to do list
1. 2 closets and one piece by the bathroom- flooring
2. install curtain rod in computer room
3. bathroom vanity
4. sand and paint bathroom walls/ paint bedroom wall that didnt get done
5. quarter round
.
.
.6. get closet doors


get permit- insulation, electrical sockets, flooring in garage (contractor said he might get it this week- I will hear back early next week)

I got a quote for my insualtion for $175 plus i have a $100 coupon so $75 for garage insulation is awesome! Now I just have to find someone to do the electrical for not too much.

Got my new couch! It was delivered today.

Also, I cut my first piece of quarter round today.

I finished one more row or flooring by the bathroom. Futzed with the hall closet but didnt get anything really accomplished. Took out the quater round to start cutting, set up the mighty saw (!) and then went to bed.

Roommates name is Lisa and she says she will be here end of December. She is having her things shipped from one of the Dakotas.

thinking about hiring someone to do the quarter- round in the house so I can just have it done already.

Heard from my contractor yesterday- no news from the county regarding my permit.

Posted an ad on Craigs list for a roommate and already got a reply!

Did some more flooring in the hallway. Gayle wants her saws back =(

My old neighbor brought over my vanity and we put it in the corner in my room. And he fixed the sink!

Finished 4 rows of the hallway last night and cut all the doorways (like 15 of them! ok maybe not 15) except for 2 to be sure they are the right size to allow the boards underneath.

Its been 3 weeks (3 weeks!!!) and then engineer finally got the plans back to my contractor. He said we would have them after 1 weeks, Talk about throwing a wrench in the plan. Its just so hard to find good help these days. Also, I would love to get my vanity/med cab installed in the bathroom so I can feel like I can finally move in. The bathroom is quite a mess...

My insurance company had some sort of mix up- they received the money from my title company and I am good to go!

EDIT: Also, I think I've paid my insurance premium twice (brought to my attention by my title company via the insurance company) and I have confirmed by looking at my records. I never would've noticed since all this stuff is so complicated and all the numbers are in separate places. So anyway, Audrey at the title company said my insurance is going to send that extra money back. Big win! (Doesn't that make this mail I got about 'Your insurance premium hasn't been paid' just that much more ridiculous?)

I'm currently organizing the house some more. Getting stuff moved around to sell at a garage sale if that ever happens, and making things look nicer for house guests who will be visiting for a moment next weekend.

not much to show for

but both of these things took a couple hours- organizing the computer room, going through papers, and choosing some things to get rid of. putting down the first row in the hallway- sawing 2 door frames



need to get in touch with title company to send my insurance money! you have my money- so send it to the insurance company!!

Update to mission

Target has been acquired. Project Living Room mission accepted and completed today, 10/26. Will await further instructions for next section of project Fix-Up, case 1007SLD. Will submit photo documentation.

Additional details: Made further failed attempt on sink, requesting back-up in 1600 hours. Took down remnant of old medicine cabinet. Dealt with unsavory characters: old paintbrushes and dirty dishes. Swept front porch in effort to maintain 'clean appearance'.

Picked up the pieces that left behind, I woke up today feeling older and ever so much better...

Bought and picked up the vanity. Brought home the topper/sink and the medicine cabinet. The vanity itself is at my old neighbors and he is going to bring it when he comes to fix the sink tomorrow.

Got my insulation quote- $275, thats better than I thought it would be, plus I am going to get a $100 coupon for insulation from my electric company. That would be awesome if the price came out to $175.

Engineer was supposed to get my paperwork done and to me (and the contractor) Friday. So I called the contractor yesterday and the engineer said he would have it by end of day. I guess I will call today and find out. The contractor said it would be maybe a week to get the permit, and then I could start work.

and the kitchen sink...

Picked up the piece I needed from Lowes last night and added it to the sink pipes... Still leaking.

Had to go back to Lowes today to pick up more moisture barrier. I also asked about the leaky sink, Maybe I can fix it.

The insulation guy came today to give me an estimate. He will call this afternoon with the numbers.

I am looking at buying a vanity/sink and matching medicine cabinet.

la boudoir

6 piece bedroom set- 2 tall chests, 2 nightstands, mirror and long dresser









They also threw in a headboard (I use that term loosely) All for $200 and delivered and brought it into the house for me! They were super nice.




Also scheduled an energy audit that will give me a $100 on my insulation I need to have put in, but its 4 weeks away =/





EDIT: Filed for my homestead- it took less than 60 seconds in the building- awesome! Put some clothes in my new dressers.
Added 4 rows to the living room flooring and moved the couch onto the laminate.
Going to get the 'plumber' now to fix my sink!

living

Finally sawed through those dang doorframes

done some flooring ^_^

Mario and Luigi got nothing on me

Spent 45 minutes or so yesterday cutting 1 door jamb.

