"Clear to Close" can be some of the best and most anticipated words you'll ever hear. I'm over here dying, just waiting for the lender to get with me and tell me that I'm good to go. It's been so hard, so very, very hard just waiting for him to say it's a go. Let me start by saying it shouldn't have been this difficult, and I wouldn't wish what I've been through on my enemy's best friend. Do you hear what I'm saying? It was, in fact, the worst damn experience, and yet, just like having a baby, you nearly forget the agony once you've pushed through.
Well, just like having a baby, I do have a name for my new house. I've decided to name him Oliver. I'm letting Laura give him a middle name - she chose Ernest. (Not earnest as in money we had to put down, but after my grandpa.) Oliver Ernest Stringfellow is my new house. He'll be baptized soon, and given a very good blessing. He'll be dedicated to God, and when we say "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord", we mean it. He'll understand. I'm sure he'll be happy that a permanent resident is living in him rather than a lot of different rental dwellers.
Since the last resident, he's gone through quite a change. He was nearly gutted and restored. He had a complete makeover and, in some cases, was completely renovated. He has new kitchen flooring, cabinets, countertops, and appliances. He has new lighting too. Some of his walls were reworked, moved, redone, painted, and trimmed. He has many new features. I'm not thrilled about the carpet, but I'll live with it a year or so and then redo the rooms that have carpet; at least my office. I hate not being able to roll around easily in my chair. (Such a first-world issue)
Clear to close! It means we don't have to worry anymore. We don't have to question whether the credit was high enough, whether the bills were paid off, or whether the loans and the paperwork were explained and given merit. I had to answer some really silly questions about things that didn't matter in 2026, considering the last time I even thought about that particular debt or paid off credit was over twenty years back. I worried about tax returns. I worried if I still owed anything. I worried that FHA was going to pull the rug out from under this one, like they did the last one.
The last week has been miserable with all the questions FHA had, and the down payment assistance program OHFA asked for, too. We had to click every box and hold our breath, hoping I hadn't been overpaid or something. You have to be above a level and below a level. Then, out of the blue, a $192 bill appeared that hadn't been on the radar in over six years. In reality, it was a credit owed to me, but if I disputed it, I would have to wait 30 days! I just paid it. Then, because I paid it, my lender had to put a rush on the rescore, which meant he had to pay for it!
This week, in fact, just two days ago, I had to take out the credit card that I had paid down and go out to dinner to be sure it was still in use! These people are really just too picky. Too, too, too picky! It has to be JUST SO—which is next to impossible to make happen and even more so to maintain. Over the last month, my credit scores have been going up and down again because, when you apply for a loan, every creditor you've had pops up claiming you owe them. You don't, but if you dispute them, it takes 30-45 days to be disputed and another 30 days to be eliminated from the bureau! You just pay them. One was over 18 years old, so I didn't pay it and let the hit happen. It didn't ding me too badly. I put it in the dispute and will let that one ride itself out.
My stomach has gone through it too. I've been too close to my toilet for weeks on end due to the stress. I can't eat correctly. I do drink a lot of water and tea, but I've been unable to even think about being healthy. I just had to keep my mind occupied, so I wouldn't think about the endless possibilities of what sort of trouble I would be in if I wasn't able to close. I am literally out of my rental contract tomorrow, the same day I'm moving! My landlord is nice, and he's letting me come back on Saturday to clean.
I worked this week, but it was really hard to focus. In my job, I call people who owe our clients money, and I'm supposed to be professional and nice. I wasn't nice. I found myself being less than nice, so I stopped calling people and just handled all interactions via email. I didn't want to subject anyone to my personal struggles - that wouldn't be fair. Once I got the go-ahead today, I was much, much nicer to everyone, and I could breathe again. It feels good to breathe.
Certain songs and hymns, as well as passages from the Bible, kept me going, but I can tell you, I was not always in a praising mood. I had to literally pray through it a 1000 times, and even though I knew I was going to be OK, you aren't OK until FHA says you're OK. If, for whatever reason, they decide to hold you up, they can, and you don't have a say in it. You just have to wait and jump through whatever hoops they decide you need to make a go of it — it's exhausting!
Finally -- today at 1:50 p.m. I got that email I wanted. "Clear to Close" and with it, the smiling face of my lender, Josh DeBlase of The Money Store. Now, all I need to do is figure out exactly how much I'm bringing to the closing table tomorrow. I had a number. It was a good number too, but as everything else changes, it changed as well. I'm really hoping it's lower. I can't know, but I know I'll be OK. Thank God, and I mean it when I say it, THANK YOU, GOD!!
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