Well… what can we report on this particular goal?

It’s still a goal.

If you’ve been following along for years, you’ll know that I thought 2019-2020 were going to be my year. And the last year listed there probably already gives you a heads up on how well that went.

I spent a lot of time preparing to buy a house. I actually went and looked at a few houses.

I naively did not buy either of the two houses that would’ve been perfect that I saw in 2019 and then ballooned to like three times their price by the time I was actually looking to put in an offer like 6 months later.

I learned a lot about how wildly unpleasant it is to try to get a mortgage as a freelancer.

And… though I can’t totally prove this, I firmly suspect… as a single, female freelancer.

On the plus side, related to this goal, I was absolutely looking within a reasonable money frame.

I was aiming for around $150k. I was hoping to find a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom and it absolutely could’ve been an aesthetic fixer-upper, as long as the bones were good.

I was looking in the Pine Barrens in New Jersey, which is about as cheap as it gets in that state.

I like to think the universe said no (in oh so many ways) because things will be less inflated should the time to buy ever arise again.

I also learned more about mortgage companies and firmly suspect that as an arts freelancer, I will try to go entirely through the Actors Federal Credit Union should the time come again. I still had issues with them because they would only send a sketchy preapproval email that was missing a lot of info the realtor needed, not a fully functional preapproval, and in the current market that was really problematic.

But the way mortgage companies wouldn’t touch me with a 10 foot pole, despite having a 50% down payment and enough net worth to cover the actual full cost of the house (but I’m clearly not cashing in retirement savings or stocks for this), was sort of nuts.

If I had just had a minimum wage job at WaWa, I would’ve had no problem getting a mortgage. It was kind of crazy.

In a way, I feel like 2020 was my home buying dress rehearsal and someday it will be an excellent show.

If you want to relive the drama, the key posts I wrote while going through this debacle are listed below:

• Mel Tries to Buy a House – Part I
• Mel Tries to Buy a House – Part II

If you’re interested in seeing how the other goals on my Money Manifesto are going, you can read those posts here:

1. ) I will pay off all my debt. 
2. ) I will tithe 10%
3. ) I will save at least 15%
4. ) I will build up a $10,000 emergency fund.
5. ) I will max out my IRA every year.
6. ) I will put effort into learning how the stock market works better.
7. ) Then I’ll invest in it.
8. ) I’ll put effort into learning how REITS work.
9. ) And then I’ll invest in it. 

Are you a freelancer who has bought a house? Any mortgage tips I can squirrel away for the future?