The team at Lifestyles suggested bringing in my parents. Together, with their participation, we were able to qualify for a loan, and begin my search as a first-time buyer. Competition was stiff, but because of the Lifestyles Buyers Edge program, we came in strong with what they call a Good as Cash, fully approved loan to win the property over the competition. Here is where our story becomes one of international intrigue. My parents had a planned vacation to visit family in Mexico, without Michael’s knowledge, not knowing that their presence would be necessary to close escrow. When the time neared to sign documents, my parents were gone. Here in the US everyone has a cell phone, and we take instant communications for granted. However, that isn’t the case in rural Mexico. They had traveled to a remote area with small towns where there were few means of communication. Forget cell phones. It became a very real challenge to locate my parents, and then arrange for times to communicate on limited land lines in limited locations.

It was daunting to contemplate all the obstacles that had to be overcome and all the hoops that were jumped through just for me. In addition to logistical problems in locating and communicating with my parents, the limited command of English with my parents and others made the frequent conference calls complicated and difficult challenges. There was also a constant flurry of back-and-forth international communications by phone and fax with government agencies and embassies. Arrangements had to be made for my parents to travel long distances to a major city to be able to retrieve and send documents. The embassy had only one person who could notarize US documents and there were limited time frames when notary services were available. Time was ticking and there were periods where we lost communication and had no idea where my parents were and whether they were able to get to the necessary venues on time. Because of these obstacles and the delays, the process was painstakingly slow. Panic and drama set in as we approached the loan lock expiration deadline. If we did not get all the required documents in on time, it would mean a bump in interest rates and payments. This would in turn affect my ratios and affordability, which could put my loan in jeopardy. More delays could also jeopardize the escrow and sale altogether. I might lose the property. As the countdown neared its end, we had to have my parents travel a long distance to the nearest US Embassy and get there within a specific window of time to get docs notarized. Just when we thought we had it made, there was more panic caused by unexpected heavy traffic and congestion delays during the last-minute dash to get to the one and only Federal Express facility in time to get the notarized loan documents on the last flight out. And for a period of time we lost communication again, with no knowledge of whether or not my parents were successful in their efforts. After days of nail-biting drama and by the grace of God, we received the documents and were able to get them to the lender just in the nick of time. The loan went through, and I got my house. Kudos to the great team at Lifestyles. They made it happen because they never gave up even against incredible odds. We will never forget their herculean effort that got us our first home. We will always have this great story to share. I don’t know if anyone can understand how proud I was to have a home to offer my bride at the wedding.…. a place of our own to start our new life together. This meant the world to me and my family. How does one say a proper thank you for that? Words cannot express my feelings.

--JL