My Son the Homeowner . . .

One of life’s milestones happened while I was in Detroit last weekend – my son became a condo owner.  It has been a long process – it started in early April when Ryan and Emily began looking.  Once they found a condo they liked, Ryan went to the bank to get preauthorized for a loan – but the condo sold the day before. 

Then they found another one they liked better – the offers and counteroffers went back and forth while I was on a golf trip in Georgia.  On the last day of the golf trip, the text came that his offer had been accepted.  So the process of applications, inspections and appraisals began.  I got to attend the inspection – it was a nice little two-bedroom condo, a great starter home.  All went smoothly until the appraisal came in “short” (less than the selling price).  Ryan and the sellers were negotiating a new price, and late on a Friday afternoon they were very close and we assumed they would come to an agreement quickly.  Ryan didn’t hear anything over the weekend – then on Monday morning, the realtor called to inform him that the seller’s father had died in his sleep on Friday night (57 years old – that hit close to home) and since they would need to help her mother financially they couldn’t afford to move and were taking the condo off the market.

Ryan was crushed – upset – confused.  We sat down to talk it through.  I have always felt that things happen for a reason if you let God be in control.  This time, the reason had nothing to do with Ryan – the sellers needed to stay in their condo so they could help out Mom.

So they resumed the search – and a week later found a condo much larger than the last one that ended up costing only $4,000 more.  The process began again, took way too long again, and the closing had to be pushed back a week.  It looked like it was going to be pushed back a few more days, but then came the word that it had to close on Friday.  Ryan really wanted me to attend, but I had to be in Detroit setting up for a show.  Instead, my dad filled in.

I think I am proudest that Ryan qualified for the loan on his own – the possibility of me co-signing for him was never raised.  In this economy, that’s pretty impressive for a first-time buyer.

Now Ryan and Emily are painting and making minor changes.  It will be almost a year before they both live there, and it’s nice that they can take their time and turn their condo into a home.

Today was another milestone – Ryan invited me to lunch at his place (he even fixed it) and I got to see what he was doing . . .

I especially liked the Darth Vader mask . . . “Luuuuke . . . I am your fath-uh!”