Norwood, MA — Have you ever found yourself in a tough spot, through no fault of your own? That’s where I was in 2020, right between a rock and hard place. The rock was the landlord that was selling my rental home in 25 days. The hard place was the lingering financial impact of a nasty divorce. 

Without getting too specific, I owned a house with my husband. In 2017, we divorced. As part of the separation agreement, the house went on the market. 

It didn’t go smoothly. Actually, that’s kind of an understatement. Because of my ex-husband’s poor money management, the bank foreclosed on the house and my credit was ruined. 

Luckily, I’ve always had a great job in the mortgage industry. I am so lucky to do what I do, and to be able to put a roof over my head and care for my two kids. My daughter Paetyn is 11 and my son Jace is nine. 

Even after the divorce and credit-ruining home sale fiasco, I was able to find a rental house. It wasn’t perfect, but it worked for us. 

Fast forward to March 2020, when the world went crazy and my out-of-state landlord decided to sell. Technically, she gave us 30 days notice to move. But snail mail earned its name this time. By the time the notice had arrived, we had 25 days to be out. 

That’s when I called Gerry Mullen with NextHome Signature Realty. I met him back in 2017 – he went to law school with my cousin. With that reference, I used him to handle the attempts at selling our house after my divorce. Even though that sale didn’t work out, he always kept in touch. Through everything, he would give me a call or a text every so often just check in on me – to see how my job was going or how I was holding up. So of course I called him when I got that letter from my landlord. 

I think Gerry might have had a small heart attack when I told him I needed to move into a place in 25 days. Plus, I technically had a foreclosure on my credit. But that man is a bulldog. I was so lucky to have him on my side. He said that if I could push through the mortgage side of things, he would find me a house. 

Alright then, let’s do this. 

Though a lot of paperwork and court dates, I was able to prove that I wasn’t at fault for the foreclosure. That cleared up the credit problem. I also knew how to close a deal quickly and smoothly. As long as COVID didn’t mess up recordings, all Gerry needed to do was find the perfect house to buy. 

In 25 days. 

Did I mention that it also had to be a three-bedroom condo with all outside maintenance and snow removal included and the master bedroom and laundry had to be on the main level? I was scheduled for major foot surgery two months after we had to close. Plus, as a single working mom of two young kids, I need to prioritize my time on the things that mattered – not lawn care or house maintenance. 

The minute this condo popped up, Gerry jumped on it. It is hard to find a place around here that ticks all my boxes. It wasn’t a smooth ride to closing, but Gerry and I were both organized and tenacious. When, at the last minute, the seller decided to take the fridge, Gerry worked with the seller’s agent to give up parts of their commissions to buy me a new fridge. Now that’s going above and beyond. 

Things worked out so well that I ended up joining NextHome’s mortgage division, CMG Financial, as a mortgage lender. I’ve been with them since January and it has been great!

My son likes to say he picked out this place, and his own room. My daughter’s desk is against two bay windows that overlook these beautiful trees. She has a walk-in closet and loves her house. 

Every time I look at the stairs in our condo, I am so thankful that I found a place with a ground floor master bedroom and mudroom. After my surgery, I needed four months to recover. I cannot imagine what my life would have been like if I had needed to walk up stairs to get to my bedroom or to do laundry. 

We have this really long driveway where the kids can ride their go karts and scooters. There is a beautiful climbing tree in the back and it abuts a state forest where we love to explore all the walking paths. We found a waterfall! It’s so peaceful. 

It was a nice ending to what was a crazy 2020, and what was really a crazy past few years. This new home is a wonderful way to close that old book and start a beautiful new chapter of our lives!