My First Home

House Warming

2010-05-22T15:34:00.000-07:00

This beautiful home it is a gift from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He made it possible to us, so today May 14, Our cell group from Maranatha Baptist Church and Grow and Multiply Ministry came to our home to celebrate and hear testimony of gratitude for His faithfulness, His blessings and mercy for us to bring us to this promise land and give us our home.

Welcome to our Home!

2010-05-02T20:49:00.000-07:00

Today, it is a week since we moved. We have many of our friends coming to visit us. Everyone loves the house and some of them are planning to buy their own and maybe around here.

Moving Day!!

2010-04-20T07:14:00.000-07:00

We moved last Saturday. Thomas, Luribel and Luigi were there early with their vans to help us and Amy came with her truck for the heavy furniture and beds. Thank you guys God bless you for your help. The kids fixed their room fast and we fixed ours to be able to sleep in the house that night. Everything is working just fine. Our patio set is beautiful. We needed curtains so we had no privacy until next day. The garage is full of stuffs and it looks like it will take some time to have everything in place. The dryer power cord needs to be replaced, we need to replace our lights bulbs for daylight saving ones. Our favorite place is Homedepot, I spent lots of time there. I even bought my refrigerator there, they gave me a 10% discount and free shipping and it will be here on Wednesday. Teresa is learning how to use the dishwasher and I am learning how to use the cable. We have met some neighbors and they look very happy with their homes too. If someone is going to build, I suggest not to use linoleum floor, it breaks some easily if something falls or if you move heavy stuffs.

The Patio is ready

2010-04-15T22:02:00.000-07:00

Today, as promised by Visionary, the builders, the Patio concrete was completed and ready for our patio set that we got in Walmart.

Ready to move

2010-04-15T11:43:00.000-07:00

Now we are in the process of moving. I Let my Landlord knows about my moving and we needed utilities, so I purchased a new refrigerator, installed cable, telephone, internet, and change gas, electricity and water into my name. Saturday it is the moving date, so I have asked many friends to come and help me, hopefully they all will show up. In the mean time we are already putting everything in boxes. The builder promised the Patio will be finished if the weather keeps warm. Lawn will be for summer time and so it is the painting of the main doors. I will wait.

Finished!!!!!

2010-04-01T22:35:00.000-07:00

Mechanical room Utility Room
Hall
Main Bathroom

Main bedroom
Boys' Bathroom
Addiel's room
Joel's room

Stairs

Garage

The Kitchen

The House is ready. One month before. Now I need to close, but I am wating to see if I get better rate and last minor details in the house.

The Living Room:
The house finished:

Carpet

2010-03-29T20:17:00.001-07:00

The house is progressing quite a bit. Today the installed the carpet, add some bricks, placed the stove in the kitchen and finished the rain gutter. The house is beautiful. I also got the 3 per one check from the IDA program, got the home insurance documents from Travelers and I notified my LandLord that I will be moving soon. Yes lots of things in a short time, exciting. Tomorrow Visionary Homes, the builder will take me for a walk-through the house, but there are still a lot to do: Toilets, water heater, sidewalk, lawn, sprinkle system, etc.

Electrical fixtures

2010-03-25T20:38:00.000-07:00

The house is illuminated in full, and all the electrical fixtures are in place. Seeing the house in the nights is really beautiful. The outside light post are smaller than all the houses around, so I asked to be change for bigger ones.

Countertops

2010-03-24T23:25:00.000-07:00

Countertops for the kitchen and the bathrooms were installed today. Teresa was really happy since this is her favorite. Today IRS sent a letter, The first time home owner credit is under review, I hope they won't take too long.

Windows Shutters

2010-03-23T21:23:00.001-07:00

Finally the house exterior is almost done. The windows shutters match with the garage and the rain gutters. The House looks beautiful. My lender wrote me today and told me that the closing will be at the beginning of April, so the walk thorugh the house will be on the 31. We also let Brag knows about the change and to give me an extension. My Mortgage loan was approved and this is getting excited. Ten days for the closings.

Appliances and lights

2010-03-22T22:10:00.000-07:00

The house is painted, exterior walls almost done, and all the appliances are ready to be installed. Our electrical stove, dish washer, and microwave arrived today as well as all the lights for the house. Today I also received my tax returned which will be part of my down payment, I did not received the first home buyer tax credit yet, IRS needs more documents, but I hope I will get it soon. I am starting to think that it is possible that the house will be ready at the end of the month, we will see.

