My House

We have tons of fun at my house:



This is my little house:



We moved into this house in Oct of 1999 - just five months after my now-ex husband left. Dan leased us this house, even though I was still paying back-rent on our current house. Just gotta love ex-husbands. I was so grateful that he let us move there. It was a gorgeous house - incredible old bones, beautiful wood floors, wonderful built ins. I loved it. It's a little more worn now, but those beautiful bones are still there.

In the summer of 2002, I asked if he'd sell me the house. He frequently finances his houses to his renters who have proven themselves dependable. So in Sept 2002, I bought my house. I put down $2000, we financed $47,000 at 9% over 15 years. I also just love small towns with low costs of living. Anyway, I was feeling very blessed. My house would be paid off by the time my boys graduated high school. My house payment was approx 15% of my income. All was wonderful.

But then, my mother pointed out to me that I had signed a Contract for Deed. That apparently means that the house isn't mine until it's paid for. I didn't worry about that - I was just going to pay for it. But then I heard Dave explain it. He points out that in a Contract for Deed, the house belongs to Dan until I've paid the note in full. If someone sues Dan, or slaps a judgement or lein against his assets, then my house would be included in that because it is his asset, not mine.

So....in arranging my debt snowball (baby step 2 of Dave's plan), I've made an incredible realization. I currently owe approx $32,000 toward my house. I have figured out how much money I have left of my monthly budget to put toward the house, approx $850. If I work two extra shifts each month, that will bring an additional $800. I put all those numbers in the mortgage calculator on Dave's website and discovered that if I were to add that $1650 each month toward principle starting in Jan 2010, (Why wait until Jan? That's the next post) then my house will be paid off early 2011. Early 2011. A year. A YEAR!!!

I'm going to pay off my house. Think Mick Jagger here - "It will be mine, it will be mine all mine."