My kitchen sink has started clogging up and now leaking below the cabinet. Joy.

Need to get a plumber in here Tuesday.

Unclogged the toilet using vinegar and baking soda. Big plus because I've been thinking I would have to call a plumber. Flushed some septic tank treatment down the toilet. Roger says this will prevent lots of problems in the future.

Bleached the showers and the floor in the second bath.
Hung the shower curtain.

Got my title in the mail! I need to take it down to to get my Homestead exemption. Maybe Tuesday? I've been thinking about my taxes lately since I have that tax rebate on my AC. I have to file it with 2010 taxes, not immediately like I did with my First Time Homeowners Tax Credit.

My roommate is going to come look at the house and maybe move in soon, yay!

The engineer is here. He was supposed to come Tuesday but never called or anything. Then we scheduled for this morning around 8am so I could go to Crossfit and he did not bother calling or coming by until I called him at 10am. Now, no Crossfit but at least the work is getting done.

I shaved down those pieces in the living room. We are either close of there, I'm not sure because it is impossible to put a piece in from both sides and I already have 6 rows laid which I am not going to take up. This was the worst idea ever (*cough* Gayle *cough) because I have spent hours and hours trying to recut these boards and trying to get them to fit. There is no way to tell if they will actually fit until we get to the end of the room and they don't fit, which if that happens I will probably be yelling.

Edit: The engineer just finished. It is good news: he said I need

3 outlets put in (they have to be every 12 feet)
insulate the attic
add a 12 inch piece of concrete on the bottom on the outside

All this won't take very long or cost very much (not sure about the insulation).

working up an appetite

put together the living room to find out that i am at least 2cm off and need to chop that off the first row

i dream of flooring

8 new pictures

-tore out the vanity
-finished flooring in my room
-made 2 trips to home depot/lowes, trips to walmart/publix/ace/bed bath and beyond/target
-cooked 2 lbs of bacon
-put my bed together
-bought new baseboard for my bedroom/installed and painted
-had a plumber snake the drain
-laid moisture barrier in the hall
-started with flooring in the living room
-put up the curtains in the 2 bedrooms
-sanded my bathroom
-painted 5000 yards of white baseboard
-changed out some of the light switches/plug outlets/face plates to be white
-worked 16 hours Saturday (6 people)

On a sad note, my roommate decided to move back in with family so he left Saturday also.

I had Reynold get in contact with the septic guy. He is so effective (and funny).

clips: ' I had a client call me and state maybe your not in business anymore?? PS= I hope everything is OK, I'd feel just awful if there's been a family emergency or something like that. I wish everything is going well with you and yours!! '

So I think I will be hearing from him soon. He is supposed to owe me $100 from work that didn't need to be done and I'm hoping he can give me back the money for the snake I had to get done.

my first roommate moved in!

still no word from the septic guy >=(

still no real progress on the garage- need to fax the survey tomorrow

weekend warrior

more pics

painted the hallway (60% done)
floored the 2 bedrooms (90%)
hung up drape bars in 3 rooms (85%)
disposed of ALL the carpet and tack strips (99%)

Had a new plumber over today- to unclog a drain and to check on the water heater. Cost me about $110 but I got my money's worth. Don't have to buy a new water heater now and he fixed my garbage disposal also ($200 value!) So, thats good.

Not sure what is going to happen with my garage. I'll have to check with the county and see what they need me to do. It may be a humongous deal (tearing down walls and pouring concrete) or it may be a small deal (make sure all the walls are structurally sound and have insulation). I'll keep you posted.

Need to fax my new engineer the violation papers and fax the insurance company receipts for my AC and electrical, neither of which I have yet....

Have to open all the boxes of laminate tonight, and started tearing up the rest of the carpet. Hall done, bedroom 3/4 done (my humongo bed is in the way), started on the living room also. Bought white and yellow paint last night- need to finish baseboards and hallway.

I'm having some trouble disposing of all the carpet. I just have too dang much of it and losing my garbage can isn't helping.

someone stole my garbage can. =(

my home insurance is going to be canceled if i don't get some paperwork to the insurance company.

my water heater seemed to be okay today.

knobby

I installed a new door handle and dead bolt lock on my front door. I will purchase another one to match from Home Depot for the dance room door.

