Tyson's House

It's 2010. Is anyone else reflecting on 2009? For some 2009 was great, for some it was hard. Ty and I had a little bit of both.

I really hesitated to post about our housing experience but now that it's over, I want to remember the many miracles that God had given us in just this specific subject.

To start, when Tyson was just 18 when he bought his very first piece of property. A lovely four-plex about two blocks away from the Logan Temple. Thanks to Tyson's parents, he started on a big journey to real estate. The house was old, had four apartments but was a great started property. This place gave Tyson positive cash flow every month and even helped pay for his mission.

Fast forward to when we got married.Now five years into it, Tyson and I had hopes to sell it, save more money and do a huge down payment on our first official home. Real estate is great, but time consuming. Tyson and I lived in SLC and had very little time to drive two hours to Logan and keep up with it. Gaylan and Debbie were amazing to help manage it for us. Still we knew it was kind of a hassle so we wanted to sell it. We listed it October 2007. Well unless you were under a rock, this was at the start of the housing bust of 2007-2009. Homes were dropping a little bit, but not big deal - we were not in a huge rush.

A year into it (October 2008), we realized that the price was too high and so we dropped it by 20k. Still no traffic. We took off the market for the winter. Now mind you during this entire time Ty and I were looking at homes in SLc. We found one we loved but our offer was rejected because it was contingent on our first place to sell. Months went by, spring was nearing and we were hopeful that a new year meant better buyers. Well the real estate market continue to take a dive. Credit was super limited and it felt as if everyone was bailed out.

In the summer of 2009 we got new renters in, not exactly the best kind but we had several apartments vacant for about three months, so we welcomed renters that could pay. Boy were we wrong. Soon the problems started. The neighbors started to complain about several things:

1. Loud noise
2. Kids running around
3. Alcohol and minors
4. One of the renters were arrested due to identity theft

As soon as we heard about this Tyson and Debbie started the process of eviction. A week later we got call from the police. One of the apartments tested positive for Meth. Meth. I've heard about this drug. It was just another drug and never thought it would effect me. Wrong. According to our research, Meth destroys homes. It seeps through the walls and can be extremely harmful to humans and children.

At this point, we had dropped the price more than 30k since we put it on the market. This news meant that house was condemed. Lost. Ruined. Seven years gone. All equity lost.

I remember Tyson telling me in our little dining room. Just the previous weekend we had spent 48 straight hours cleaning, painting and fixing of the apartments. I remember my head spinning. Tyson pretty much said we lost it all. It would never sell.

I cried. I was so upset. I remember feeling how hurt but all the work we did. Tyson said there might be a way to save it - but it would mean putting in 15k to "clean it up" and not even expecting to break even.

The next couple of days were hard. Debbie cried and felt totally guilty. I was so mad. Strat , who had since become our real estate agent, was so sad. We got calls from neighbors, friends - all heard what happened. They all called to express sorrow. I know it sounds dumb but it felt like something died. A dream died. Seven years of Tysons' sweat, money and hopes died. My dream of owning a home to bring a baby to died.

All tenants were kicked out. The people who we think were responsible were so poor that there was no reason to even try to go after them. Sadly the current system lets them jump to property to property - a perpetual trail of destruction.

Tyson and Debbie decided that the only thing to do is just try to fix it up, use the last of our apartment savings and hope that we could sell it. And so it began.

For four months we had over 15k in house repairs. I chose to stay out of it. I did not want to have anything to do with it. We had the state clean it, new EVERYTHING. Test and chemicals were done. Ceilings were replaced, floors pulled, kitchens redone.

In October 2009, the house was finally done in decent shape. We put it back on the market. We listed for exactly what Tyson bought it for seven years earlier.

Nothing moved.

We had open houses but no real interest. It was at this time that Tyson started thinking about moving to Denver. It seemed crazy. Here we have this house that we can't sell. Who would take care of it? Debbie and Gaylan were so sick of looking after apartments. How about if we get crappy people again?

But God is a God of Miracles. At the end of November we got an offer. It was weak and asked for a ton of things. We talked it over with Debbie - who thought that it would not go through but we might also not get another offer either. We came back 2k more. They accepted. We were set to close the first of December, but they kept stalling and stalling.

Mean while, talks of Denver were getting more and more serious. God was making little miracles happen that kept telling Tyson and I to move forward but the house was our biggest concern. I remember praying and asking that if God really wanted us to move - he would sell our house.

All of December went by. December 22nd Strat called Tyson and told him that we should close on December 28th - but not to hold our breath. We drove to Logan for Christmas on the 23rd. Tyson asked if we could close earlier so we did not have to drive back right after Christmas. They said that the paper was not there and we would not have enough time.

We woke up Christmas eve. Tyson got a call from Strat. Miraculously the paperwork was overnight ed. We could close that day. at 2 pm.

So we loaded up the car - me taking tons of pictures. We signed the papers.

Just like that. It was done. The money funded on Monday and we officially sold our place. It was bitter sweet. It was a long road. I think my main lesson is that God really is a God of miracles. He test us but takes care of us to.

We were able to make a little money after all the extra work we had to put in. It was disappointing to see how much gets eaten by taxes, fees, maintenance. I've learned alot. In the end, God wanted to us make a move. Had we sold our house when we first got married - we would be stuck here. We would have bought at the height of the market. We would be tied down. God knew we would move in 2010. He knew he had to keep us from really planting our roots. It all makes so much sense. I am grateful for a Heavenly Father who loves us, and I love him.

I am ashamed to say that I lacked faith. Tyson was incredible through it all. He never complained, never pointed fingers. He never even told our team. So many people seem to come to us and complain about their smaller problems. I wanted to rip there heads off and say "oh yeah? I just lost 50k so top that loser!" But we never did. We cried in the quietness of our little 800 sq apartment. I will always be grateful for how strong Tyson was through all of it. He really is my hero. I love you Tyson.








In the end, 2009 marked a very emotional year. 2010 is being introduced with so many changes. New adventures. I want to remember this. I want people to see God's hand in my life. I heard a great quote "When Gods stands with you, who dares stands against you". Thank you God for looking after us, teaching us humility, perseverance and gratitude.