Running a Marathon

aka Buying a House......

I've decieded to take the plunge and go down the path of home ownership. 

A good friend told me that buying a house is like running a marathon. I initially didn't believe her.

Fast forward a month later, I can see that I have just crossed the start line of this long journey. This is a huge commitment; so it is worth the many hours that get invested in the process. But, when you're in it you can get quickly overwhelmed and discouraged.

The process is tedious and long: Searching for the perfect home (which I still haven't found), financing, submitting an offer, familiarizing yourself with tons of real estate jargon. All of this along with the emotional roller-coaster ride of falling in love with a home, only to lose it to someone else.

Submitting all of my financial information to have white men in suits judge me as a person sucks. I know I'm responsible, I know I can and will pay my financial obligations. But you have to prove that to people who don't know anything about you in order to get a loan.

My student loans are stoping me from being great. And from buying the house I want.

Because of my existing student loan debt, I've been funneled into a price bracket that I'm not happy about. I'm having an extremely hard time finding something that I like in my price range that's not in a sketchy neighborhood.

I'm also trying to buy my house with down payment assistance from my job and DC government. The HPAP program gives low-moderate income people down payment assistance to aid the purchase of their first home. I don't qualify for much assistance, but every cent helps. I'll take it......But the HPAP/203K process is a beast in itself.

I won't give up. There is a house meant for me somewhere.