If you know me at all, you know that pretty much any decision I make is going to take a long time. So I went to Home Depot with my friend to pick out a door handle and there are a lot of options. I really want something simple looking, not too crazy or expensive, but I want to check out all my options before I commit too. My friend is like 'You like that one? Just buy it' but I wasn't ready yet. So I finally chose, and I knew I needed a second door lock set but I didnt have a coupon on hand so I decided against it. Again traditional male wisdom from my friend- he tells me how much he hates having to go back to the store. But, I know how much I hate spending money I don't have to and anyway, I'm going to have to go back soon for other things. So I just bought the one.

All this because my door handle decided to give up. It was doing fine until I came home last Thursday and the handle had been pulled out from where the lock was. Luckily the drywall guy in the garage was able to pick the lock to open the door. I don't know if that is relieving or scary. I try not to think about it. Then when I left Sunday the entire door knob came off in my hand. I thought I would try to put it back on - I did- and see if it would lock/unlock - it didn't. In fact, my key got stuck in the door knob. So I pulled the whole thing off and threw it inside and then went to buy a new one.



Emily's freshly pained room





Critical Mass painting supplies

Need to buy :
more yellow
more white
bath vanity
another set of door knobs

Emily's family finished painting her room- it looks great! All the carpet and padding is out of her room also.

Dropped by Lowes today to return the underlayment, and pick up the (correct) moisture barrier. Flooring Sunday. Will have to finish painting this week!

painted Alan's room!




more pictures!

stop work order

Home Depot was here working in the garage. The AC inspector came. The flooring guys came (they did not get my message about not coming til Tuesday). Septic guy is outside working right now (needs to make the drain field a little bit bigger).

The inspector (from the county) said that I do not have a permit for my garage conversion and put in a stop work order. So now I have to deal with getting a permit for the garage (which the previous owner obviously neglected) and then I will have to pay the fines that the previous owner racked up because he did not pull a permit. Not sure how long it will take but Reynold jumped right on it and sent a bunch of emails. Home Depot called and said to call the title company and they should handle it. I hope so. So, the garage will not be finished for a while longer as well as pushing back the flooring also.

I am hoping to get some painting/sanding/carpet-business done today. Alan may come over later to being the painting project in his room.

Update: I'm having some people over to paint tomorrow. I finished everything in Alan's room (sanding, cleaning the walls, and making sure all the holes were filled, swept the floor) except for inside the window frame there are some holes. I cleaned the 2nd bath shower, pulled some weeds outside (like a drop in the bucket really), sanded some of the second room, cleaned the baseboards in my bedroom, cut up the carpet in Emily's room so I can properly dispose of it. Sunday Emily and her dad will be over to paint her room.

vanity

forgot to ring Lowes today about the wood, but I stopped by the other Lowes to return one of the laminate boxes that was bashed when I bought it and to pick up the remainder of the moisture barrier. I realized the barrier they gave me is different from what I picked up last time (quite different) which was underlayment- they do different jobs. So apparently they gave me the wrong thing last time. So now I must return to Lowes tomorrow and get the right thing.

Septic guys were here today- my yard is all torn up. They need to get some sort of inspection tomorrow and then they will finish up. Also, they put caution tape around my yard, which creeped me out when I first came home! haha. I also got my recycle bins today- woot!



Tomorrow Home Depot will be here to prep the garage too. They spec'd out the ugliest vanity. (on the left)


I am thinking more like one of the 2 below.

renovations getting done

wood flooring delivered and is currently sitting in the garage

laminate flooring picked up and sitting in the living room


Home Depot will be here Thursday to do the dry wall in the garage etc.

Septic will be here tomorrow

Wood flooring will be installed next Tuesday

Laminate will be installed this weekend

Picked up paint from Home Depot for the extra 2 rooms

more pictures - 15 new pics

there was a wasps nest inside the outdoor light- very minimal surprise- so the electrician was not able to replace that light. That being said, we did go on a wasp killing spree (BEWARE Wasps!) and took down a whole bunch of them the next day. Also the electrician needs to put in a new breaker cause the one he put in, he didn't take into account the new AC system.

Also, the wood Lowes delivered isnt the same size as the wood I picked out- they sent 3 inch wide when I asked for 5 inch wide. Will ring tomorrow. (edit: I was wrong- I did choose the 3 inch and thought I wanted 5 inch but spoke to the flooring lady at Lowes and she told me why 3 inch is better. I also returned that outside light and bought some flooring supplies)

electrical saturday morning
flooring delivered friday between 12-4pm
no final word on septic yet

ill set up with home depot when i get back in town

housesitting!

My brother and I built the desk - it took about 3.5 hours to finish but we got it all done. Talk about accomplishment. Also, I went through heck to get this desk in the first place!