Rain gutter

2010-03-19T21:34:00.000-07:00

What a surprise today to see how beautiful the brown rain gutter is. It matches with the garage door. I hope tomorrow they finish the left and back part. Today I went to the bank and I got the check of my saving for one year with the IDA plan. The bank faxed a copy and now I am waiting for the 3x1 to be use as part of my down.

Painting

2010-03-19T06:19:00.000-07:00

Today I saw the storage garage ready, which will serve as my office and the house was ready to be paint inside. I sent all of the paper work for the closing of my mortgage and for my cash out from my IDA account with Uidan and AAA Credit foundation, which has to be done two weeks before closing. For my surprise it was done really fast. The check is ready and is 3 times the sum that I saved in the bank. I should thanks Heather Baker for her help and support that I got accepted and finally see my dream comes true. Today I will pick my check from the bank and make sure the title company sign all the paper.

food Pantry, closets, stairs handrail

2010-03-13T07:56:00.000-08:00

The interior food pantry, closets and the stairs handrail is really beautiful and it was all done today.

Interior doors

2010-03-11T21:50:00.000-08:00

Not only they are working outside with the exterior walls, but today they installed all the interior doors and the door frames, including closets. Also today I started filling out the papers for the cash out from my IDA account. Next week it is spring brake, but I will take it to get all the documents ready for the closing of my mortgage.

2010-03-11T13:27:00.000-08:00

Today they worked in the left and front side. It is looking good. I also was informed that the closing date for my mortgage will be March 30, that means that the house will be ready and I will have a certificate of occupancy too. Will the house be ready for this time? how exciting. I learned that my tax refund comes on 4/6 including the home buyer tax credit, which I applied with the construction loan paper work. I am planning to use it toward my down payment if the bank waits one more week for it.

Exterior Walls

2010-03-09T19:48:00.000-08:00

Finally, they are working with exterior wall of the house. With the colors that we picked. We are excited because that is going to change the look of the house a lot. Today they worked in the back and right side. Let's see tomorrow.

Floor, Garage Door

2010-03-06T16:22:00.000-08:00

The house now has the floor ready in the kitchen, bathrooms and utility room. The automatic garage door is installed. We are very happy with the color we picked.

Ceiling and interior walls

2010-03-01T20:58:00.001-08:00

The ceiling and walls have a the style and they are ready to be paint. The electricity is also installed

Gas, springle system, interior

2010-02-25T20:51:00.000-08:00

After a long pause(at least for me), the house gets some work done. Questar gas already installed the meter for the gas, the electricity is still pending. I could not enter inside of the house today because they are working in sealing all the sheet rock, ceiling and walls. The interior doors are ready to be installed. Yesterday and Today I started asking for quotes to get my mortgage insurance, after consulting several companies and read some reviews, I decided for Travelers. They have excellent rates and excellent reviews.

Inside walls done

2010-02-18T01:02:00.000-08:00

The inside walls are done, what a joy and they look pretty. I am surprised how fast the worker made them. The kids checked the house with me and they were really excited to see their rooms, closets and the bathroom. They are already planning where their computer and games is going to be. My best part of the house is the garage. The storage room inside of it is my favorite place. Now I am wondering what's next? My guess it will be the outside walls, I can't wait to see.

Ceiling

2010-02-16T22:10:00.000-08:00

After this long weekend that the workers were away I noticed how hard they worked today. They worked in the ceiling and walls. They finished most of them. Addiel's room is finished and they are still working in Joel's room and our room. With this new addition, The house feels more and more a home.
Today I started to receive some mail into my new mailbox and I asked Progressive for a quote for my mortgage insurance and I got a big discount since I have my car insurance with them. I will ask for some more quote to compare, but the one progressive is giving me is $155 less than the one offered by the lender in the GFS.

Doors, Insulation, sheetrock installed

2010-02-13T10:41:00.000-08:00

The house is completely closed! The front door and the garage entrance door are placed.

Now the insulation is convering all the walls of the house and you feel less cold once you are inside. With a little extra , my garage will be insulated too and I have to thanks my brothers in Christ: Sean and Baltazar for the idea.

