“What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kind of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.” (Romans 7:7-12)

I used to struggle with this passage. What comes after is a miracle, but this particular piece of scripture is hard for me. Why? Because I don’t want to know sin. If I had it my way, I would never want to know what sin is, the consequence of its actions and the toll it takes on the human soul. Ignorance is bliss they say. But is it?

When I wasn’t following Christ, sin wasn’t a thought. I did what I wanted, when I wanted, to whom, with whom and for whom I pleased. If someone crossed me, I got revenge. If my friends wanted to go party and get drunk, we went, partied and got drunk. When someone told me I couldn’t do something, I went and did it, simply out of rebellion. “I was once alive apart from the law…” (v. 9).

Even as I write this, I sit and think, “So what has changed?” Everything. Yet nothing at all.

My entire world flipped upside down when I heard the gospel for the first time. There was finally hope, peace, rest, joy and eager expectation for what was to come. I learned forgiveness and how it was given to me. Then, I learned how to extend that forgiveness to others who “crossed me”. I learned life and joy and freedom wasn’t found in a bottle but in the Bible. I learned that obedience was for my own good and protection. I learned that being my own God brought destruction to my life.

You see, if I never knew sin, I never would’ve met Jesus. “…but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.” (v. 9) When I recognized the dark hole of a life I had dug for myself, I also realized that Jesus and his death and resurrection was the ladder out of it. So I started climbing. He taught me what sin was and how it will take the best of things and make them evil if allowed. He taught me how to guard my heart, mind and thoughts to stop evil from coming in and ruining what was good, pleasing and perfect. He showed me what life was like when I walked with Him.

Yet nothing really changed at all. The offer of grace and redemption, a new life, continued to wait for me. My name, written in the book of life, remained. Jesus never changed. The truth was always there, I just chose not to receive it. Everything changed when I did.

Will you?

It won’t always be this way.

Where I wake up in a quiet household, grab my coffee and bible and sit in silence for the first hour of my day.

Where I can sit and pray about the day to come, awaiting in eager expectation for what God has in store for me.

Where I clearly see the path in front of me, and faithfully go forward in confidence.

It won’t always be this way.

It won’t always be this way.

Where my dad takes me to softball practice and sits along the fence line, analyzing my progress towards success.

Where he takes me to the job site to help him, only to assign me to the tedious shop-vac job of the townhomes.

Where he walks in the door after work saying “Honey, I’m home” and peace transcends the household one again.

No, it won’t always be this way.

It won’t always be this way.

Of war and violence, chaos and decay.

Where people say “I want to be this way”, leaving Him in complete dismay.

It won’t always be this way.

It won’t always be this way.

And some may say there’s no way.

But according to the Way, these times will not stay.

It won’t always be this way.

At the end of last year, my husband and I made a commitment that we would slow down. For us, that meant less traveling and even less set plans with friends on the weekend. We just wanted to be. To enjoy marriage and let things just be. Our friends mean the world to us and we still hang out with them often, just less “scheduled” time with them.

In the few short weeks we have done this, I have learned a few things. First, I find so much joy and relaxation knowing when I wake up on a Saturday, I have absolutely nothing to do and no where to be. To sit and enjoy my coffee with this freedom in mind has allowed me to truly rest. The go, go, go that I thought was expected of me to maintain good friendships and community, serve, work hard for my family and be a good wife was absolutely draining to me. But what I have found is that I do all of these things better when I have none of them planned at all. I am able to fully focus on my husband and his needs, randomly reach out to friends and community to come over for dinner or game night, and to give 100% of my attention to whatever it is that is right in front of me.

Second, my husband is the biggest sore loser out there. Seriously. We are both very competitive and I will be the first to admit that I hate losing and get a sour attitude afterwards, but this man cannot. let. it. go. I have told him this and he denies it but it is TRUE! We played the game Cashflow this weekend and he is not the greatest with finances. He bought every opportunity that came to him but his expenses were so high we was never able to exit the “Rat Race”. I ended up winning the first game we played on Saturday night and first thing Sunday morning he says “Do you want to play Cashflow again?” Sure, Adam, let’s play again. He won that round and now he is content to start his week in peace. LOL.

Third, having less plans has allowed for more time to explore new and old hobbies. I’ve never considered myself to have traditional hobbies. I enjoy working out, but not the 3+ hour gym rat kind of way. I like business, finances and investing- the entire subject nerds me out. So I spend much of my time reading books and listening to audiobooks on the subject. Recently, I started cooking more and have really enjoyed that. I was never a bartender and am not much of a drinker but have gotten the urge recently to try different drink recipes. We have also found how much we enjoy cooking at home together. It really is fun.