Bought the desk online; borrowed my neighbors truck to pick it up; got it home; had to ask a friend to come help drag it into the house; decided i didn't like the color; had the electrician put it back in the truck; waited 30 minutes at the store for them to figure out how to exchange the purchase; drive the new desk home; drag the 170 pound desk and maybe 100 pound hutch out of the truck alone this time; drive the truck back to Lakeland; the truck broke down on the highway; get a tow back to Lakeland (this was probably the funniest part because my neighbor is crazy and drove his friend out to help tow the truck).

Still have the hutch to build, which shouldnt take nearly as long.

My brother is housesitting while I am out of town for the week- someone had to let the contractors in, and I'm sure Alan didn't want to drive back and forth. The central air is now installed and all done. The electric guy just needs to replace the light holder outside and install the good one on the old light also.

done:
AC
plumbing
electrical

to do:
flooring (garage) (early next week- delivery maybe Friday)
septic (drainfield installed this week probably)

Laminate inthe rest of the house will be next weekend.

electrical pics

7 new pictures posted!

links

bought a desk and matching hutch in 'Cherry' =)

Electrical is all done! Pics soon. Ceiling fan in the living room, new outdoor light, 6 can lights in the dance room, new electrical box, capped off weird random live wires.

Plumber came today- replaces shut off values in the kitchen and set up the washer. The drain issue has to do with the septic needing to be replaced. I think he set up the washer but I don't know.

Met with Home Depot about the siding, dry wall, and vanity. They will get started next next week since I am gone next week.

I am picking up my brother to come stay at the house for the week while I am away. He will let the septic (Monday.Tuesday) and AC (Wednesday) guys in (and drop me off the the airport!)

Just went to lowes and picked up the outdoor lighting i really wanted.




I asked for this:



what i got was this second one. It was $10 more, larger and not motion sensor or energy star. So i bought 2 of the first and am going to return the one I didnt want.

news

So far we had torn out the carpet in one bedroom , part of the hallway and a little bit in my bedroom. I'll make some more progress on that soon and start tearing out the tack strips. I borrowed a crowbar and a hammer from my coworker Barb today.

Finally got in contact with the contractors today for the first time about the work that needs to be done. The AC guy is going to call tomorrow and set up a time mid-next week (Wed) to do the AC, which is a 2 day job. The septic guy I am going to meet tomorrow to give him his money. Plumbing will be done Friday- take about 3 hours. Tomorrow the electrician is coming to put in the new box system and install a fan and a light outside. That will take 8-10 hours so they may finish tomorrow or not.

I was planning to have people come over to do flooring this weekend but it will have to wait another week or 2- we will see which. That will give more time for me to tear up the tack strips and paint the hallway and 2 bedrooms, as well as get rid of the rest of the carpet.

I was quite upset with Lowes about the AC because a bunch of people planned to come do flooring this satruday and I was hoping to have the AC done earlier this week. Instead, they had to put the AC people back into 'rotation'. So it took this much longer. When I spoke to the installation team at Lowes I was told that the AC guys insurance expired and had to be renewed (it happens every year) and it just so happened to coincide with my need for AC. Fabulous- that is just my luck.

progress- pics soon!

Funder was assigned today! That means they will contact me tomorrow (probably) and we will discuss getting my money to Lowes and Home Depot. Shweet!

Did a couple hours of painting last night with some friends.

Dining room- tan completed
Living room- red completed
Living room- yellow mostly completed except for the beast (doorway) that needs to be spackled and sanded
My Bedroom- purple completed
Hallway - white more than halfway done

Still left to do the rest of the white on baseboards and trim and finish the doors.

Bought a garbage can today from Walmart

Gayle is here!

Things we accomplished today:
1. putting away the whole kitchen
2. separating things to sell/ditch
3. setting up the interwebs
4. setting up the dining room
5. picking out nails/staples from the walls and spackling 2 bedrooms, the hall, and the living room
6. choosing paint colors
7. looking for bedroom furniture
8. hit home depot/walmart/a used items store that only had doors/salvation army/a furniture store/ one garage sale
9. installing the window AC lent to me by a friend
10. dragging my behemoth matress back into the living room
11. cleaning up a flood in the bathrooms
12. peeling up the carpet in one bedroom and part of the hall
13. sawing stuff/hammering stuff/removing some of the generally odd pieces of wood attached to the walls
14. gayle killed all the wasps outside the house (yay!)

tomorrow:
1. garage sales
2. pick up paint
3. install another window unit
4. paint!
4. bedroom furniture/computer desk (maybe)

moved in

Closed Friday- my realtor and I drove out to Tampa to close. It took about maybe an hour and 15. I signed maybe 30 pages and initialized maybe 40 more. Then we had to wait for the funder to be assigned and make sure the paperwork was approved on the other end of the line, since it was the last day of the month. Finally left around 5:30 back to Lakeland, and hit lots of traffic.

