This blog post is far overdue!
I just want to update you all on what has been going on with me for the past few months. Back in October I began my move to Denver, CO. I was uprooting my entire life, all my belongings and of course my work.
I was setting out to purchase a home; my first home at that! Due to the fact that I have been self employed for the past four years, and also the fact that I did not prepare ahead of time to buy a house (my situation required a move, and buying just seemed to make sense), I did not have the opportunity to ensure that my taxable income was sufficient for a traditional home loan!
What this meant is that I had to go the route of what's called a 'Bank Statement Loan', where they look at your deposits and judge your income based off of that, instead of off your tax return. These loans take a lot longer, and are far more expensive than a traditional loan, but my goal was to get into my house and refinance once I had my 2019 taxes done (thinking I could then qualify for a traditional loan).
My original closing date was set for October 25th, so I packed up my entire world, and set off in a U-haul to Denver. Somewhere along the 20 hour road trip, I got word that we were not going to be closing on the 25th, it would be delayed.
Thankfully, my girlfriend lives in Denver, so I had a place to stay (seriously, I don't know what I would have done without you babe! :* ). What was supposed to be a week delay, turned into another week, and then another week, until eventually, literally months were passing by. All this time I left my world in that U-haul, parked outside of a friends house for safe keeping, racking up a mega nauseating bill.
Long story short, I got approved; but needed to have 12 months of mortgage payments in reserve AFTER my down payment. I just did not have that, so I had to call it quits with that lender and find a new one.
Luckily the sellers who own the house like me, because under these circumstances, anyone else would have found a new buyer like that (snaps fingers). We found a new lender, and we were told it would only take a week before I was ready to close. Well, that was not the case. Fast forward another month and finally the light is at the end of the tunnel and I have my new closing date.
The very night before I'm supposed to close, I get an e-mail that I was denied for the loan. I was completely dumbfounded. Ultimately we discovered that the loan processor (who puts all the documents together to be underwritten), FORGED a CPA letter on my behalf, WITHOUT ANYONE'S KNOWING.
The original letter said that the loan would not negatively affect my business; the processor added to the letter, saying that I owned 100% of my company and that I have been self employed for two years. She also had changed the date. Now, the most frustrating thing about this is that the things she added are totally true. Why did she decide to forge this document? She got fired, I got denied, and it cost me a ton of money in the process.
Back to those awesome sellers I was talking about. They liked me so much that they decided to let me into the house immediately following this tragic news. They knew it wasn't my fault, they just wanted me to get into the house. They literally let me move in without any paperwork, no payments, nothing.
Eventually we worked with a private lender who set me up with a lease to buy contract, which is what I am on as we speak. As with the initial plan to refinance out of the expensive loan, my plan is still the same. Once I have my taxes done, I'll be exercising my exclusive right to buy the house, using a traditional loan.
I need to backtrack a little bit, because I got caught up in the story of the house buying process. All this time I have not been able to work. My possessions being stuck in a U-haul, and not having sufficient space to set up shop. Also keep in mind that I was only delayed 1 week at a time, I never had the luxury of knowing that I wouldn't be able to move in for several months!!
As if all of this wasn't enough to shatter a man, my mother passed tragically on October 26th, just two days after I arrived in my new city. I was so excited for her to be able to come visit me in my home once I moved in and to meet my lovely partner.
Despite immense heartache and nearly insurmountable stress, I have come out stronger than ever. I cannot express how amazing the people are in my life. My friends, family and my wonderful customers have all been so absolutely graceful in their support of me during this time. I was very candid with my customers about the circumstances I was going through, and received nothing but kind words and much appreciated patience.
I'm now in my home. It's not entirely mine yet, but it will be. I've set up shop and am working on orders to the absolute best of my ability. I am trying to work quickly, but you can't rush a quality product. I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for sticking with me through all of this, it has not been easy but you have made it so much easier than it could have been.
If you would like to know more about my mother, Cher Lyn, she was an amazingly talented artist and lives on through her work. You can view her legacy here:
Create in peace, Mom <3