This is one of my accomplishments in life that I am proud of, even though I didn’t complete it.
Ever since I was about 20, my credit score has been in the awesome range: around 764. I paid off one of my car loans early as well as a loan for a vacation. My ex put me on his Sears card when he bought an $1100 TV, which helped my credit, too, even though he put me on there as Wendy Bivens. Total fraud. (Which I’ve had to clean up)
I’ve had several car loans in my name since then, which has kept my score up there.
When I was 23 I decided to buy a house. I was a big girl with a nice job and several thousands of dollars saved up (ohhh, how I miss being that responsible!!!) and it was time for me to leave the nest. I was working where I work now and felt secure in getting a nice house and being able to pay the bill for it.
So I went searching. I got an agent and we drove around most of North Knoxville, looking at houses we had found in magazines or ones we just happened to stumble upon.
The first house was sooo tiny, it was more like a really nice dorm room than a house. I think it was around 700 square feet and had a nice party pad outside. It had a nice garage and workspace that I could’ve converted to living space, but I wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment yet.
The second house was one that was near my mother. I was driving home and saw the sign, so I drove to see it. I fell in love immediately. Just from the outside, I knew I wanted it!! It was a Craftsman style house (which is my dream home) and was redone. When I told my parents about it they warned me that it was in a flood zone, an area that actually did flood with a good downpour. Luckily they had just redone that area to fix it, so that was no longer a threat or a problem to consider.
I went to view the house with my parents and agent and fell to my knees. The house was GORGEOUS!!! Inside I found barrelled ceilings that were 12 feet or so high, redone hardwoods throughout, completely remodeled kitchen, stuccoed walls and like 3 or 4 large bedrooms, a breakfast nook, a laundry room and a nice little hallway in between. I was amazed. I wanted it!!! My brother-in-law went downstairs and discovered termite damage in the floor supports (name?). When we were walking outside, my dad noticed that a huge tree’s roots were pushing in the foundation of the house. We talked to a neighbor who said they had just redone the lot, but it looked like the city dump before all of that.
I. was. devastated.
I wanted to cry. Actually, I think I did once I got home.
This was the house of my dreams. It was huge, it was brand new, it was stylish and it was affordable ($85,000 at the time). But those are some detrimental problems to the house unless you have about $20-30,000 to fix them.
I didn’t. Here is the ad from that house:
So, once I was able to scrape myself off the floor and keep looking for houses, I found another one that I loved. It wasn’t the same attraction as the previous house, but it was really good.
The house had concrete shingles, which drew me in. It had a nice sized yard and decent sized rooms inside. There was a french door from the dining area to the kitchen and it had a nice staircase up to the attic. The attic had a nice size storage space and the basement was a good size, too. When we went into the basement, there was noticeably mud that had slid from the banks under the house. When we asked about it, we were told that a pipe had burst and they just cleaned it up.
What we figured out later was totally different.
I did a surprise viewing one day. I wanted to because of what I discovered and because the house always smelled very strongly of candles as if they were trying to cover up a smell. They were. The mud did that everytime it rained because the back yard was sloped. Thus, this caused mold to build up because of the moisture. When I showed up, it smelled musty and gross, mixed with candles. I decided to back out. I was actually in the process of buying; they were making repairs for me.
Here is that house. I put one of my pictures I had taken at the bottom of the ad:
I also backed out of buying this house because I had started seeing Mike. I was in the process of buying this house February of 2003 and I cancelled because I knew I wanted to be with Mike, so why get stuck with a house for 2 years when I could move in with him?
I really can’t wait to buy a house in Florida. That is 3 years away and I can not wait! The good thing is is I technically still haven’t bought a house yet, so I can use the FHA loan!! Hopefully that applies in Florida. We’ll see!
I can’t wait to buy my own house. One that Mike and I have never lived in with anyone else One where we can make new, lasting memories. One where Aidan can grow up comfortably in!
This is one of my bookshelves in my living room. I love how the books look and the photo of my husband and I as well as John Corbett (Aidan from SATC) and I.
These were wedding gifts from my mother. They are banana leaf drawers/tables. The look a little pukey in this lighting.
This is my bedsite table. It was a perfect find for the space and with banana leaf drawers. The bowl on top with shells? was a $2 find. Handmade!
This is another great find! $17 for this mirror. I love my bathroom. We’re going for a spa feel hence the mud colored walls.
This is a small wall in the bathroom. Teak candles on top. A cool image and frame on the bottom. Magazine cutout. 
This is my bookshelf in my office. Full of design books and fun stuff. And Betsey Johnson!
My favorite little nook behind my laptop. Good smelling candles and my favorite frame that I got for only $3. Waiting for that perfect family photo!
