A Leap of Faith.

After attending the B and B (PAII) conference in Phoenix in March of 2006, I went back to Florida, which was my home for 32 years and where I worked in a career in education, previously as a teacher and now an administrator. After a two-year on and off search with many stops and starts, I found a Bed and Breakfast in North Carolina that I thought I could afford and looked like it had possibilities. Of course it was in an area of North Carolina that, to be honest, I had never heard of. That’s the compromise one takes to fulfill the dream, I suppose. Nevertheless, I bought it one month later with a down payment of $2500, and all of a sudden I was no longer an “aspiring” innkeeper. I was about to become one of them… if everything came together. That was Easter Sunday in April and a close in June. Phew. And the idea about actually owning and operating a B and B as the innkeeper...well…. Buffalo Tavern was soon to be mine!

Now, here’s the kick: I had less than three months from the moment I put the money down to 1) sell my home in Florida, which had been on the market for three months already with no serious buyers, 2) sell my vacation cabin in north Georgia, which had also been on the market for three months, 3) officially retire on June 30 after 30 years from my job, and 4) move to North Carolina, furniture and all! These tasks had to click because they all were contributing factors to my ability to purchase the B and B. I needed every penny I could get, plus some luck, to make the deal actually work AND close before the end of June, 2006.

I did close on June 23 with enough money to pay the 20% additional down payment. The sale of the cabin in Georgia helped and I used equity in my unsold Florida home to make up the difference. I was also able to purchase many of the furnishings using the money that I had “rearranged” over the few weeks I had available.

God must have been with me and wanted me to have this place. And my beautiful daughters, Rachel and Amanda, who were pulling for me throughout this event gave me the strength to keep on reaching.

I took a giant leap of faith that everything would work. It did.

Thanks for reading about this leap of faith! Doc, The Innkeeper