Our Rollercoaster Ride to Home Ownership: From Renter to Homeowner!

The last time I visited our wedding site, I was amazed to see that on the gallery section, there was a Dream House folder that included pictures of our dream home. Actually, MY dream home. Hep, hep, hep! It may sound like it is "I" who always have the last say when it comes to decisions between me and the Mister. But, it's not actually like that. Hehe

You see, the Mister is a passionate musician. He spends his downtime writing songs, going to jams and gigs. Me the crazy wife spends downtime coming up with crazy ideas to bug or harass the Mister with. When the Mister comes home tired and bed bound, the crazy Mrs giddily presents a crazy idea and you can now assume what the ending is. The Mister nods and says yes and agrees and asks, "What's for dinner?" It's that easy. Good job, Mrs! After all, a happy wife makes a happy life, right?

In the gallery, it states "Goal of Purchase - 2012." And you know what? We hit that goal! Big time! Me crazy ideas were not that crazy after all! Me craziness bore fruit!

 But it is with no ease that we were able to achieve this dream. It took us a lot of courage to be able to finally commit to this taxing financial responsibility. We just had Freedom that time. You know how the savings book suffers when you have a newborn baby.  Don’t get me talking about vaccines now! I loathe the topic.

The decision was hard. We could have decided on a condo instead. We could have bought a car -- this I'm sure can wait! We could have spent the money we had on other stuff. But we thought long term. We thought of Freedom's future. Having our own home would mean security for our family. As Manny Villar said, "Di bale nang magdildil ng asin basta may sariling bahay."

Yun lang, di kami kay Manny bumili. Sorry, Manny.

Model House

When we decided to buy this property, the Mister asks me questions ALL the time. Can we do this? We are already doing it! Can we still put food on the table? Magtatanim ako ng kangkong at kamote! Let's go vegan! Can we still send Free to school? Matalino si Freedom. I'm sure pasok yan sa science high school at UP! Boy, I was fidgety all the time but I had to put a brave face. I may be crazy but I'm always positive!

Sure, there were a lot of uncertainties tagged along with our decision. It came with a lot of budgeting schemes, sacrifice and discipline.  We have to forego some luxuries here and there. That's not even to include the financial strain we had when Freedom was diagnosed with asthma.

But the Mister and I did it, still are doing it! I am positive as the plus sign (+) that we can still provide food for us. I am positive to the nth level that we can still send Free to a good school. I am positive that we can still celebrate parties festively. Spell D-I-Y! Hooray! More DIYs mean more blog posts of course! Hehe!

Our journey as homeowners has already begun. We still have a long way to go. But it’s keeping our marriage intact because we are into the same goal as a couple and as a family. We are uber happy with our future house albeit the long wait! The property was at the pre-selling stage when we paid a full DP so we're still waiting for it to be turned over. We are still paying for other charges hence we don’t have the latest gadget there is in the market. House construction is 100% complete. We can start moving in granted Meralco post is already installed. Knock knock Amaia! You promised February. You promised!

Okay. Out with the craziness, in with the serious talk. I am aware that majority of starting families in the metro are renters. But it's never too late to reconsider now the opportunities you have of having your own home. Take advantage of the real estate condition now. The economic climate favors homebuyers with low interest and very flexible terms. Some developers do not even require upfront deposit. And please, settle only for what you can afford.  There's always gonna be that "dream house" syndrome that will take you a step further away from owning a house. Most of the time we think we don't have the money for it. And usually, the excess money we have from the budget ends up on dining out, a new pair of shoes, a new shirt, a new toy, travel, etc. Try to recheck your finances and take a leap of faith.  Plan it with the Mister and go for it! GOD always provides.