Arthur didn’t want a bank involved any more than they did. "Banks are slow, and they don't care if the roof is slate or shingle," Arthur told them over lukewarm coffee. "I want the income, and you want the roof. Let’s cut out the middleman."
In the third year, the local economy dipped. The clinic where Sarah worked cut hours, and Elias’s carpentry commissions slowed to a trickle. One month, they were two weeks late on the payment. buying a home on contract
For the first time in seven years, Elias and Sarah breathed. The "Land Contract" sign was long gone, replaced by a house that finally, legally, belonged to the people who had been loving it all along. Arthur didn’t want a bank involved any more than they did
They realized they were essentially high-stakes renters with a massive repair bill. The Balloon Looms Let’s cut out the middleman
They felt like homeowners. They paid the property taxes. They insured the structure. They spent $5,000 replacing a water heater that blew out in the dead of winter. To the neighborhood, it was the "Elias and Sarah House."