by Hope
This post will let you know where we are on our housing quest that I brought up in my Year to Build post back in February. I know many of you are horrified at the thought of me looking to build or buy a home while still in debt, and I totally get that on a financial level. But on a mom level, this has been a VERY hard pill for me to swallow. So here’s what I’ve been doing this past two months on this front. (Please note that this post is filled with links to additional information, but none of them are affiliate links, just wanted to show you what I’m talking about more effectively.)
First, I need to make it VERY CLEAR, that not a single dime has been spent on any housing ideas. I’ve spent a lot of time researching and meeting with people, but no money. So let’s make sure that is clear first.
As you know, I had an idea that our housing situation was going to change early year as I drew closer and closer to the idea of not purchasing the home from my dad. I immediately started with Google searches like “houses for $100K” and “building a house for $10K.” That brought me to the DIY sites for Yurts, which seem amazing and affordable, but awfully small for us. From there I researched RV living, bus conversion, tiny houses of all shapes and sizes and then finally stumbled upon this Steelmaster Quonset style home.
And that leads me to where I began this year…with this concept and almost a year’s worth of research on building one in a cost effective, energy efficient manner. We are talking I am now full of knowledge on insulation (blanket vs spray,) heating (radiant vs heat pump,) efficient building practices, direction housing should face for solar, window efficiency and so much more. I mean lots and lots of data. I’ve even been reading up on building practices, being your own general contractor, etc. So when I posted the post in February I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do, what my budget was and the only uncertainties were land, and red tape from financiers.
I quickly found a lot I wanted in a rural area. It’s been on the market for quite a while, is already cleared (used as farmland) and well, I really fell in love during a tour. It just spoke to my soul. In fact, as I’m writing this, I’ve just received a message that the owners was to know if I am interested.
Financing a house, especially a build…ugh! I started with construction loans…20% down, and a 700+ credit score is pretty much across the board requirements. Yup, I don’t have it. So I decided to hunker down and really go hard at my debt, thus the 6 month pay off goal came into the forefront.
But then, during my late night ramblings across the internet, I found….the USDA Section 502 Rural Loan Program. The program was designed to reinvigorate lower income rural areas, supporting lower income families to get into modest housing. The county we are looking to move to qualifies across the board, and frankly, I couldn’t consider moving there if I didn’t homeschool. They will finance 100% with minimal guidelines of what type of housing you can build. I thought we were home free.
Through all this, I’ve been meeting with contractors and engineers and leaving each meeting a bit wiser and more determined that this was the right course. And so, two weeks ago, I went into a mortgage office to apply. And here’s where my dreams derailed quickly:
- Evidently I am an authorized user on one of my dad’s high limit credit cards – ding #1.
- They will not discount the car payment that my ex-husband is responsible for, meaning it counts against me in my debt to income ratio – ding #2.
- Underwriters don’t think they will finance this type of building because there are no local comparables – ding #3.
Obviously, issue #1 and #2, I can do something about, especially since I will be rid of all consumer debt by July. But #3, just made me cry. So last week, I took a week off from any thought of housing and every time I thought of it, I said a prayer asking for guidance. It was a hard week but good to step away and get some perspective.
So I’m back this week and I’m ready to start looking at housing from a different perspective. The kids and I had a great talk about it this past Friday night as we ate our pasta dinner before Little Gymnast state meet. So stay tuned for the next chapter of this story….
