Backstory, nine years ago when we moved to Utah, Gerald was still employed in Montana, and I was happily unemployed. We picked out the perfect house for all of us but soon learned that our lender couldn't use income from Montana to secure our loan. "Well that's awesome. Since we have no Utah income," I lamented. Then Shulamith (aka Olivia Pope) suggested we use her job to get the loan. She was a full-time kindergarten teacher at the time, so she had plenty of steady income. And that's exactly what we did. Gerald, Shulamith, and I all signed on the contract, and technically, we all owned the house, even though Shulamith never paid any money for it. Haha.
As time went by, I sort of forgot she even signed on the loan, but when we listed our house for sale last month, sure enough, the title was in my name, with her and Gerald as co-signers. And Friday, when we signed at the closing, once again, the three of us sat at a table together, signing our lives away. Later when I went back to the title office to get the money, I was handed two checks in equal amounts, one made out to Gerald and me, and one made out to Shulamith. (Why they decided to give 1/4 to me, 1/4 to Gerald, and the other 1/2 to Shulamith I have no idea, but whatever.) I immediately texted her a picture of her check, to which she replied, "Imma take that money and run. Love ya!"
She won't do that, I don't think (?), but it made me laugh. Instead, she and her family will move to Bluffdale along with us, if their house ever gets built, that is. Which leads to another messy story. Last winter, she and I contemplated moving to Bluffdale and building homes near each other in a brand new development called Edge Homes. So new was it that the first day we went out there to look, literally the only edifice that existed anywhere was a single-wide mobile home, with the logo Edge Homes, Inc. on the front, and a real estate agent inside ready to give us all the details. For miles around this mobile home, we saw only dirt. So much dirt. Mounds and mounds of dirt. The agent in the mobile home, Chase, showed us pictures and floor plans of the different styles of homes, but to see an actual house, we had to drive to Lehi or Saratoga Springs.
Way back then, I didn't believe for a second we would actually move to Bluffdale. Like really? No we won't. We had looked at several other housing developments, and we didn't move to those, so why would this be any different? But then suddenly (it seemed), Shulamith and Matt had serious money and a contract on a house to be built in Bluffdale. Say what??? So I figured I'd better get on board. We went under contract about a month after the Webster-Monsons, but even then, I didn't think it would really happen. Matt agreed. He and I understood all 30,000 things that could still go wrong. Top on the list was getting our house sold. Prepping this house for sale was a major undertaking; oh my goodness! There was so much to do in order to get top value for our investment, and I would have never been able to do that all by myself. I am eternally indebted to Shulamith, Eli, and Amanda, who all worked tirelessly by my side on so many, many projects. Forever the optimist, Shulamith was always sure everything would work out fine.
And it will.
Just not as soon as we'd hoped.
Remember how Shulamith and Matt went under contract a full month before we did? Well let me just show you how things are progressing. Here is our house:
Guys! As of yesterday, we even have a tub in the upstairs kids' bathroom:
And this, right here, is Shulamith's dirt (I mean house):
Do you see the problem? Our house is dug and framed. Plumbing and HVAC have been through, and insulation will be done this next week. Anticipated completion is October 31st. Meanwhile, Shulamith's house is still nothing more than that lovely dirt we saw the first time we went out there. It's a complicated story, but it involves power lines that needed to be moved, forcing Edge to go back to the City of Bluffdale for permits a second time; slowdowns due to COVID; and on and on. She did receive notice just this past week of a very positive step toward getting this house started, which gave us some much needed hope.
One day, in the not-too-distant future, when we're both in our new houses, livin' the dream, I know all this will be just a funny memory.
Unless....
...unless, Shulamith follows through with her original plan: "Imma take that money and run. Love ya!"
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