Chapter 6 - Natalie’s House
The Briar Ridge house was beautiful.
I saw the listing later.
White exterior.
Tall windows.
Three-car garage.
Pool.
Kitchen larger than my first apartment.
Natalie had placed an offer above asking.
Why?
Competition.
Status.
Impulse.
A little of everything.
She worked in luxury event design and earned good money.
Her fiancé, Mark Ellison, earned more.
Together, they could afford an expensive home.
Just not that expensive under the lender’s debt-to-income requirements once several undisclosed obligations were included.
A leased luxury SUV.
Credit-card balances.
A personal loan.
And, most significantly, a business line Natalie had personally guaranteed.
Their lender required more cash and lower financed amount.
They needed approximately $180,000 more at closing.
Natalie had already waived certain contingencies.
She risked losing a substantial earnest-money deposit if the transaction collapsed under circumstances not protected by the remaining contract terms.
Mom described that as:
“losing everything.”
She was not losing everything.
May you like
She was losing a house she had overcommitted to buying.
Those are not the same thing.
