Her Place
Gina unlocked the door and walked in to her place. After a lifetime of renting, she never believed she would finally have her own house. Already her furniture was here, along with all her other belongings lying in boxes everywhere.
No longer would she have to worry about landlord’s demands, or being suddenly evicted for accidentally missing rent or some other reason. This was her house. She looked out the window and saw the garden and imagined herself pottering away in it to her heart’s content. She deeply breathed in the air of her home. This would be awesome.
Joanne Fisher
This was written with the prompt of something a character never dreamed would happen provided by the Carrot Ranch December 10 Flash Fiction Challenge.
I’ve never actually owned a house. As someone who has been homeless a few times, this is a dream of mine…
©️2020 Joanne Fisher
joanne the geek 
That beautiful feeling captured so well.
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Is it easy-ish to get a loan in NZ? Is owning land/a house common?
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You need a 20% deposit before you can try for a loan and homes here are very expensive (they’re something rich people invest in which drives the price up) and getting more expensive. If you don’t have much money, owning a house is totally out of reach. No close friends of mine are able to own a house.
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It’s pretty easy for americans. 0% down on a 30 year mortgage is very common. The only problem there is if your credit score sucks, banks can deny you the loan.
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Your flash expresses the deep sense of security homeownership can bring. I’m sad that it’s so unattainable in NZ and yet I have this dream of wintering in NZ! Homes are so affordable in my region because of the reduced population following the mine closures and all the empty mining-era homes. We were able to get a VA loan because of my husband’s service, but that is subjective to banks. We couldn’t get one pre-2007 because banks didn’t want the “guarantees.” The VA could (wouldn’t) do anything about it so when the housing crash came, an extraordinary number of veterans (including us) lost our homes. We’ve been homeless twice since then. Now that we finally have a home with a guaranteed VA loan I feel that sense of relief. I hope for you to have that, too. It is possible.
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Thanks ♥️
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20% is too much when the purchase price is also high. We were able to buy because the banks offered 5% down for first time home owners and we were very lucky to be looking when prices were at a low, almost 30 years ago now. Back when working class people were still looked out for. There was a time when we didn’t think we would ever be in a place of our own. Worse now, rentals are so expensive I don’t see how people can save money, even 5%. Oof. Good luck.
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Thanks ♥️
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I loved the feeling of accomplishment you skillfully gave me with your words. What a great feel good story! ❤
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Thanks ♥️
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You’re welcome.
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That’s how I felt when I bought my first house…
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I can imagine how lovely it must feel to own your own house. Definitely something I aspire to have someday 😌
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