Our Future Homestead

Back in July, we went to look at a cabin in the woods that was for sale. You see, our dream was to one day own a log cabin on some property where we could homestead once D retired from the military. We had looked at a variety of properties over the years, but none of those properties felt right for us. As we drove to the location of the cabin, we grew excited as we loved the location. Upon arrival at the cabin and looking around, we knew that this was the place. We took some time to pray about it and talk it over, and we ended up putting in an offer on the place. Little did we know that the negotiations on price and what not would be the easiest part of the journey. We certainly didn’t know that things would turn out like they did….

By the beginning of August, we were under contract for the cabin. We were pre-approved for the mortgage, so as far as we knew at the time, the most challenging part of the process would be the appraisal. We all waited on pins and needles to see if the appraisal would come in as needed. We didn’t have much time to get the other necessary inspections done, so we really needed the appraisal to be done quickly. (We didn’t want to spend money on the inspections if the appraisal didn’t come in where it needed to be.) Well, a couple of days before the deadline for our inspections, the appraisal came back right on target. We all breathed a sigh of relief and the process moved forward without any other hiccups – sort of.

It turns out that a log home on land is seen as a unique property in the eyes of the lenders these days. We told them (Wells Fargo) up front exactly what the property was, and we were told that it wouldn’t be an issue. It turns out that it was an issue. If fact, two days before we were set to close escrow, Wells Fargo investors decided that they weren’t going to finance the loan on the property, but we were told they would be happy to lend to us on a more traditional property. We groaned and quickly scrambled to see if we could get an extension from the sellers. Thankfully, they agreed. Now, a new struggle began. We needed to find someone who would be willing to finance a unique property.

We prayed, and I searched for and called a very long list of lenders. We determined that no matter what happened we would praise the Lord. Finally, I located a company based here in Az who would finance the log home with property. They even said that they could use the original appraisal. Wow! The loan process began again. It was scheduled to be a quick turn-around, but it didn’t happen like that. In fact, there were a few times where we, once again, thought this wasn’t going to happen. (For the sake of a shorter story, I won’t go into all of the details of this part of the journey.) We had done our part. We couldn’t do anything more. We just had to wait and wait. Wells Fargo decided they weren’t going to release the appraisal. Another appraisal had to be ordered. More waiting. More praying. Was this meant to be? The Lord was using this time of uncertainty to teach me more patience and complete trust. He was in control – not us.

Finally, on Tuesday, a little over 2.5 months after this all started, we took possession of the cabin. It was ours. We praised the Lord as the work began…. Visiting the Homestead for the first time was an adventure.