Keep Climbing...

Several years ago, my husband and I felt after 6 years of marriage, that it was time we owned a home of our own and that not only did we deserve to own a home, but that it would be smart to get in on the hot real estate market.

As a couple, we knew it was also important to include Heavenly Father in our decision, but I think our wants led us to believe that Heavenly Father would approve of our decision and we went ahead and bought a modest townhome outside the metropolis of Washington, D.C. while my husband attended a three- year residency program through the Naval Dental Corp. in Bethesda, Maryland.

However, right before closing, our lender pulled out stating they felt the settlement was being rushed, and because we did not want the deal to fall through, we quickly found another lender who would help us out. Unfortunately, our wants led us to accept, what we later learned to be, very predatory and unfair loan terms. We didn’t think too much about it though, as we were sure we could sell the home in 3 years time before the terms of the loans would change, or at least refinance the two loans on the home.

Over the next 2 years, we sadly watched the real estate market bubble burst, and the value in our home depreciated by nearly 40% below the amount we owed on the home. We were devastated to realize that we couldn’t afford to sell the home at a 40% loss, and were no longer eligible for refinancing. The terms of the loans suddenly became very apparent as we watched the interests rates begin to change every 12 months. Like everyone else, we struggled to know what to do and earnestly watched the news, and listened to programs that promoted taking the easy way out and walking away.

I was deeply troubled and lost sleep many nights wondering how this could have happened to us, and why we didn’t feel a strong impression to just rent during our short time in D.C. I prayed to know what was to be learned from these hard times that was befalling on millions of people, and not just us. I struggled to know if Heavenly Father heard our prayers, or if we were deceived by our wants more than our needs at the time.

I desperately talked to our lender to fix the rate and terms of the loans so that we would not follow the pattern of foreclosures and bankruptcy if the mortgage became impossible to pay, but they were unforgiving, unhelpful and even advised us to stop paying on our mortgage and claim a hardship, which we knew was not only dishonest, but fraudulent advice.

We worked so hard to always pay on time, we valued our credit and felt we were very responsible and wanted to keep the home if only we could get the terms of the loans changed.

The spring before we were set to change duty stations to overseas, we began the process of trying to sell the home and see what would happen. Within several days of being on the market, we received several offers on the home, but none were enough to settle our debt and we couldn’t possibly carry the remainder after the home was sold.

Several people tried to convince us to short-sale or to walk-away from our bad investment, and while all their reasoning made sense in many ways, we felt deep down that it was not right, and that no matter what the unfair terms were that we signed, we knew that to be honest in all things, we must fulfill our obligations and take responsibility for our decisions, no matter what the cost.

We prayed even more earnestly to know what to do, and the only clear answer that was received was to be patient and wait. We didn’t know what to be patient for, and at times, it was hard to accept just that simple answer when we knew that one of our loans on the home was to be owed in full within a year, of which we felt we could never pay in time.

We reluctantly walked away from our buyers and began to find renters as we knew we were in it for the long haul and trusted in that simple answer, to be patient.

Then our prayers turned, not into pleadings of helplessness, but into prayers for answers and inspiration of how to accomplish such a difficult and almost impossible task. We had nearly no savings at all and quickly realized that to save more than 50% our annual income in one year to pay off one of the loans, we had to make some drastic changes. Along with still paying our tithing, which we felt was most important through all of this, we knew this was going to be almost impossible.

My husband and I sat down one evening to figure out how much we could actually save in that time, but before we did, we said another prayer, asking for guidance and direction. Then over the next several hours, as we poured through our monthly expenses and found expenses we could cut out and other places where we could save money outright, we came up with a plan that if followed in exactness, we would have the exact dollar amount needed by the exact date it would be needed to pay off the loan. What a huge blessing!

So we implemented our plan and immediately put it into action, and knowing that the Lord was going to help us up this steep mountain that seemed only hours before impossible, now seemed doable. I was actually happy to put this plan in motion and got excited every month that we saved our goal amount. I tried to push aside the feelings that all that we were saving was going to pay a debt that still gave us no equity in the home, but I knew I was fulfilling my obligation and doing it the right way, whether it was hard or not.

After several months, we learned of a military program that was set forth to help active duty families sell their homes and that would help pay up to 90% of the original loan off, while the seller still takes a 10% loss. This program was for members like us who were ordered to PCS (Permanent Change of Station) and so we decided to give it a shot now that we had moved overseas. But we still knew we couldn’t rely on that and had to keep climbing up our steep mountain.

Several months went by, and after much fasting and prayers, we learned that we were eligible for the program to help pay off the loans if we could bring another buyer to the table and pay the remaining 10%. It was already late in the summer season when house-hunting typically dies down, but we knew we had to give it one more shot.
We put the house back on the market as soon as possible, and fasted and prayed again, and were blessed within that same day of receiving an offer on the home. Another huge blessing!

Now with this new plan in place to actually sell the home, we knew that taking a 10% loss was much better than the 20% we owed the lender in less than a year. However, we still kept climbing and saving until we knew all would be well.

Again, we fasted and prayed again that things would work out, and learned again that very same day from the Housing Assistance Program, that because we never refinanced or did anything to the original loans and had always stayed current on our payments, we qualified for their 100% acquisition program and that no loss or payment was required on our part at all. I almost didn’t believe it! After all the bad loans, bad advice, sleepless nights of wondering how we were going to get through this and land on two feet…here was the Lord finally blessing us for being patient and doing all that we could do!

No words can describe my gratitude for the sweet-still small voice that spoke those simple words to us years ago to just be patient. Had we listened to the louder shouting’s of the world’s way to solve our problems, we would have been in terrible shape, and certainly would not have all those months of savings still in our pockets, and a deeper testimony that our Heavenly Father does love us and answer our prayers when we are patient to wait for his blessings on his timeline.

There is something to learn about each trial that we face in our journey of life, and the Lord has proven to us, that through patience, honesty, integrity and diligence (and of course fasting and praying), He will bless us when we are obedient to the simple truths He has given us in the scriptures.

Although during all those years of struggle I was frustrated, I can now see the bigger picture and my faith and testimony in Him has been strengthen because I have seen how my Heavenly Father has blessed us and cared about even the smallest details.

But we did not simply sit around and just pray, we were constantly trying to help ourselves too and after all we could possibly do, he really made up the rest, and then blessed us 10 fold.

“…And prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” (3 Ne. 24: 10)

I am so deeply grateful for my knowledge of His Gospel and truths and that I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Days Saints! And I know that it is because His true church has been established back on the earth through his servant Joseph Smith Jr., that we have the tools and gifts of the Holy Spirit to guide us each day, as long as we are striving to hear that still, small voice. There has never been any loud trumpets of answers in life, only small and simple answers, and those simple answers have blessed our life Immensely.