I have slowly started updating the blog again. If you want, you can check out my first post in the Series. This next post is on Gratitude and Grieving. I’m sharing updates ranging from buying our first house to learning about Felicity’s CP diagnosis.
After we relocated from NYC back to Miami in July of 2020, we spent the next few months searching for a house. We didn't know if it would be possible to actually buy a house right away or if we may rent for a while. Thankfully we were able to live with Bob and Donna while we sorted through the options. We contacted some of my great friends from high school who are realtors and asked for their guidance. They were able to lead us through the whole process and in November we were able to close on our first house!
Looking back, I can see how so many things unfolded in such an incredible way so that we got exactly the right house for our family during this season.
When we first started house hunting we saw one that we really liked and it was close to all of the things that we needed to be close to. We put an offer on it and the offer was accepted right away. We were under contract! But the owner was kind of doing things out of order so we decided to get the appraisal done first even before an inspection. The appraisal was significantly low compared to the asking price so we were able to get out of the contract before moving forward anymore.
We started looking for houses again and I kept seeing this yellow house come up in my search results, I mentioned we were interested but we didn't really hear anything back from the sellers. I shared with our realtor that I was feeling disappointed about the other offer falling through and I said, "I think that we’re going to give ourselves until the end of this week to keep looking, and if we can’t find anything we might have to wait until the new year to start looking again."
It was the end of the week, Friday, and Rob was headed down to the Keys to coach at a football game. We heard from our realtor and she said we could see the yellow house *that afternoon*, and also that the sellers would be looking at all offers the next morning!
A few hours later I was taking a tour of our future house with Bob, Donna, Lucie and Felicity. Rob didn’t even get a chance to see it in person pre-offer! I sent him a video tour of the house and I’m so glad that I did because it’s something that I look back on many times, and it's incredible to already see what a transformation there has been in the last year. He gave the thumbs up and we put an offer in at asking price - that may sound bonkers but this is a crazy time in real estate and it is not uncommon to immediately be outbid by offers that are over asking price and all cash!
Our realtors advised us to create a letter from our family to the family selling the house sharing why we would really love the opportunity to buy it. That night, they shared our letter, along with the terms that they put together to build a strong offer with the selling agent. The next morning they called to let us know that the seller had seen seven offers; some above asking price, one even guaranteeing up to $5,000 extra if the appraisal came in low... but the sellers loved us as a potential family to live in the house! So they accepted our offer and we were under contract again.
Through the inspection process we found some issues with the roof and other things like that so we were able to get certain credits. We were even able to get a warranty transfer to us for the roof for three years - which is unheard of! I am so thankful for that because the following spring, when the first heavy rains of hurricane season came we found some large leaks that were able to be repaired under that warranty.
I was still working remotely throughout this whole process and my team that I worked for was NYC based. During the financing and underwriting process, the underwriter requested that I get further confirmation about my job in addition to the basic Employment Verification. I asked my boss if he could send an email confirming that my work arrangement would be the same going forward. The verbal answer on this was - yes, absolutely! But working for a large firm there is a standard protocol (probably for legal reasons) so he said unfortunately he would not be able to send an email.
On the final day of the underwriting timeline, we also had a follow up Neurology appointment for Felicity. We would be getting the results of a recent MRI. The Neurologist explained that Felicity's EEG, a test to detect abnormalities in brain waves, was normal, however the MRI was not. The MRI showed evidence of injury in her brain significant enough to confirm what we already suspected.
She was formally diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy.
I sat there silently as hot tears welled up and rolled down my cheeks one after another. Finally an answer. But also, so many new questions and unknowns were flashing through my mind.
You may be wondering why I am sharing this in the midst of our "House Story"? And it's just because I truly can't share about one without the other; they are connected from start to finish. The call with the Neurologist shifted everything, even my perspective on whether or not I wanted to be working in this season of transition. It's probably why it has taken me so long to write it all out in the first place. It's been hard to process it all. The move from NYC, the house, the diagnosis, my job, Rob's job... it all overlaps. So even as I tried to allow myself to grieve and to celebrate, to reflect and to marvel at the timing of how each step unfolded, it's has been hard to pinpoint where to begin.
After that tele-visit, we just surrendered and it truly felt like, ok, if we don't get that email confirmation then the deal is off... and that's ok. We let it all go. We ceased trying to force it to happen somehow.
And I don't know what to say but - mountains were moved. Not even an hour after the tele-visit with the Neurologist, my boss sent an email, he confirmed my job, and the underwriter was satisfied. We were able to continue with the underwriting process and we closed on the house November 19, 2020!
The house that is not too big, not too small, and just right for us.
And just right for Felicity.
It's all one level, with very few obstacles that she will need to navigate as she gets older and starts to use assistive tools like a walker and a wheelchair. We have a pool where we can have fun and gather with friends and family, and have also started using it for Aquatic Therapy so Felicity can stretch out her spastic limbs while getting to experience more range of motion. I'm just in awe.
Home Sweet Home.
As we got to know the house, and it got to know us... we hit plenty of speedbumps that were pretty stressful at times. Rob and I would just look at each other and say, “Hoooome Ownership!” Over the next few months I continued to think and pray about where I should focus my time during this new season, and came out of it with a complete shift in my career. I’ll share more about all of that in my next few posts!
Love,
Los Hicksons
Closing Day!
Sisters playing piano
Aquatic Therapy!
Playing in a sun shower
We closed on the house in Nov 2020 but that first December we were doing updates to the floors and still living at Bob and Donna’s. We just celebrated our first Christmas in our house this past December and it was fun to get to decorate for the holidays!