Decided to move Saturday morning since Sunday is the 1st and I would need to be out of my apartment. Took 3 hours to pack everything onto the trailer and 2 hours to unload, with my neighbors and my friend Mandy helping on one end and my neighbors and two friends helping on the unload end. Everything is all piled into 2 rooms since so much work will need to be done on the bedroom and living room. I'm currently sleeping on my mattress in the middle of the living room. =)

Tuesday I transferred over the electric ($270 deposit!!), turned on the water (I was without water for a day and a half cause the bank had it cut off without telling me). Tried to get the internet turned on, the cable guy came out and hooked it up but it is not working. I will try to get it fixed tonight. Also, the AC isn't working (as expected, though a bit worse than expected) so I am living with 2 fans on me while I sleep. Its a bit warm.

My sister is coming to visit this weekend as well as my folks and we are going to get a bunch of things done- painting, buying things, putting items away, general maintenance.

Reynold said it would be about 12-14 days until the funder gets the money assigned out and then lowes and home depot can start making work orders. 2 weeks to AC!

Also, I bought my flooring from Lowes, but can not put it into the house until I have the AC installed. So it will wait at Lowes.

for real this time

tomorrow is the day...really!

t minus 1

completed updated title today, unaltered form 9, real estate cert signed, funder assigned (to coordinate all of the bids, repairs, draws, etc once my file is closed), and lastly, prelim numbers forwarded to the title company.

Closing should be good to go tomorrow morning. I told Reynold I'll have my phone on my tonight and tomorrow and he can call whenever. I requested time off on Friday and a couple hours tomorrow for closing.

update: 7:30pm All cleared to close for first thing tomorrow morning!

closingggggg

Went to Lowes during lunch to look at laminate again. Will go again today and maybe to HD also- I was told the brand I picked out got bad reviews so I need to go look again. I may have to spend a little more than I expected, but the life of the flooring is like 30 years so really long term its not a big deal.

Got some closing number estimates from Reynold- now I have an idea how much I need to bring to closing and he said we will close probably tomorrow afternoon, but wait until I hear from him.

Packed up the kitchen most of the way, the boxes are all over my apartment. Got my bed set in the mail- if I go out towards the house today i will drop it off and maybe some mirrors or small things. Still need to pack the bathroom, but there isn't very much to do there. Gotta hang all the (clean clothes) so they are easy to travel.

We was looking to buy some art, but it got to expensive. Looking to buy a couch still and a vanity. Oy ve- one thing at a time. ^_^

laminate

I went to 2 places a seriously looked at flooring. I also went to Home Depot and kind of putzed around a bit. Maybe I will try to hit Lowes today? I don't know but I need to get my flooring and get it sitting in the house a few days in advance if I am going to be able to put it down next weekend like I would like. Ahhhh, difficulties. Its such a large purchase and it will last such a hard time, its not very easy to make a quick decision.

Packed up 80% of my kitchen. Moved one mirror and a piece of my fan to the new house.

7-28 or 7-29: ninjas not well known for their accuracy

Closing will take a few extra days- getting through Audit and Underwriting. Closing scheduled for 7-28 or 7-29. Need to start packing. Also my good faith estimate is off, which is not good. And it was sent to me last minute yesterday so I had to return to the office to fax it, that was not very pleasant. Sent it to me at 5pm and they needed it back by 6pm.

mortgage ninja- tentative closing 7/26

The Health Department promised and delivered! Reynold called today and spoke to a supervisor and it was promised we would have our permit before 6:00pm today. We received it at 4:30pm today! My file is being forwarded to processing and underwriting immediately. Reynold is a mortgage ninja!

What does this mean?:

10% chance I close Friday
85% chance I close Monday
5% chance I close Tuesday (If something were to go wrong)

We are hoping to Friday and I am planning on Monday. I have the fam coming up next weekend to help with painting and flooring etc.

update: 9pm- I got my good faith estimate in the mail today!

July abides.

Health Dept stated that the soil sample is not in yet and it's completion time is end of business today or tomorrow before noon. He also said an inspector will go out to the property between Wed and Fri and that the permit could be provided, at the earliest, by Friday. (Neither of these things are what they said last week- they said both would be done today, Tuesday).

Wells Fargo replied that for them to run the file through Audit, even as a Rush, could take 24 to 48 hours. Realistically, if the permit comes in on Friday, Wells could possibly close Monday - Tuesday.

