How could you not know?
The home-buying process is laden with enough procedures and approvals you think you would most certainly know that you actually bought a house.
On contrary, Welcome to my world… Where you can haphazardly purchase an asset as big as a 100 year old, 3000 sq. ft. English Tudor for pennies and not know for sure if it just happened.
I’ll admit it’s a long story riddled with side sagas. It’s definitely a road trip, not a drive around the block. But if you feel like a good story, I’m willing to take you for the ride.
I was in Houston, Texas with my then husband. What lead us there is a drama in itself; that detour has been a closed road for years, we’ll keep it that way for now. Anyhow we were living in a cute little luxury apartment in Cypress, just outside of North Houston. I had finished my Bachelors Degree a few months earlier and I got an invitation to apply for Grad school at Wayne State University in Detroit (My hometown). I was going through a huge moment of self doubt and I knew I wouldn’t get accepted but I applied anyway just to prove a point to myself. Going to Wayne State had been a dream of mine since I was little… So was living in a house in Indian Village. Sometimes dreams are just that right? Well, to my utter shock I got accepted into the MBA program, even with my marginal GMAT scores. I wanted to attend but that would mean leaving Texas. My husband wanted no part of that. Little did I know, he was actually jealous I got accepted. So poof… dream squashed.
Until a disaster hit. My Mom in Michigan had a debilitating stroke… at that point there was no question. I was going to Michigan with or without him to help my mom recover. The stroke had left her paralyzed on one side, no way I was going to let her go it alone. Before leaving I decided that I would try to talk to my husband once more to figure out a plan we both could agree on. We ended up agreeing that he would stay in Texas to finish his Associates degree at the local community college and I would go to Michigan to see about my mom.
I asked him about my opportunity to go to grad school, since we had no idea how long it would be until my mom was back on her feet. There was other family at home but she wasn’t married and this recovery would be a huge strain on everyone without me pulling a chunk of the weight. He reluctantly told me he supported the idea of me going, and I believed him. He also told me to look for us a house up there so that after he finished his Associates we could stay and both go to Wayne State.
I was so relieved. He had recently received a large inheritance from his father. Before his father passed he told his wife and I that he wanted to make sure his son bought a house. My intention was for us to come back to Houston after he completed his Bachelors at WSU so he could complete his Masters with his Texas education benefits. In the end we could just sell or make the house an income property or a winter home… Whatever… I just wanted to stay true to my word and make sure he bought a house. With so much going on I did not want to carry the guilt if my husband blew through that money and I didn’t make good on my word. Besides everyone knows the housing situation in Detroit, we had more than enough in the bank to by a tax property for a couple thousand and renovate the hell out of it. It was all falling together and I needed it to. I was a wreck worrying about what state my mom was in I couldn’t take much else going wrong.
Back in Michigan…
The worst part was over, god saved her. But she had a long road of learning how to walk with one side paralyzed. She also had to learn how to speak again and even eat. I pureed all of her food, helped her to the bathroom and to bed. I helped her bathe and cleaned her room… it was so much emotionally I thought I was going to lose my mind. But as the days turned to months she got stronger. She learned to get out of bed and walk with a walker. She was soon feeding herself and talking a little clearer. It was a blessing to see her do the little things again. At this point I had began looking for a house and getting ready for the Fall semester of Grad. But I still had a nagging thought,”I might be putting too much on my plate?” … of course I was, but such is life.
Nothing was working by way of a traditional home purchase. I couldn’t even find a decent short sale. But the Wayne county property tax sale list was pages and pages of houses do for cheap. I decided to give that a try. I studied the street names and highlighted tons of houses as I located them on google maps. It made the process so much easier.
Once I narrowed down my list I recruited my mom as wingman and compiled my daily list of Go-see’s. That’s when I ran across a large English Tudor in Indian Village. I snubbed it at first, I preferred neoclassical, french revival or even craftsman… but with time between seeing it and the auction date, it grew on me. I had to knock some sense into myself, It was very promising and in a designated Historical District. So I highlighted it as one of the auction watchlist.
The other houses that were on the list were too big for us to tackle, but I still had my favorites that I would keep an eye on. I went to class and cared for my mother as I waited for the auctions to open up online. But first I had to put up the money to join the auction. I think it was $1000 or so. Normally that would have made me nervous, but I was determined.
The auctions would go for 3 days you just had to watch your properties and bid ebay style. Simple enough. Wrong! It was a mad house on the site, I was a nervous wreck that didn’t sleep most of the 3 days. One of the houses I really wanted in the Village had reach a price I couldn’t afford, but the house down the street was still there begging for a bid. Out of frustration I bid high to beat everyone. Funny thing after $6000 no one else tried as the minutes left turned to seconds. The clock struck zero and there it said I was the winner. I was delirious from no sleep, in denial since I had been out-bid so many times, I was in utter shock and at one point shock turned to complete terror. So much so I wanted to give the house away to my mom because I was afraid I had lost my mind and imagined it all. You have to remember I was going through a lot. Being away from the home I made with my husband was torture at times, my moms recovery, wanting to succeed with school… it all was excruciating on a emotional level.
I went downtown to the County treasurer with check in hand to pay the settling amount. They gave me a receipt and said the deed would come in the mail… I came back to my senses. I can’t give this house away!
Everything is as it should be. what could go wrong, we have the money to renovate and I got it for a deal. Everything will be just fine… boy was I wrong!
