I learned that owning a house and affording a house were separate problems, but not always impossible ones.

Roger was impatient.

His new girlfriend, a real estate broker named Daphne, had convinced him that he could invest his settlement in a condo project and start fresh.

He told his lawyer he preferred immediate cash to negotiating over furniture and equity for months.

Melissa made no promises about the final divorce until everything was reviewed.

But a negotiated property agreement became possible.

My loan application was approved with conditions; my aunt’s estate loan was documented; and the payment to Roger went through the settlement agent, not through a handshake on a porch.