We hadn’t heard another word from the lender since December 8, until today. And then, suddenly, I received an email telling me we needed three more things!

• A Well Certification from the county which says the well water is potable
• A binding contract from the homeowner’s insurance provider
• A letter from the termite inspector that says we have contracted to have the house treated for termites and have a new vapor barrier put down in the crawl space.

The first thing I did was email back saying that there is county water at the property–we had to have it turned on for the appraiser. That was quickly cleared up and marked off the list.

Fabgrandpa called the exterminating company and spoke to the termite guy, who knew exactly what we needed to provide to the lender, but he was out in the field and couldn’t get it emailed over until he got to his office later in the day, but we felt sure he would do that as soon as he could.

The last thing was for me to call the homeowner’s insurance provider and ask for the binding contract. She also knew exactly what we needed, but said that the provider that she quoted me rates from has issued a moratorium on providing homeowner’s insurance in this area. She told me she would call and ask if she would still be able to issue policies on the homes she had already quoted before the moratorium was announced. She promised to call me back before the end of the day.

With all that done, we continued on with our plans for the day, which included going to visit my mother, who lives about 45 miles away. We had planned on staying until dinner time, then going to our favorite barbecue place to eat and pick up a plate for her. Meanwhile, while we were on our way, my phone rang again. It was the lender telling us she had emailed a form that needed to be signed by both of us, and wanted us to print it, sign it, scan it, and email it back. Because we were only about a mile from her office, we decided to stop in to sign it in person.

We got to Mama’s house, and told her we had to leave by 4:00 p.m. so we could get home in time to print, sign, scan, and email all that stuff to the lender by 5:00 p.m. We left Mama’s early to go home, and as soon as we got on I-20, my phone rang. Fabgrandpa answered it because I was driving. It was the insurance lady. Because we are using Farm Bureau Insurance, we had to pay a $25 membership fee before she could issue the homeowner’s insurance policy. While Fabgrandpa was having that converstation, HIS cell phone rang. He told the insurance lady that I would pull over to the side of the road and talk to her.

The termite inspector was on the other cell phone, telling us he had emailed a form we needed to print, sign, scan, and email back to him. Fabgrandpa told him we would do that as soon as we got home. I pulled over to the side of the highway as soon as I could, about two exits down the road, and talked to the homeowner’s insurance lady. She needed me to give her a credit card number to cover our Farm Bureau membership fee of $25. She said she had already provided the binding contract to the lender. So, after giving my number over the phone, there we sat on the side of I-20 looking at each other, hoping that this is the last of the mad scramble to provide paperwork to the lender.

When we got home, I had emails from both the termite inspector and insurance lady that included the forms we had to print, sign, scan, and email back to them. When I got through doing all that, I called the lender and asked if they had everything they had asked for today. And they said yes, but we won’t be surprised if they call or email again tomorrow.

Today was the day we have been working towards: We got an email from the lender’s representative saying we have been approved for the loan. BUT. Yes, I did say BUT. We have to provide them with a little more documentation. The paper pile continues to grow.

We have a monthly deposit to our checking account from an annuity. We were not allowed to use that annuity as proof of income to qualify for the loan because we will only continue to receive it for less than 48 months. But, because the lender scrutinized our checking account statement, we are required to write a letter explaining why we are receiving that amount each month.

Also, because the origninal bank statements I provided were printed by ME off the internet, I have to provide them with either a copy of a bank statement mailed to me from the bank, or one that I have obtained from the bank in person and stamped with their official stamp. I can get that tomorrow.

We had to print off the termite treatment contract, sign it, scan it back in, and email it to the lender. They want positive proof that we have contracted to have the house treated for termites. Done, and emailed.

The last piece of paperwork they are asking for is our proof of employment. This is going to be tough to get. Because we are seasonal workers, we only work for six months out of the year. Each October, Fabgrandpa is taken off the payroll, and placed in “intermittent” status. This means he is still an employee, but he is not working AT THIS TIME. In April, he will be put back on the payroll. The problem is with MY employment status. I am terminated at the end of each season. I have to be re-hired every spring. So, AT THIS TIME, I am no longer employed. If you remember a few days ago, I had to write a letter explaining my seasonal status to the lender. So, if we can not find a person who will sign a form stating we both still have a job, we may not be able to get this loan, even though we told them in the beginning that we have been seasonal workers for more than 11 years. The main problem I had today is that while there are people who are employed year round, this is the OFF season and many people are on furlough until after Christmas. I am not giving up hope, just saying this could be a very difficult hurdle for us.

So, once we get all of those things together and presented to the lender, we should get a closing date. Y’all keep your fingers crossed for us!