If I ever doubt those words all I need do is remember what happened this week.
I called about an apartment in Divide, CO. While speaking with the landlord, Mike, we discussed application fees (a way to make money on properties without ever having to rent it out) and my plans 2-3 years down the line, which was to save enough money to buy my own home where I can paint walls or change the carpet or do whatever needs done without having to get permission or be constrained by a lease. I can't burn down the house, but then I never intended to. I need a place to live.
Mike said I should talk to his father, David, who had a property in Florissant he wanted to sell. David would carry the mortgage and I could rent to own. Could he give his dad my information and have him call me? Yes, yes, he could -- and he did.
David wanted to know if I minded being out away from town. Did I mind being secluded?. Could I handle living all alone? Would I be happy in a situation like that?
It was quickly clear this was what I wanted. As soon as I got off the phone, I searched and found the property and lots of pictures, one of which is above. The house has 3 bedrooms, 2-1/2 bathrooms, a barn turned into a garage that could withstand a nuclear attack, and a shed and it all sits on 3 acres of land. Wooded high desert land. Land with trees and space and it is heaven.
As I checked out costs and amenities (restaurant, bank, grocery store, etc.), I figured out I couldn't afford to pay the monthly amount he suggested and I would have to tell him no when he called the next morning, which I did. That's when he told me he would put the rate at a price I could afford. "I have enough money; I don't need to sell this to make money. I will work with you to make sure you can afford it."
I was flabbergasted. He would work with me . . . and he did, first by hooking me up with his realtor, who lives in the area, so I could get a better grasp of the costs of living up there. The costs are half what I'm paying here in Colorado Springs. I could go to town every 1-2 weeks and do all my running and chores at that time, just like when I lived up at the cabin in Tabernash. I can live with that. The realtor hooked me up with a mortgage broker who would help me establish credit and get the best deal for buying the house. There is no rush since David will let me pay him until that happens. Susan Vineyard, the realtor, will also help me get a USDA government loan to buy the house. Since the barn is now a garage, that will happen now.
Out of a call for an apartment I now will own a house, my own cabin in the mountains, which readers of this blog know has been my dream for many years, a dream that is now a reality.
I have plans for the property, like building a guest house that can be rented out to vacationers and where friends and family can come and stay when they visit. Yes, I have 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, but there are some people I can only take in small doses. A guest house is ideal. I want to install solar power and connect to the grid so I can sell my power back to the electric company and make a little money and help cut my own electric costs. I might even eventually install electric heating, which would be feasible with solar power. There's a lot of sun available in the mountains all year round at about 10,000 feet where I'll be living.
The first purchase on my list is a generator. I'll have to save for that, but I will have it before the end of the year. The deck furniture for the wrap-around deck can wait, and so can furniture for the other 2 bedrooms, living room, and dining room. Those can wait.
There are grants to check out. Hoity-toity told me about a government grant to grow trees on the land. I have plenty of land and trees already grow there, so that is an option. There are a whole lot of options for me now that I didn't have 2 weeks ago, or even 6 months ago, when this house went into foreclosure. I still have to move, but not to an apartment or some house that isn't even remotely close to what I need or want. I'm moving up into the mountains to my own cabin and eventually I'll be able to fill all of those cabinets in the kitchen. So much more is possible now than was possible 2 weeks ago or even 6 months ago. Of course I will have to deal with fixing the roof or buying a new furnace or hot water heater, but not for a long time since this house was built 6 months ago. I think, considering the garage will withstand a nuclear attack, that this house and its appliances and roof will last at least another 10 or 20 years. This house has a crawl space under the house you can stand up in. Yes, I am certain this house will last and I will be a homeowner with a mortgage and a credit rating at last -- still living on a budget. I might even be able to get back to writing and publishing more books.
Anything is possible because I will be home at last.
That is all. Disperse.
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