Middle Aged Women's Attempt at Real Estate

No mountain is high enough.

A journey of a million miles begins with the first step…I’m sure you heard this before. It all started one rainy Friday afternoon somewhere in February 2021. My son and I were parked at the beach staring at the waves when he opened up to me regarding our current living arrangements and how this was not supporting his dream of living a pleasant and peaceful life. Now, being someone who practically worked and lived for my children I did not take this lightly. It came as a shock because all I ever worked for was their comfort and well-being. Clearly, I was doing something wrong. 

Attempt at solving the Problem.

I started digging deep and asking myself questions that I was afraid to ask myself before this day. Well, actually before this moment of revelation, before this rude awakening – call it what you want. I immediately began my search for suitable accommodation. I found something a few hours later on a reputable property website. I got up early the next morning and together with my son drove to the destination. I have to admit, it looked great in the picture but in reality, it was nothing we expected. So we started driving back home feeling a bit disappointed and just before the last off-ramp that would take us back home, I suggested that we have a look at a new development somewhat 17 kilometres away from our current home. My son was pleased about the suggestion so we dandily drove to the next suburb. 

Finding a Possible Solution.

Upon arrival we were taken aback by the entrance, the layout, the views and practically, everything about this new urban style of living appealed to us. It definitely was an upgrade from our current living standards. As we entered the apartment that was on the show that day we completely fell in love with the panoramic views and everything the apartment had to offer. The big burning question though was affordability. Can we afford this? The answer….well let’s find out. So remember the phrase, no mountain is high enough…. 

The Climb Begins.

We had to pay a deposit of R20,000 in order to secure the property. No problem, I had this in my savings as a small safety net. So I was thinking what the heck let’s do this. After some little and big hiccups, I managed to make the deposit and secure the property. The second question was nagging me….where do I get the balance from? It’s only a balance of 1.8 million rands. Ya right, I was sweating like never before. The secret was to take one tiny step at a time. It’s easy right. All I needed to do is put one leg in front of the other…. I was shaking from the inside out. What have I done? I can’t afford this. Who am I fooling? Ok, I do have investments that I can drag into this. I did the maths and knew that I will still have a shortfall. 

Keep your Eye on the Ball.

The plan I had was to work another 2 years max as I was winding down to retirement. All sorts of questions swarmed in my mind but one thing I decided to do was, not to back down. So next steps were to complete the necessary application documents and wait for the decision by the banks on whether I’m approved or not. This was a long and nerve-wracking wait, and sometimes the process required back-and-forth paperwork. A few steps up the mountain and it could mean, coming tumbling right down. Nevertheless, I stood firm, kept my feet grounded and waited it out.

Failure.

A few weeks later, rejections for the loan started to come in. Still, I didn’t give up. I was waiting for two more financers to come back to me. Time went by and I didn’t hear anything. No news is good news, right? I plodded on…just one foot in front of the other. In the interim, I started taking stock of all my investments and savings that I had contributed over the years. I was still far from the mountain peak. Finally, after some more time had passed and I had almost given up, there was light at the end of the tunnel…

Fear Creeping In.

I got called for a further discussion and a quote was emailed to me from a financial institute. Truth is, it didn’t look good from where I was because I had made this decision a bit too late in my life. This could become a lifetime commitment and I may have to work until I’m 75 or 80 years old to pay off this debt….still, I kept on telling myself that there was no mountain high enough. Sometimes you just have to take those steps forcefully. You cannot give up. You need to look at every available option. There was no question in my mind that I wanted that apartment and I am going to work towards it. So after a few more weeks went by, I received a message that the loan application was approved. 

Stick to Your Guns.

I have to admit there was still some doubt regarding my decision. I knew that this was a risk. This also meant that I had to stay in my job from hell. I had no choice about that. So basically all the plans I was making for myself over the last few decades got thrown out of the window. Suddenly at the age of 51 years old, I completely changed the direction of my life putting a lot at risk and venturing into the unknown. It was a sudden awakening from the normal comfortable life I had. I wanted more. This was more. This was something I told myself I couldn’t do and here I was, doing it. Doing what I told myself for the last few decades, that I couldn’t do. Moral of the story: There is no mountain high enough. 

Stay Grounded.

You have to put your mind to it. When you become focused and when you put your efforts towards anything your heart desires, you can accomplish it because every little step you take starts aligning with the end picture. You can apply this to any mountain in your life. Step by step, slowly but surely you will reach the peak of your mountain. You will ground your flag up there….and when you get there, look for your next mountain. This is my challenge to you…Love you lots.