Overall, our commitment this year has come along well. Yes, we spend less time with friends, but honestly, we needed it. It has brought more life to us than we expected.

“In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:19-22)

At the end of 2020, I was 30 years old, single, living in the barracks in Pensacola, FL as Lance Corporal in the Marine Corps. I felt so behind in life. I had just changed careers and was surrounded by 18-19 year old’s who were just starting out. I felt humbled to say the least. But deeper than that was my yearning to be married. I had been praying for a spouse for years, trying to be obedient in each step I felt I was being led to. Yet I found myself in December alone on a bench outside my barracks room, crying out to God for understanding.

After many weeks of prayer and wrestling with the Lord, I began to feel a sense of peace. Its hard to put into words, but it was this confident sense of hope that God knows the desires of my heart and this one He put there. At the beginning of 2021, I started praying everyday for a husband. Not a prayer of anxiousness, but a prayer of hope, of eager expectation.

When I read this verse this morning, I was reminded of what hope is. Hope is trust in God that He is who He says He is and His promises are true. That the pure desires of my heart are known to Him. That, when those desires align with His will, they will be brought into existence. No unbelief should make me waver, because as I give glory to God, I will become fully convinced that He is able to do what He has promised.

My prayer for us today is that our faith in God grow beyond the limits of our hearts and minds.

But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. (Romans 4:23-25)

(P.S. I ended up meeting my now husband in April 2021.)

When I first joined the Marine Corps, that same gentle nudge had sat in me for almost a year and a half. A YEAR AND A HALF! I can still remember the constant confusion my overthinking and lack of trust caused me. Like I was waiting on God to ‘show me a sign’, yet that sign was never defined. It wasn’t going to be God physically showing up right in front me, saying “Yes, join the military” or an audible voice from the sky confirming I should do so. It sounds absurd to even say it but looking back, I think that’s exactly what I was waiting for.

Time and time again, these gentle nudges from God have appeared in my life. And nearly every time I don’t understand it. Yet, each time it happens and I obediently listen, it turns out to be the best thing for me. Sometimes, it changes the course of my life. Other times it allows God to place other factors in my life to guide me to the place He wants me to be.

I often wish I would listen faster. I’m pretty stubborn and get so mad at myself for having to constantly relearn the same lesson. This one, for instance, is a way that God has moved in my life repeatedly yet I still haven’t learned that quick obedience and action to whatever it is He is asking me to do is what is the absolute best for me at that time.

So why haven’t I learned? Fear. Lack of trust. At the end of the day, I want to be in control and know what the future will hold. I fear making mistakes. I fear embarrassment from those mistakes. I fear someone close to me telling me I shouldn’t do something, then it doesn’t work out and they say “I told you not to do that”.

I know I am not alone in this so this is my encouragement to all my readers who find themselves struggling with the same thing. You’re not alone.

I’ve felt God nudging me to start a blog for a long time. A quiet, gentle, consistent nudge. Honestly, I don’t know why. I don’t know who my target audience is, what type of content I will post or who will even be interested in what I have to say. What I do know is that God has urged me to do this for a long time and obedience is listening even when I don’t understand (easier said than done).

I guess I will start with where I currently am in life. Right now I live in Pasadena, Maryland but am a born and raised Kentuckian to the core. Currently I am working as a cyber analyst in the United States Marine Corps. I used to sell real estate in Dallas and have found myself really missing it this past year so I am trying to find a way back into it. I married my husband Adam in May of last year. We have one dog and live in a three story townhome that, although we both prefer having land and acreage to roam on, we have really grown to enjoy it. Our church, LightHouse, has been a huge blessing to us this past year. We joined our first married community group this past fall and have really bonded well with many of the couples in the group. That has been one of God’s biggest blessing in our marriage this year. Before, we were sort of alone. We had friends (well, my husband had friends) but they weren’t really involved in the day to day of our lives. I believe to my core that people were never meant to live alone- we were created to love and be loved. And God’s design for that was community. So this has been a provision from the beginning for us.

Two months after my husband and I married my dad passed away from cancer. The hole that lives in my heart is massive. My dad was and is my best friend. I miss him so much it hurts. I have never experienced grief before and I still haven’t figured it out. Some days I feel fine, almost like nothing has happened. But recently, my heart has become more and more sad. I’ve lost motivation to do things that I know I enjoy and are good for me. It’s like the longer time goes by, the harder it gets. Everything reminds me of him. The past week, I have had the worst bad dreams and he is in it. The other night, I dreamt he was dying from COVID and there was nothing I could do to save him. The next night and the night after that were similar dreams. And it has been extremely difficult to talk to anyone about my grief because frankly, I don’t feel like people care to hear it, can relate or they simply try to fix it and make me feel better (which makes it all worse).

As I said before, I don’t know why God wants me to start this blog. Hopefully one day someone can read these posts and gain some comfort that they aren’t alone. Maybe they will learn a thing or two about God and life. All I know, is this is my next step of obedience.

When shopping for a home, there are several important details that you will need to know about the property before placing an offer. This information can almost always be found in the sellers disclosure. A sellers disclosure is a notice of the sellers knowledge of the condition of the property as of the date signed by the seller and does not substitute for any inspections or warranties the purchaser may wish to obtain. Every seller in the state of Texas is required to have a sellers disclosure to sell a home. There are 11 exemptions to this law, the most common being a builder of a new home, a trustee or executor of an estate, and a foreclosure home.

The sellers disclosure is broken into eight parts to ensure all factual information is disclosed about the home. These eight parts are General Information, Information About Equipment and Systems, Information About Structure/Other, Miscellaneous Information, Information About Foundation, Information About Drainage, Information About Termites/Wood Destroying Insects and Information About Environmental Conditions,

General Information will report factual information about the home (when it was built, was it a rental or homestead, is there currently any active warranties on any items on/in the property, has the seller ever placed an insurance claim for damage to the property, etc.).  Also, if the property has had an inspection within the last four years, the inspection will be stated here and a copy of the report will be attached.

Information About Equipment and Systems includes items such as appliances, sprinkler system, garage door, electrical system, plumbing system, gas lines, etc. and will be reported as “Working Condition”, “Has Been Replaced” or “In Need of Repair”.

Information About Structure/Other discloses information about ceilings, doors, windows, floor, fireplace, roof, foundation, etc. These items will be answered the same way as the section above, and any items repaired/replaced will have the date they were repaired and the details of the repair.

Miscellaneous Information is where you will find much of the background information about the home. Pending bankruptcies that could affect the sale of the property, if the property is located in a flood plain or Corp of Engineers, any easements on the property, knowledge of lead based paint, etc. Please pay special attention to this portion of the document because it discloses information that may be a deal breaker for some buyers.

Information About Foundation, Information About Drainage, Information About Termites/Wood Destroying Insects and Information About Environmental Conditions all disclose facts that the seller is aware of in these particular areas. Note that if the seller is not aware of default in these areas, it will not be disclosed but does not mean it will not show up in an inspection report.

If at all possible, try to have the sellers disclosure in hand when visiting the home. When you place an offer on the home, sellers will have signed the sellers disclosure stating they have answered the questions to the best of their knowledge and have not received any instruction from their agent or broker on how to answer any of the questions. Buyers, when placing an offer, will also initial and sign, stating they have received the disclosure.

As always, if you have any questions about this information, please contact me at kperryhomes@gmail.com.

 

 

Life is always so much easier when you know what to expect. When purchasing a home it can seem overwhelming, especially at the beginning, because there are so many unknowns (especially if you are a first time home buyer). So today I am going to try and paint the picture of what the home buying process looks like, as well as identify key things to expect during the process.

1. Find a Realtor and Mortgage Lender– The first person to contact is your realtor (hint hint Kristin Perry). We will sit down and discuss all the fine details of what your looking for in a home, location, etc. Then we will get you set up on an e-mail portal which will send you all the homes for sale, the minute they hit the market (this is different than Zillow, Trulia, etc. which have homes listed for sale, but with a few days delay from the time they were actually listed for sale). The next person you will speak with is a mortgage lender, who will quickly get you pre-approved/qualified so we can begin looking at homes together.

Avg. Time Spent: 2-3 hours

2. View Homes– Once you are pre-approved/qualified and have met with your realtor, we will begin looking at homes. There are several things to be looking for in a home, which we will discuss in depth at a later date. But a few key points to consider; do you like the layout? does it have all the amenities you are looking for? does it have a solid foundation? roof? plumbing? electric? Having a good realtor will help immensely in this process.

Avg Time Spent: 15-45 minutes per viewing

3. Write an offer/have offer accepted– Your realtor will write and review the offer with you so you will know exactly what to expect. There are several contingencies in a contract, so reviewing with your agent is essential to success. When your offer is accepted, you will need to submit earnest money (typically 1% of the sales price) and option fee (commonly $50-$100) to the listing agent and Title company. Your realtor will give you instructions on all of this. The first 5-10 (on average) days are called the “option period”. This is your time to have an inspector review the property for potential repairs (keep in mind that any home, whether pre-owned or new, is not going to be perfect. So expect repairs, but having a good agent will help you discern what repairs are necessary and which are not).

Avg. Time Spent: 1-3 hours to write contract, 5-10 days for option period

4. Under Contract– This can take anywhere from 30-45 days, sometimes sooner. We touched on this above, but the first 5-10 days of being “under contract” (aka the seller has accepted your offer) are the option period. During the same time as option period, your mortgage application will go into the underwriting process. In a nut shell, this means that someone else (called an underwriter) is reviewing your application and the property you would like to purchase, to make the final decision on approving the loan. An appraiser will visit the property and give their opinion on the value of the home which is required by the lender. You will want to make sure that during this time you are supplying your lender with everything they need to process your application. At least three days before closing, you will be sent final closing documents from the lender/Title company. You will want to review these documents with your lender to make sure all the numbers are correct (sales price, interest rate, etc.).

Avg. Time Spent: 30-45 days

5. Closing Day– This is the day you will receive the keys to your new home! Closing day, contrary to popular belief, is actually a pretty smooth sail. When you show up to the Title company to sign for your new home, the documents you will be signing will have already been reviewed by you, your lender and your realtor (see #4). You will know exactly what is on each document. Expect your realtor will be at closing with you, as well as the escrow agent (works for the Title company) and possibly your mortgage lender.

Avg. Time Spent: 1 hour

In a nut shell, this is how you can expect the home buying process to work. It is actually a really fun and exciting journey, especially when you know what to expect! If you are interested or have additional question, feel free to contact me at 972-740-3531 or kperryhomes@gmail.com. If you would like to speak with a mortgage lender, Kim Kurak is the bomb.com! You can reach her at 972-965-9098 or kkurak@highlandsmortgage.com.

For those of you who know me well, you know my life has changed dramatically within the past two years and it’s all credited to the man upstairs. This blog is focused on real estate and supplying my people (aka the millennials) with the information they need when buying/selling/leasing/investing real estate. BUT due to the significance of today and what happened on this day 2016 years ago, we’re going to discuss the reason for Easter season.

I grew up in Lexington, Kentucky and played every sport imaginable. My parents raised and taught me to be independent, fight for what was right and, as my dad used to say, “the sky is the limit”. Needless to say, I am a little rough around the edges. A rebel at heart, I never listened to anything that anyone told me and if you told me not to do something, I did  it just to piss you off. Impulsiveness added spice to life and rules were mean’t to be bent (or broken). I knew about God and His Son and all the popular bible stories, but my heart didn’t understand the true meaning of Him or what he did for me.

Living life this way led to a lot of turmoil, trouble and down right pain. And it wasn’t until life hit rock bottom and wasn’t worth living anymore that I realized something needed to change.

It’s a darn good thing we have a good God because he was way ahead of me on this one. My brother began to push me to go to church and kept wanting to talk about God. Nearly every church service I felt like the pastor was talking directly to me. People who I thought were “friends” suddenly weren’t there for me anymore. Before I knew it, I was all alone in a California church with a chick from work I barely knew, surrendering my life to Christ because it had finally hit me that I was a sinner in need of a Savior.

And that sweet surrender changed my life.

You see, it’s because of Christ surrendering 2016 years ago that I was able to surrender. He didn’t want to be mocked, spit on, beaten, and killed. But because he loved the Father, he surrendered his life and gave it up, for us. And because the Father loves us, he accepted Jesus’ death as full payment for our sins. And because of the Lord’s power and love, he raised Jesus from the dead three days later. And because he raised Jesus from the dead, he has also raised me from the dead and given me life; new life. (2 Corinthians 5:17).

As we celebrate this beautiful Friday off from work and school, consider what He did for you. It was significant enough for the calendar to reset so it is surely significant enough for you to think about. God loves you. He’s calling you. Go to Him.

What’s the Reason for your Easter Season?