The sheetrock arrived and hopefully next week all the walls will be covered and ready.

Windows

2010-02-08T19:15:00.000-08:00

Today the windows were installed. Through the windows we can see the mountains. Because of that the kids decided which room will each of them will take. Addiel will take the front room and Joel the back room. Our house will be the only model with small windows in the bathrooms. Thanks Sean for the great energy saving idea.

Brag approved my application for the First Time Home Buyer Program

2010-02-04T20:59:00.000-08:00

Today Bear River Association of Government approved my application for the funding toward closing cost or down payment. The application required to take a home education class, be pre-approved by a mortgage lender, picture of the house to buy and incomes. With this program and the IDA program plus the closing cost being covered by the seller and the tax credit, build my house will be much easier. I believe anyone can do it.

Heater, Plumbing, Wiring

2010-02-03T01:00:00.000-08:00

Today I stopped to see the construction like I do every evening and I saw the heater installed and the rough air conditioned. The plumbing is all set and they started the wiring. Most of the house electrical outlet are installed and the lights too. All the wiring was done today, so I guess this week will be finished. I also saw some blue materials in the roof, but I don't know what are they for, I guess the roof is not finished yet, well tomorrow as normally I will check.

I am exciting for my tax refund. Hopefully I will be able to get the $8,000 tax credit.

New mailbox

2010-01-29T05:59:00.000-08:00

Today I asked for the key of my mailbox. I started the process of changing some of my mail to my new address, I think it will be easier if I start early. The house roof is finished and it has the bathtubs in place. The heater and cooling system is installed and I saw two doors ready to be installed. The house outside walls are wrapped with a white plastic material, I guess this will function as insulator. They are also working in the plumbing system

Dig day!

2010-01-29T05:44:00.001-08:00

We setup a dig date on January 4th, 2010. Last Saturday, January 9, 2010 we went to our home purchasing class and next week we will get our certificate. The construction started and attached you can see some pictures of the foundation. Since then we added more features that we want the house to have such as a storage room in the garage, insulation in the garage, windows in the bathrooms, etc. The house will come with dishwasher, counter-top and stove. We added a microwave, and a refrigerator. The builder promised that the house should be ready by the end of May. I am already working in the paperwork to get my first 3 per 1 savings from the IDA plan in March and we are already using the new address for anything after May. We are excited, and we appreciate the motivation, instruction, and support that the IDA program has offered us to help this dream become a reality. I will keep you updated of the process until the end. I would like to encourage people to build if that is what they want to, it is possible.

How much we can afford?

2010-01-29T05:44:00.000-08:00

The purpose of this blog is to keep you informed of our home buying process. Well, First thing my wife and me did was to call 4 banks to get an idea of how much they will pre-approve for us, then we received three pre-approvals: Zions Banks for 157,102,000 FHA loan, WellsFargo for 112,000 an independent Mortgage lender for 161,000 FHA Loan and Cache Valley Bank which declined us because of the type of visa we have. After that we decided to see some of the houses been sold in the Real Estate Book magazine. One ad attracted our attention, a construction company. We have always dreamed to be able to pick our choices in our first home, so we went to see the company, Visionary Homes(buildvisionaryhomes.com). They showed us the model home and some of the house already in the process of been built and we picked the one we would like for 160,000. We called Zions banks, but they said they don't work with construction loans(we found out that first you get a construction loans and when the house is built, then you take your permanent loan). Then we talked to the independent Mortgage lender and he and Cache Valley Bank agreed to combine the contract; Cache Valley Bank will lend the Construction Loan and the Mortgage lender the Permanent loan. We asked for a good faith estimates and the builder agreed to take care of the closing costs and all the fees of the construction loan. Then we realized that the monthly payment or our permanent mortgage would be more than $1,000 a month, so we called the builder and changed plans to build a smaller house, two stories, and a bigger Lot. We signed this option, then we signed the construction loan. The builder called my wife and me to pick our selection of colors, windows, door, exterior, exterior, etc. We were invited by the builder team to see the plans and we modified it and added all kind of extra options. One detail that we noticed with the construction loan is that you get to add to the price, but not to get discounts, on the other hand, when you buy a house already built the owner could reduce the price.