Home, Sweet Home

Sometime after graduating from college, we had a home built. When we went into debt, to purchase the home, I was talking to an accountant friend of mine. The accountant excitedly exclaimed, “You’re a homeowner!” I felt we didn’t own the home, we only owned the debt. This accountant was a professor at a business college and had taught for decades. She emphasized that I was a homeowner.

Throughout our married lives, we have gone into debt for three different homes that we’ve lived in. I was never able to pay off any of them before we moved from them. Even with my college professor’s comment, I still feel that I have never owned a home. Perhaps this is because we’ve always had a mortgage on the homes. I learned later in life, that the word mortgage actually means “death grip.” I have always felt this death grip around my neck. 

As we’re currently living in Mom & Dad’s home and don’t have a mortgage payment where we’re living, I’ve felt a series of promptings that we should invest the money we had from the sale of our home in Utah. We decided to invest in two homes. Monday, we signed on our second home to rent out. Now we have two “death grips!”

This time, things feel different. We have renters in both homes and they are paying down the mortgages. I feel comfort that this is the right step for us—at this time. I’m certain that the Lord will teach me many things through this step in our lives.

Our first home has been rented for a month. The renter is a general contractor and is overseeing the construction to finish the basement. I suspect the basement will be completed by mid November. Also, after signing on the second home, 2 hours later I handed the keys to a renter to live in that home.

While I’m grateful for where we are, it would be nice to have the “death grip” gone so that the money coming in is profit, not just money to pay for the mortgage!