Today I had my housewarming party for my first owned home. It is just 3 days shy of 3 months since the sale was finalized. I am finally moved in and settled, and I am so happy and so grateful.

Rewind a few months and I was in panic mode. It was finally coming time to sell my grandfather’s home, where I had lived for 5 years. I was not emotionally ready and I had nowhere to go.  I do not consider myself “poor” in a sense, but I make choices that tie up my funds. I choose to put my daughter in private school and put her in extracurricular activities.  I choose to travel with her, because I think it is important. I also live in one of the most expensive places to live in the country.

After looking at rentals in my price range, I put myself on the waiting list for low income housing, but that has a 6 year wait-list. I looked into private low income apartment complexes and was told to call on the first of the month every month to wait for an opening.  I called for a couple months on those to no avail. I needed something solid.

This is where my wonderful parents stepped in.  They had earned some inheritance from my grandfather and offered to help me buy a manufactured home.  I really struggled with the idea as I had a predisposition that mobile home communities were “trashy” or “unsafe”.  I came to the realization that despite what I thought, I had no choice.  I began to look for one in a family neighborhood. This became a task.  Almost every mobile home community in the area is 55+, and I am nowhere near that.

One fateful day I found a 2 bedroom manufactured home on the market in a family community. It had just come on the market that day, and it was half a mile from my office! I rushed over on my lunch break with my co-worker Heather and it was pretty nice! I immediately took back all the thoughts I had about the communities. This one was nice and looked very friendly.  I put an offer in by that evening and shortly the home was mine.

Then came the issues. I had a washer and dryer installed. While Best Buy was installing it, my washer valve cracked and water began to leak out everywhere. I shut off the water main and took photos.  My friend Steve came and fixed the valves that week but my dad kept bringing up the “black inside of the wall” that he had seen in the photo.  That was nothing, I thought. My inspector saw that and he didn’t say anything. My dad was still concerned and asked me to send the photos to a mold specialist. I did, and the verdict was in, toxic black mold.

My parents flew in from New Hampshire and the problems became more and more apparent.  Luckily I have the most amazing dad in the whole world and he can fix just about anything.  He began to tear out the walls, the plumbing, the skylight, the deck…you name it. There was black mold riddled in nearly half of my house.

I could go on about all the little issues, the money it cost, the labor my dad had to put in, the truck he had to buy while visiting because he was spending so much on the rental, but I will focus on the positive.

My dad is amazing. Everyone who helped is amazing and everyone kept a positive attitude. I now have a wonderful house that I know is safe, and I am not left homeless. I do not have to go broke paying rent at a dump and we are all happy and healthy. There is still a bit of work to do, but nothing that cannot be handled. Below are some photos of my beautiful (upgraded) house.

My all white/grey living room including the table I spent $200 covering with slate from the mountains & epoxy resin, the penny table I also covered, couch from an old boss, freshly covered in white, lounge chair I rescued from Goodwill,  and my grandpa’s old couch I reupholstered ( to the right).

 

My kitchen where all of my china is finally matching blue and white.

 

My portrait of my grandpa, painted by my grandma, and many more paintings by her.

My favorite room in the house. My newly & beautifully tiled bathroom.

The flower garden that Melia and I planted together.

My very own lawn that I cut with the fabulous Fiskars lawn mower my boss bought me and the beautiful hanging flower basket my co-worker Linda bought me.

My bedroom and safe haven with a theme that stemmed from my awesome lamp shade.

My beautiful bed with pillowcases I sewed from fabric I got at Frank’s bargain center from my uncle Phil for an amazing price, paintings I painted while hanging with my family, and my favorite song lyrics on a sign from my bestie Steffie.

Me and my 2 girls, Goober and Melia, snuggling in my bed.

Me enjoying my couch after the party wearing a necklace from my coworkers Sue & Michelle.

 

I am truly blessed.