Hmmm… that doesn’t even sound right. Home, Sweet Home sounds so much better. A house is just a building, it sounds big and cold. A home on the other hand, is a place – a place that regardless of the size is warm, inviting and inclusive.
As a young girl, I would romantically dream of the day I would have my own home. I honestly don’t recall many of the details of that dream, I think it was more conceptual – a place with a husband and a family. Needless to say, as a single woman, that wasn’t something I spent much time on.
In 2008, my brother and I decided to buy a home together. I was pretty terrified of the whole idea – it was very much NOT the way I envisioned how home ownership would come into my life. Knowing that this was the wise thing to do, we split the cost and purchased our first home. We sold the house in 2016. I certainly didn’t think we would’ve lived there for 8 years. It ended up being a great investment that allowed me to finally become debt free and with a nice emergency fund.
I moved to Dallas to be closer to work, the hour commute was getting old. I rented me a nice little apartment on the 15th floor that had a fancy concierge and all. I was living the life of a single, city girl. It certainly wasn’t as exciting as you might imagine it, but it was nice.
As my year lease was up, a friend of mine was encouraging me to buy a house. The conversation made me extremely anxious and uncomfortable and I quickly changed the topic. We had the same conversation a few times and it worked me up each time, sometimes bringing me to tears. I recall telling him – to you, it’s just a house, but to me, it’s a home – and I’m terrified of making a home alone! I wasn’t supposed to do this alone! Needless to say, that ended the conversation real quick and I ended up moving into another apartment.
Three days after moving in, the apartment was broken into. The apartment complex moved me into another building. About three months into the new apartment, with the help of a camera, I found that a maintenance buy had been sneaking into my apartment while I was at work. The complex paid for me to move out… into a completely different apartment complex.
My friend continued to encourage me to purchase a house. I guess those experiences wore down my fears, because I reached out to my friends at Casa Real Estate. We searched for a few months, pretty sure I drove them crazy during that time. I knew I wanted a condo right in Dallas, not too big, yet not too small. I was truly living like a Latina Goldilocks – determined to find the one that was just right. After lots of prayer, MLS site visits, open houses, and a couple of failed offers – we found the perfect one.
Within a little over a month, I was locked in and moved in. It’s funny how we evolve over time. We adapt to life’s curve balls, we relinquish our “should’ve beens” to accept that which is. While I am not quite an expert at that process, I am convinced that life is so much sweeter when you learn to accept that which is in front of you.
One of the thoughts that I’m grateful that God changed was: Why do I have to do this by myself? One day, a new thought came: How freaking amazing is it that I am able to do this by myself!?
According to the Texas Home Buyers and Seller’s Report 2019 Edition, I am part of a small group of home buyers from 2018:
15% Single Female
10% Hispanic
14% 35-44
The journey took some time and it had it’s ups and downs. At the end of the day, I am grateful. Grateful to the wonderful people in my life who encouraged me and celebrated me every step of the way. Grateful for a God who walks along side of you whether your acknowledge Him or not. Grateful for the faith to move forward into new adventures.
#priscillastravels 