Trying to find somewhere to live in Los Angeles is hard enough, but for one woman in Sylmar, the ongoing government shutdown has made the process that much harder.

Leslie Mendoza is putting the finishing touches on one of her clients. She can't help but think how lucky she is to do this in her own salon, one that she's been running for the last three years.  

“To come to work and get paid for doing things I love and helping women feel better about themselves,” she said. 

The child of an El Salvadoran immigrant, Mendoza started this as a hobby about 10 years ago. She was eventually able to build a large social media following, mostly on Instagram.

Her social following went on to provide her with enough clients to open up, not one but two, eyebrow salons.

As she works from home on building her following she is mostly worried that her next dream, which is to own her own home, may be slowly slipping away. 

This in part due to the IRS being non-operational since the government shutdown, which means she hasn't been able to get any of her previous year's tax returns. 

“I can't of get approved for a loan from my lender and I'm having a hard time getting through all that processing right now," she said. 

She shows us her daughters’ room, which is an eclectic mix of art, makeup and pin up Polaroids.   

For her family of three, this guest house is already lacking in space, and she has a baby due in just a few months. 

With her inability to get her FHA loan approved, due to the shutdown, it's starting to feel like the walls are closing in. 

"We have all of her clothes in [the bathroom], because I have nowhere to put them right now. All of my husband's shoes, all of our toiletries.  We use this extra bathroom just for that at the moment because we just have no room,” she said.

What's more, after spending a year cleaning up her credit and saving up enough money for a down payment, she's concerned that money will soon have to be spent.

“It's definitely stressful every single day trying to figure it out what we're going to do, especially being pregnant on top of everything," she said.

However, there is now a silver lining. When she visited her real estate agent, she was able to find out about the IRS being partially back open, which means that she can start the process.

Even though she can get started, according to her agent, Mendoza still faces an uphill journey.

“It's so up in the air and it changes from one day to the next that people are just waiting. So, a lot of things are on hold so it's affecting buyers and sellers because houses are sitting and buyers are waiting. It's really difficult,” said her ReMAX agent, Andrea Regla.

But Mendoza hasn't worked this hard to get where she is to give up now.

“It's definitely a really good investment for your children and I wanted to have something that I can own and pass on to them. So, I'm really happy that we can start the process going,” she said.