Michael and his son stand in front of their new home

I met Michael years ago and would say hello to him from time to time. Little did I know that Michael would inspire me in the way that he did when I handed him the keys to his new home.

You see about a year ago Michael had a stroke and it changed his life. Michael is a hard working single parent of two great kids. His Daughter just started college at SFU and his son lives with Michael.

The best part of this story is that Michael triumphed over his predicament and ultimately made changes in his life to prevent a reoccurrence of a stroke.  One of the decisions that Michael made was to become a homeowner early this year and as a result contacted me. Michael was looking for a home under$250,000; a challenging task especially because this has been the hottest price range in 2009 and the competition is fierce.

After months of looking and making offers we were successful in finding a cool little 2 bed 1 bath remodeled home in Gilroy. The story doesn’t end there; we now had to navigate though the short sale gauntlet once we were successful in getting into contract.

Among some of the challenges we faced were appraisal issues and loan approval hurdles to overcome with the seller’s Short Sale investor. The entire process took three months to close escrow.

Michael’s faith and patience played a large role in helping him realize his homeownership dream. Thank you Michael for showing me that prayer, perseverance, and patience are the keys to life.

I’m so happy for you and your family. You are a wonderful role model and a hard working father. This will be a very happy Christmas for you.

Note: Michael is eligible for the Federal tax credit and I signed him up for the complementary California Association of REALTORS housing affordability fund. The C.A.R. fund is available through the end of the year and pays his mortgage up to $1,500 for six months should Michael lose his job or as a result of an injury. The only requirement is that Michael purchases his home with the assistance of a REALTOR.