Reset Part 3: A Sneak Peak Before the Plunge

By the time June 2022 rolled around and we were still being told that our house may be ready at the end of July or August, but that there were supply chain issues etc., we were beginning to get separation anxiety.

My employer was nice enough to grant me nearly two weeks off in June and into the beginning of July, so that I could travel back to Orlando to visit.

Side note, my employer was great during this process, and they even attempted to see if they could retain my employment as a remote worker. Unfortunately for both of us, the remote work did not pan out, but I appreciate them trying and their support during this time.

I flew to Orlando in June and had a great time seeing Marzz and Miracle, as well as doing some exploring of the area. It definitely felt different than any previous trip prior, since this time, I knew this was going to be a place that I called home.

Before leaving Southern California, I told Marzz that this was not going to be a vacation and that we still had to keep a close eye on our finances. That lasted for about a day. We soon found ourselves driving here and there, eating at this place and that place. Going to Disney World, albeit free, thanks to Marzz’s employee privileges but still cost us food etc. In short, we had a great time, and it was exactly what both of us needed at that time.

During my visit, our lender called us to discuss locking in an interest rate. If you recall, this was the same time the economy was going into a recession, two consecutive quarters with negative GDP, despite the lies from the Biden administration who tried to say it was not a recession. So, we were presented with high interest rates, ranging from low 5% to low 6%. The lender broke it into three options, the first two in the 5% range and the last in the 6%. The catch was, to lock in either of the first two options, it would cost us a non-refundable deposit, which would be applied to the principle once we closed, but was still upfront cash we would need to drop. Because we were already stretched thin due to both of us renting places to stay, Marzz renting the car and just cost of living in general, our decision was easy. We had to go with option three, low 6%, but not money additional money down.

So, the interest rate thing was not great news, but the silver lining was that we were having conversations that were in relation to closing, which we desperately wanted to happen. Speaking of closing, during these calls, the lender mentioned they were hoping for closing in August 2022.

Oh, I almost forgot, the interest rate lock-in’s, they were additional $2,500 to $3,500 down and they were only good for 90 days, which we were not sure would hold. If we did put money down, but the 90-days past, we would lose the lock-in! It all seemed like a money grab to me so even if we had the money, I don’t think we would have gone for it. We’ll just refinance once the economy stabilizes.

I mentioned the closing estimate of August to the builder, and he had not heard that, but took it a step further and said he didn’t think it would be ready until September or even October. I took his word with more weight to it since he was in contact with the laborers.

One thing we were sure to do while I was there was drive to our homesite and check out the construction progress. Prior to me flying out, we were still awaiting windows, they were holding up the show at that time. During one visit, we saw windows sitting inside, leaning against various walls. We were very excited. However, upon counting them, we noticed they were short, and we noticed that one of them had a cracked pane. They cannot continue building out until the house is sealed with the windows. A replacement window for the one missing came in quickly. The one that arrived broken, however, was an odd size, and took much longer to arrive. Luckily at towards the end of July, they were able to board the window opening and move forward with drywall etc.

I stayed through the 4th of July so that Marzz and I could celebrate our nation’s birthday together. We had a great dinner at Cape May’s at Disney’s Beach and Yacht Club hotel. Funny enough, we missed any fireworks shows because it took place while we were eating inside, but we were okay with it. We were not seeking fireworks shows this year, just happy to be together.

I flew home shortly after the holiday and went back to the daily grind and Marzz did the same thing. Each passing week we hoped for updates from our home. Our contact with the home company, Hanover Builders, which was bought out by Landsea Builders during our process, amounted to just a name change for us, no change in cost or anything else. Our contact, David, promised us so many wonderful things in terms of communication and updates when we were in the sales office. He kept up on those for about a month, or less. After that, it was like pulling teeth to get an update, to get a photo, forget about it. Very disappointed in him and therefore the company. I will not use Landsea in the future out of principle.

Our selling agent on the other hand, Kenard, he was and is amazing! We have lived in our home for a couple of months now, and he still checks in on us to make sure we’re settling and offers his assistance if we need anything. I certainly do not expect that kind of care and attention post-closing. Kenard was wonderful during the entire process, and he would provide text updates, photos, videos, and even a drone video. I cannot say enough good things about him, and I would gladly and highly recommend him to anyone. You can find him via Heart and Home Orlando, he is a part of their team, Kenard Walker Jr., thanks Kenard!

In addition to closely watching our phones for updates on the house, watching interest rates, we were also watching what we were spending and making sure that once we got a closing date, we would be prepared with the closing costs and anything else we needed. I credit both Marzz and myself for getting our finances in order several years ago, which I have blogged about, because that played a huge role in our home buying process and kept our anxiety down because we knew we had the funds. It was more about, my share and Marzz’s share, and needing lead time to transfer one of ours into the others account in time so that we could wire the money from a single source. To sum it up, the final few weeks before we closed were very stressful. I just kept thinking that some stupid thing would come up and somehow affect our credit scores or something and we could lose everything in a heartbeat. I realize some of that was just nerves, but it still felt that way and made everyday feel so long.