My Keys: From Homeless to homeowner In Less Than Two Years

The other day I walked into work with my keys in my hand and a co-worker bust out laughing and asked “Are you an undercover janitor with all of those keys?” I chuckled, not because I thought the joke was funny, but for the mere fact that things have different meanings to people. While he connected my ring of endless keys to a janitor, I connected it to the accomplishment of homeownership. At thirty years old, I can now add homeowner to my list of titles and for me my janitor keys represent the long journey there.

I have so many keys on my ring because I lived several places throughout my life. Growing up I remember moving from apartment to apartment and city to city. That nomadic lifestyle remained constant throughout my teenage and young adult years. My key ring holds the key to my mother’s house because I was always back and forth there, my big sister’s house because I had to stay with her a little while, my other big sister’s house because I had to stay with her not once but twice, my first apartment while in college, my ex-boyfriend’s house and my amazing luxury apartment I left behind before my big house purchase. All of those keys reside right here on my key ring. I have no clue why I continue to keep all of these keys but I must say they are the keys to my home buying journey, literally and figuratively.

Purchasing a home has been a dream of mine for three main reasons. The first and probably the most obvious was stability. A stable place I can live for years and really settle my roots. A place my daughter could always come back to as a young adult if she needs to save for her own house. The second was financial reasons. I do not know if you checked lately but rent is going “all the way up” like it was the fifth rapper on Fat Joe’s track. Rent is out here looking more expensive than mortgage. It is just ridiculous! Why rent if you can own? The last reason was so I can do what the fuck I wanted when the fuck I wanted without being considerate of neighbors. Living in apartments, coops or even townhouses (connected by one wall) you have to worry about not walking heavy on the floor, not playing your music at certain hours, hearing noises from above and next to you; it’s all just very annoying to me. These three reasons are why I turned purchasing a home from a dream into a goal and into reality.

I’ve always been goal oriented. I set smart goals. I plan for them. I go for them head on and I usually knock them out of the park. I would have to say my ratio of completion is pretty high. I am a very determined person but no matter how determined you are life has its way of flipping you on your ass. When I was twenty I set the goal to own a home by the age of thirty. I thought giving myself ten years to finish school, get my career on track, find a husband and buy a home would be more than enough; boy was I wrong.  I came to this realization at age 27 when I was a homeless single mother, sleeping in my sister’s living room and interning at New York City Transit. I didn’t have the resources or finances to even think about owning, so at that point I permanently scratched being a homeowner at thirty out of my head. It was a goal I had to put on hold until I saw a clear end game.

In my opinion goal setting is super productive and it has helped me accomplish many things in my life, however it doesn’t incorporate the unexpected bumps life puts in your way or the unforeseen blessings God bestows on you. Through this journey called life I realized if your goals align with what God has for you no bumps can come in the way even if you can no longer see your end game. On February 19^th 2019 at approximately $4:00pm I closed on my first house, 17 days after my 30^th birthday, which happened to be two years and a few months after I scratched out the idea of even being a homeowner at 30. I scratched it out of my head so bad that I forgot it was there in the first place. It clicked to me a few weeks prior to my close as I was speaking to my sister about the whole home buying process. I was still waiting for my closing date but I knew it was coming soon, as was my 30^th birthday. In that moment I had a realization of my previous goal and how it was coming to fruition right in front of my eyes and I almost missed it.  

I almost missed it because it was my same goal but not how I pictured it. I pictured it being my husband, children and I buying a perfect home with a white picket fence and a dog that will run around in the yard; all of which I didn’t have in my smart goal by the way. My goal was to be a homeowner by thirty so technically I was days away from accomplishing my goal. Sometimes our blessings are wrapped in different wrapping paper than we expect but that doesn’t change the blessing underneath. We have to learn to open our eyes so we have the ability to see the blessings in front of us and be grateful.

I am so happy my co-worker was cracking on my keys. It made me remember I have to clear off my key chain. But most importantly it made me reflect on my homebuyers’ journey and the importance of goal setting. The most important part of trying to accomplish a goal, in this case buying a home, is your mindset and tenacity to keep going despite how it looks it may turn out. One thing that I can guarantee you is that your blessings may not happen how you want them to but they will happen how they are supposed to. Don’t miss your blessings stressing on how you think they should look, just keep going and the chips will fall into place. A lot of people ask me “how did you buy a home?” My answer is goal setting and mindset. 

Below is a list of resources that explain tips and tricks to use when setting and executing your goal. I also included a link to the best planner I‘ve ever had, compliments of my business partner Latia McAlister. It’s so descriptive and it helps you see your overall vision so you can break it down into goals and actions.  

Resources:

3 Absolute Musts To Be Successful At Goal-Setting

Forbes

https://www.forbes.com/sites/piasilva/2018/12/19/3-absolute-musts-to-be-successful-at-goal-setting/#1505f2071453

What is Goal Setting and How to Do it Well

PositivePsycology.com

www.positivepsychology.com/goal-setting/

Be Your Own Goals: Your 2019 Vision Board Guide

Essence

https://www.essence.com/awards-events/2019-essence-festival/regina-hall-celebrates-25-years-of-essence-festival/

Here’s How To Set Your Goals And Objectives

Black Enterprise

https://www.blackenterprise.com/2018-plan-career/

Freedom Mastery

Planner/Journal

https://freedommastery.com/