This still puts us at or ahead of my last expectation so that's fine by me as long as it continues moving. Reynold is doing some pushing on the county by asking to speak to supervisors and filing everything top priority. Hope to be moving into my new home by the end of the month.

accoutrements

bought a new bedset

buying a bookshelf

bought a table and chairs

Also returned that rug that my interior decorator told me to. ^_^

closing tentative 2 weeks

Septic permit filed Tuesday morning with utmost priority. The county ordered a soil inspection, which takes 2 business days (Tuesday morning). An inspector will then go out Tuesday after the soil business and validate the permit. If all goes well with the inspections, we should have the permit back Thursday or Friday next week. Then 2 days for the HUD and 2 days for closing. That puts us at closing Thu the 29th.

The Never Ending Story

Once you open the book, there is no turning back; because you have to know what happens in the end; because you need to know how deep the rabbit hole goes; and because its a nice story anyway. So, just keep plugging through. The story without an ending may eventually come to a reasonable stopping point.

The septic company called yesterday to ask for money for the permit. I'll be mailing that out today. He said he thought it would take 3-5 business days, which would be nicer than 5-10. He said the latest would be Tuesday. I also asked him if he could try to put a rush on the county on getting it done.

Update 7/13- Also, once we get the septic permit (I didn't get the check out today... tomorrows the day! (its not holding anything up though)) it will be 10- 48 hours until we get the HUD waiver. Woot! That's not bad at all.

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

The Seller requested an update committment letter defining what I have left to complete- this includes verbal verification of employment, the hud waiver, the executed contract and the sign off.

Reynold spoke to the HUD today and got some info; they need 2 things : 1. The appraisal needs to be updated and state that "no sewage is available in this area" and then 2. I need a letter from the County of Hillsborough stating that the work can be completed on under 1/2 an acre lot.

1. is completed. Number 2- The county said that no letter will be provided without a permit application for repair of the septic. So, our next action item is to submit an application for the permit and then they will take 5 to 10 business days for inspectors to visit the site and then complete the permit.

This is rather upsetting. This means in 5-10 business days (you know that means 10 business days) the HUD will finally have what they need and return my paper. But who knows how long that will take them. That puts me at the 26th right now. Then 2 weeks of reno and thats puts me way into August, which means I'm paying rent again at this stupid apartment. I am pissed.

Another really annoying thing is that HUD waited 4 weeks to tell us that they needed before they could provide the wavier. And why didn't we just apply for the permit sooner? We know we are going to need it- so why not just get it? Instead now I have to wait another 2 weeks after waiting 4 weeks of me literally needing to do nothing. There's not a single thing I can do to speed up this process.

Waiting For HuddyBear

7/3 no news

7/6 trying to close on my house was compared to creating the heavens and earth. haha!
(7/10 UPDATE- no for real, everything that could've made things more difficult did- is there someone out there who can tell me buying a house usually isnt like this?)

No HUD yet...

From the mortgage company 'HUD waivers can take 4 - 6 weeks We have been getting them back in around 3 weeks, I don't have any status change at this time though.' Still plausible to close this week, if we receive the waiver in the next 2 days.

iiiiiii'mmmmm saleeeeee-ing

master bathroom medicine cabinet

rug I bought

So I bought the rug, the med cabinet, a white microwave (interm?), a cutting board, and a cheese grater. Now I have too much stuff in my apartment- time to move!!

cool too expensive rug

purple rug!

hud waiver- maybe 4 days

Reynold did lots of work on the file today- Audit is asking for a permit for the septic up front, which he was just told they didnt need up front. So he sent them a permit expense and cost letter.

As far as we can tell the HUD waiver has not been received yet. It should've been sent back after 2 weeks-ish, which would've been Tuesday. Reynold says after it is received, it is probably 48 hours to close. If it doesn't come in Monday, closing might be delayed I suppose.

Best Buy is picking up the microwave tomorrow between 5-7pm. Been searching for rugs non stop- oh mans. Need to pick paint, to hopefully paint the weekend of the 4th. I'm having my folks and my sister/her boyfriend come to help paint or come hang out and look at the house etc.

8 days and counting

I am down to 8 days tomorrow. Since it has taken quite some time to progress, some of the bids and whatnot we had expired. Lowes and Home Depot both expired as well as my home insurance quote. So we had to re-get all of that. Luckily, Reynold did all the work with Lowes and HD and sent me the 30 pages to re-sign on and my insurance guy should be handling the HOI.

