Maya visited her favorite house at 10:00 PM on a Tuesday. Was it loud? Did the streetlights work? She needed to know what life was like when the sun went down. Chapter 4: The Moment of Truth (The Offer)
She didn't trust the online calculators. She sat down and figured out a mortgage payment that wouldn't leave her "house poor," making sure she still had money for groceries and, occasionally, a nice bottle of wine. Chapter 2: The Gatekeepers (Pre-Approval) Before Maya even looked at a porch, she called a lender. buying your first house checklist
Sarah sent Maya listings, but Maya had her own "Must-Have" vs. "Nice-to-Have" list. Maya visited her favorite house at 10:00 PM on a Tuesday
She tallied her savings. It wasn't just the down payment (she was aiming for 10% to avoid massive monthly costs) but also the closing costs —those sneaky fees for lawyers and taxes that usually take up 2–5% of the home's price. She needed to know what life was like when the sun went down
"Okay," she whispered to her cat, Barnaby. "We’re doing this. But we’re doing it right."
Maya knew she couldn't build a house on sand, and she couldn't buy one with a shaky bank account.
The bank sent someone to ensure the house was actually worth what Maya was paying. It came back perfect.