My Little Slice of Tacoma

Well, it’s now classified as ‘mutually accepted’. That would be the classification of me and mine’s offer to buy a house right here in Tacoma, not too far from where we are now. My first house. Stoked. I wanted to stay here in the 6th Ave area, but we found a smoking deal on a foreclosed property a few blocks off South 19th and Cushman area.

Apparently it’s still possible for those with little money to buy a home…I’m a bar manager, my wife does hair at her small salon…not exactly going to make the Forbes list anytime soon. My mortgage will be roughly a tank of gas more a month than paying rent, and Mr. FHA is kind enough to let you put only 3% down. I’ll be meeting his brother, Mr. FHA Rehab Loan Appraiser in a little while to see if we can make it happen. It needs A LOT of work, but I can finally put those skills I earned with 15 years as a carpenter to use for my own gain, finally.

We’ll be getting what is basically a home improvement loan, or a mini-construction loan for those who have worked those before. They say “it is an important tool for community and neighborhood revitalization and for expanding homeownership opportunities”…and a great way for people with short cash supply to get a loan since the days of piggy-backing loans are over.

So in my spare time, I have to gut and put in a new kitchen and bathroom with appliances, call in old favors to my old subcontractors to install new carpet and floor coverings throughout the house, new paint, new gutters, some new windows, new water heater, new furnace AND do it all while working 60+ hours a week, living on a severley limited budget (who isn’t, really) and simultaneously trying to quit smoking…

I might be a little edgy for the next 2 months.