The tax credit has been extended to September, way more than enough time to close! Alright! However, I would still like to get in ASAP and Reynold will lose quite a bit of money if we don't close on time, so we are both doing our best to get it done.

The HUD waiver form was sent out on the 8th and it takes 2 weeks to receive back from the government so I am expecting that we will (might) receive it tomorrow.

Looked at a ton of rugs for the living room today. Found a rug I like for my room. Really girly- I'm trying to keep the really girly stuff out of the main living area ^_^ i like polka dots

Polka Dots

And more happy polka dots

Day 136. I've become accustomed to daily life on the island, coconuts taste dull to me, but I haven't gone looking for other food. Right now, there is nothing I can do but wait. Each day I keep an eye to the horizon, I send up smoke signals sometimes, but nothing yet has resulted from it. Sent out a message in a bottle today. It read:

Closing status: Tentative, 14 more days. STOP.
Bad news if not rescued by then. STOP.
Coordinates 28.008548, -82.26584 . STOP.
PLEASE SEND HELP. STOP.

I will continue to hope and wait.

limer...

there once was a girl named v
whose goal was to buy property
difficult though it was
she pushed and she shoved
and after its done- PARTY!

Two more signatures they needed
From her email the request greeted
In about twelve hours
returned- all in her powers
to the ends she wont be defeated

Got a call from my grandma today
congratulations did she say
yet to my chagrin
tis not yet a win
need to call again, I relay

Turn on the utilities home seller
so the appraiser can send out their feller
to approve my home
and get me my loan
closing sooner would be sweller

Tentative closing June twenty-three
wait any longer and i will be
out of 8 grand
no check in my hand
and more angry than you will believe

dancing in the dark

I'm a little frustrated. We are not making the progress I would like. Reynold sent the septic company a request for forms filled out over a week ago and they haven't responded. Why are people so constantly non-responsive. They need a lesson in R-E-S-P-O-N-D. Also, I'm frustrated that Reynold didn't get on them any sooner than today, when the request was sent last Saturday, 9 days ago. Reynold told me to expect an update tomorrow morning after 9am regarding what the processor says I still have left.

Best Buy won't go pick up the microwave so I have to ask someone with a truck/suv (or maybe Crawford ) if they could pick it up and take it back to Best Buy. Then I have to deal with getting my money back and finding a new one. We'll see on all that. I kind of want to get a used one.

I've got some good news and some bad news...

Le good news first, just to throw you off. The house is termite free.

Now for the bad news. Because we are replacing the septic we have to get some HUD paperwork done by the government and they have to sign off on where the septic was before and where we are putting it in now, since we are changing the location. Reynold says June 9th is no longer reasonable. And that he would send out an update today which I didn't get. Now I may have to pay for another month in my apartment if I'm not out by July. So I guess I just wait and see what happens now and how long all this is going to take. I'm hoping it will only add a week. I need to be closed by the end of June to get my tax credit.

its been one week since you looked at me

7 days left. Need to get a buggie inspection done. Still need to deal with the microwave. Haven't heard anything much from Reynold or Crawford, other than the pest inspection. I just have to hope it comes back clean and that it will not hold up closing. Pray for me! I guess tomorrow we go into our 7-day-get-on-the-ball-and-make-sure-everything-is-all-good period. I assume I'll be finishing some last minute paperwork etc. I'll probably take next Wednesday off work for my closing.

got a copy of my appraisal in the mail, but no other paperwork. that makes me a teensy bit concerned because I thought I ought to get some paperwork in the mail. Maybe I will contact Reynold tomorrow.

DW and OTR MW

The microwave didnt fit over the range so now i have to bring it back to Best Buy or have them come get it and get my money back. Its good and bad. I will get my money back (it was expensive to have it installed) so I can buy a cheaper microwave and save a little. But the new one will have to sit on the counter. Oh well, I have plenty of counter space. Also, the dishwasher was installed though and it looks good.

quantify

1,000,000 how much i'm gonna love it when its done
120 days since I've started looking
75 days since I found the house (estim.)
30 k in reno
15 times going out to the house
9 days to close
6 mirrors for my studio
5 hundred sq feet in the studio
4 rooms to paint
3 occupants (hopefully?)
2 bathrooms
1 house

slam, fight, bright light, feeling pretty psyched....

Got my full appraisal via email today. It was pretty cool. Comparisons to other nearby houses, pictures of my house and comparison houses, flood maps, house maps, all the features of the house, and a list of all the renovations I am having done. 35 pages of info.

