No Call Number: Kama'aina

This past week has been one of the most stressful of my life. When my landlady told me she was flying out here to visit, we figured she was going to raise our rent. We looked for affordable housing in the area, and found none that would allow our cat. We were resigned to paying what she asked of us. Much to our surprise, she instead told us that she was losing the condo. She got a second mortgage on the place that was interest only, and in October, she would owe the bank $68,000. She was giving us our thirty days notice to vacate so that she could sell the place. Moreover, she was going to spend the weekend cleaning and touching up the paint. She did not have a copy of the lease, so I indicated that she was required to give us 45 days notice. She offered us $500 to vacate by September 1 and agree to show the house to realtors. We could use $500, and most places become available on the first of the month, so we accepted.

I don't like strangers in my house, so the weekend was misery. The lady cleaned the whole place with bleach (I use vinegar and Dawn) and left the bottle on the floor with the top off. She needed me to hang around to move our "clutter", and with Bobby at work, I had to juggle Xander and our unpleasant houseguest. I finally left when she wanted to paint, refusing to try and handle that situation with a two year old. We left to go to the pond and feed ducks, and when we came back she told me that she didn't want us to touch the paint for three hours. I rushed through a bathroom trip and a water refill, trying to keep Xander from touching anything.

I was happy to go back to work on Monday. The realtor had come by to case the place, and had talked to our landlady about offering it to us at $7,000 below their asking price. She pressured me into accepting the offer all day Sunday. I called the bank on Monday and got preapproved for a mortgage. Our monthly payment including taxes, insurance, and homeowner's association fees was a little more than we pay in rent, and comparable to what other homes in the area are renting at. We decided to make an offer.

Meanwhile, the landlady convinced herself that we were not going to be approved for a mortgage and put the condo on the market. Bobby was off on Tuesday, and he got an earful about her four mortgages and how difficult it is to get approved for a mortgage after 2008, particularly with a low down payment. She countered our offer with an aggressive requirement that we secure a loan commitment letter within ten days. I lost some sleep over that, but ended up signing it. When I called my bank the next day, they assured me that this was not a problem, as I have been a customer for years and I always pay for things on time. They know I'm good for it. The landlady flew home.

I spent all week scanning documents for the mortgage broker, working on gathering our down payment, and googling first time homebuying. We had not planned to do it like this. We have no savings, Bobby just started his new job, and I secretly worried that the bank would pull the rug out from under us.

We were approved on Friday. Ready or not, we are soon the be the owners of our own small corner of paradise. Our condo is small and it needs some improvements, but it's about as close to affordable as one can find on this island. In a moment of snark, I told some of my neighbors that my landlady made some bad decisions with her money. One man shrugged and said, "who hasn't?" This spirit of aloha is my second favorite thing about this lush archipelago we call home. There is no "keeping up with the Joneses". There is only inviting the Joneses to a barbecue and stuffing them silly.

Bobby is working all weekend, so Xander and I celebrated without him. In honor of becoming kama'aina, we went to the beach: