A Flooded Basement.
Hail Damage.
She Never Panicked.
Weeks before closing, the house flooded and vanished off the market. Ten days before closing, it took major hail damage. This first-time buyer stayed calm through both, and the deal still closed on time.
Buyer Story — Fargo, ND
How It All Came Together
to Keys Fixed her credit, saved a down payment, and did it the right way
the Market The house had been sitting, until the timing was finally right
Before Closing A flooded basement, then major hail damage ten days out
Through All of It “If it’s meant to be, it will happen”
A note from EricI met this client three years ago. She works directly with patients in her profession, and asked that her name not be attached to her story publicly, so I’m calling her Sara here, a name she isn’t actually going by. Everything else is exactly how it happened.
The first time we looked at houses together, she found one she loved and went to get pre-approved, only to find out there were things on her credit she didn’t even know about. Instead of walking away frustrated, she spent the next year fixing it. Six months ago, she called and said she was ready.
What followed was a home search that tested her patience more than most: a flooded basement, hail damage ten days before closing, even a locked door on the final walkthrough. Through every single one of those curveballs, she said the same thing: if it’s meant to be, it will happen. Here’s her story.
Three Years in the Making
The first time Sara started looking at houses, she didn’t know the first thing about how any of it worked.
“I had no idea about the home-buying process. I didn’t have an offer letter, didn’t talk to a lender, didn’t even know what the options were. I just knew I wanted to buy a house and went straight to looking.”
— SaraShe found a house she loved and tried to get pre-approved, only to learn there were things on her credit report she hadn’t even known about. Rather than give up, she spent the next year fixing it and saving up.
“I went from ‘I can’t do this renting thing anymore, I just want to do it,’ to actually coming up with a plan. Doing it the right way. The longer way, but the right way.”
— SaraA Home Base for the Kids
For three years, Sara kept looking at listings online, raising two kids in an apartment building she shared with her sister, her mom, and other family members.
“Multi-generational is how I grew up,” she says. “It’s how I want my kids to grow up, to always have people.”
What she didn’t want was to keep renting.
“I felt like my kids needed a home base. Somewhere they could grow up, somewhere they could call their own. I didn’t like the idea of watching my money go down the toilet with no benefit in it.”
— SaraSix Months Ago, She Was Ready
Sara and I stayed in touch over those three years. Then one day, the call came: she was ready.
“After saving and cleaning up my credit, I called a lender and got an offer letter. I made sure all the ducks were in a row and had enough for a down payment.”
— SaraThe final push came from an unexpected place: her mom’s apartment lease was ending. “I didn’t want her to sign another lease,” Sara says. “I didn’t want to do this for another year. Let’s just do it now.”
Buying the Halal Way
Sara’s financing looked different from most buyers’. As a practicing Muslim, she used a halal, interest-free financing structure to stay within her faith’s guidelines.
“Think of it like a co-ownership. The lender owns the home, and as you pay it off, you own more and more of it, in order to avoid interest. Interest is haram, so this is the Islamic way to bypass it.”
— SaraThe House That Kept Finding Her
Sara had seen the house before, back when it was priced above her budget. She’d moved on, or tried to. Her brother kept sending her mom the listing, forgetting each time that he’d already sent it.
Then the price dropped, and I flagged it for her, not realizing she’d already been watching it for months.
“We saw that house before the price went down, and I was like, it’s just outside my budget. But if it was within my budget, that would be what I’d do.”
— SaraWhat sealed it was the backyard, and what was beyond it: a soccer field.
“I just want my kids to be able to kick a ball and not worry about hitting someone’s house or running into the road.”
— SaraCurveball After Curveball
The house had been on the market for 82 days by the time Sara toured it. She spent the weekend thinking it over and called me on Monday, ready to write an offer.
That same weekend, the basement had flooded. The house was pulled off the market entirely so the sellers could gut and repair it. After months of watching this exact house, it disappeared right as she was ready to commit. But Sara didn’t panic. She waited. Once the repairs were done, the house came back, and the deal moved forward.
The bigger test came about ten days before closing, when the house took major hail damage. I scrambled to work with the seller’s insurance, get repair quotes, and figure out the best path forward: full siding replacement, a seller repair, or a credit to the buyer. Sara ended up taking a credit for the repair amount, with a contractor scheduled to fix it shortly after closing.
Then, at the final walkthrough, a bedroom door wouldn’t budge. It was just a normal interior door, but the sellers had already moved out completely, and there wasn’t a tool left in the house. I ended up borrowing a screwdriver from the neighbor to pry it open. The cleaning crew, it turned out, had shut it behind them by accident on their way out. A small mystery, easily solved.
Flood, locked door, hail. Through every one of them, Sara's outlook never changed.
“If It’s Meant to Be, It Will Happen”
Earlier in Sara's house search, she found a house she fell in love with immediately, but it didn't work out.
“What’s meant for you is going to be for you. We saw that beautiful house, and I wanted it immediately, but it wasn’t for us. This is the one God ordained for us, and we love it. So I don’t stress about it. If it doesn’t work, it’s not meant to be. It’s not yours.”
— SaraThat same steadiness carried her through the flood, the hail, and every piece of paperwork along the way.
“There were so many times throughout this process where I just wanted to stop because of all the paperwork. But then I’d think, it’s just paperwork. Do it. If it’s really not meant to be, it’ll all fall through. That’s what kept me going.”
— SaraTo work with a buyer with that kind of steady confidence and faith is genuinely reassuring. For her to say whatever happens is meant to be, and whatever doesn’t work out, that's ok too... That’s rare.
Freedom
Now that she’s a homeowner, Sara says the thing she’s looking forward to most is simple.
“Freedom. My kids can just go outside and kick a ball, and I don’t have to get dressed and take them somewhere. The freedom to be kids.”
— Sara
What She’d Tell Someone Starting Where She Started
For someone standing where she was three years ago, Sara’s advice is a single question:
“What’s more important to you: stability, or being able to get up and leave whenever you want? If it’s flexibility you need, don’t buy a house. If it’s stability you’re after, buy one.”
— SaraFor someone standing where she was six months ago, ready but hesitant, it’s simpler still: “Just do it.”
And for anyone wondering whether it’s worth stepping out to become a homeowner? With family support behind her, Sara didn’t hesitate:
“If I didn’t have support, I wouldn’t have done it. But with my family behind me, I’m absolutely okay with it. I would’ve done it a hundred times.”
— Sara
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Wherever you’re starting from, whatever’s made you hesitate, let’s talk through what the right process looks like for you.
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