ability to make the mortgage payments. The hunt was on again and we looked at a lot of houses. Some I liked, some he liked, but none we liked. Until one of the families in the church told us about the house they were having built. I wanted nothing to do with a subdivision or an HOA, but I said I would tell Aaron.

I kept my word and we went to look at what they had to offer. We fell completely in love with a house. Both of us at the same time loved this floor plan and almost everything about it. We felt like we had finally found it. God had other plans though. The home builders had their own financers we had to use, and they weren’t very fond of small business owners with no credit. It seems that no matter your down payment or cash flow, you can not get a loan if you always pay cash for everything you own. We had no car payments, no credit cards, no credit.

Hard times come

So, there went the house and our dreams of owning a home. After about another year and a half or so we found ourselves at yet another cross road. Our family was dealing with a lot of turmoil and turbulence. Too often I think, people forget that every man is fallible, and very much in need of prayer and encouragement. Your pastor is no different. He does need real friends who will stick by his side and back him up and/or challenge him in the word of God. He doesn’t know it all, and if he is a good pastor he will tell you that himself. Often times he is so busy serving others that he doesn’t slow down and let others serve him. Or they get so used to him doing it all that they forget they are supposed to.

We ended up shutting down our business for several reasons, the biggest one being, we couldn’t get anyone to work past a day or two. The ones who did were cutting corners or just simply not doing their job. Especially once they started getting free money. In the middle of the trouble we changed churches again, too. They had a house that was kind of in limbo, they didn’t own it yet, but managed it. It was old and falling down. So, we moved in with my dad, and began fixing it up as we could. We finally got it livable and moved in. We have lived here now for 6 years.

This house is now a parsonage owned by the church we were sent out of to plant churches. As you can imagine, we have out grown this house, and I’m sure the church would like to use it for the next church planters that come in.

Finally Things are lining up

We began the process of building credit and working with a mortgage lender, Bill Gray, and realtor, Michelle McKnight, about a year ago to help us find a home. They have done a great job of helping us to build credit and get preapproved for a home loan. As we looked for a home while waiting for Aaron’s credit score to grow, we noticed a trend of prices on the rise. It was difficult to find anything where we were looking for a reasonable price. Even 2 bed 1 bath homes are going for more than $300,000. Buying a home in 2024 was not going to be easy for us. Or, so we thought.

Here is how it’s gone so far. We contacted Bill the day after we filed our taxes and got real serious. The first of February we contacted Michelle and found a house right away that suited our needs. By the time the week was over we had an accepted offer on that house. Finally things are lining up all at the right time for us to become homeowners for the first time. God’s hand has always been at work. He has put us in many different places and done many different things with us, and I am grateful for every one of them.

I know that every time the Lord has stopped us in our tracks in home buying it was because he was about to move us in a completely different direction. I just can’t help but feel like with this home purchase God is saying, “Well done, you have adapted well to my callings in your life. Take a rest.” Maybe not, but that is how I am feeling. The Lord is so good to us. I could not be more excited to see what he’s going to do with/in us next. Living for him is never boring nor disappointing. I will share pictures soon.