Stayed up too late last night and had to get up early to be at the house to receive delivery of the rest of my appliances. Fridge is all plugged in, dishwasher and microwave are sitting on the floor- they need to be hooked up. I'm a little concerned about the microwave not being able to fit over the range, the hood is currently very low and if it was taken out it still wouldn't leave much room for the microwave. I guess we will see. Maybe I can return it and buy a counter microwave.

Spent some time this evening looking at couches, rugs, a vanity online. I'm going to check out a vanity tomorrow or so. My sister is buying me a living room rug tonight. I found this awesome purple and yellow rug I want for my room but I think its $350. Tree fitty. Thats too much for a rug. I mean I'm just going to be walking on it. But maybe I will stick with purple and yellow as my color combo in my room. I have to pick paint colors for every room in my house. I also looked at some bedroom sets. I need a dresser for my clothes. My closet is a little smaller than the one I have now.

I got back my appraisal results today. Decent news. I have to go be at the house for the appliance delivery tomorrow morning between 7:30 and 9:30. Hopefully I won't miss too much work. Closing date is tentatively still June 9.

when it rains...

The septic guy called last night. He gave me the estimate for the new drain field, its about $3800. About 1k more than I thought. He said it needs to be put in the backyard cause the front yard is too small and there's a tree there that's probably attacking my drain field. And if we wanted to put it in the fron yard we would have to take out the tree first. So I said- go for it.

I think maybe my appraisal was today. I'm not sure but it has to be darn soon!

Best Buy called last night. The fridge I ordered is back ordered and they cant get it to me the 27th (Thursday) so they are going to get me a different one. Same brand, also Energy Star. Same color. And they told me this new one is more expensive, its the new fridge from the same line. So I said- well ok go ahead since I'm out and I can't look at it on the internet right now. I looked today and this fridge is like $50 cheaper! They lied to me about the fridge. So I am going to call and ask about it.

My sister is trying to help me pick out colors since I need to paint before I put in the flooring. So I have to look at couches, and rugs, and comforter sets and pick colors and interior design-ize. This part is hard too. I'm not sure exactly what I want. There are too many options!

rehabs

In the process of having to hurry up and make decisions on the renovations, there were a couple things I wasn't sure about and felt kinda pressured to make a decision quickly. My original list of renovations:

hard wood flooring- garage
laminate flooring- 3 bedrooms and living
new AC
snake the washer drain
fix the leaky facuet- kitchen
patch small holes in the wall
new electical panel
lighting - garage
drywall- garage
demo bar area
demo sitting area
add a fan - living room
replace vanity- master bath
cap weird electrical
drywall the extra panel room

well that total came out to be way too high. so i knocked off the unimportant things and we decided to do the laminate ourselves. I had a hard time with the AC because I had 3 different quotes, and ended up going with the most efficient one, and it has a rebate. decided to put in the new electrical panel and to have HD put in the vanity. I dont really want to fuss with plumbing.

the hardest decision I had for this was the flooring for the garage. i wanted to be sure i got the right flooring for dancing and i didnt want it to cost me a million dollars. i looked up lots of dance flooring options on the internet and thought about doing laminate instead, but I really wanted something legitimate. well i went for the hardwood and i think it will be awesome. I guess i will find out. it will be floating also so it will have a little cushion underneath (something else i was concerned about since it is over concrete) and will be semi-mobile if i ever move.

Rounding 3rd

Got my stove delivered today. It looks nice. I'm a teensy bit concerned with it sitting in the house by itself for a week but I think it will be okay. Faxed the inspection to the insurance company. Need to fill out one more sheet and fax it back, I will do that Monday. Need to do termite inspection also.

Current status:
Waiting on a bid from the approved septic company
Waiting on Appraisal
Waiting on Tax Forms

The rest of my appliances get delivered next week and installed the next day. It will be pretty cool to have all my appliances in the house. Invited a friend I havent seen in a while last night to come live with me.

Possible closing date June 1.

Que sera, sera.

I guess its my own fault. I chose a difficult project and difficult has it been.

Found out today the bank is angry that we've taken so long on getting the appraisal done. They think the house is worth such-and-such and won't budge a dime on paying the septic. Alright then. Take a shovel and throw that bad boy on top of the pile. Whats $3000 between friends? They did sign my extension though and gave me an extra month to close. Dandy!

I bought my HOI and flood insurance today also. Sent in the flood disclosure and I-bought-a-stove forms to Jocelyn and Reynold. Stove will arrive tomorrow so I'll have to wait at the house to collect it. The sooner we will be able to close the better. Lets git'er done!

I bought myself a mortgage/Sing-A-Long Blog

Someone cynical once said- you don't really buy a house you buy a mortgage. You only own 3% (or whatever you put down) of your house. Thats like not even one full room. Thats like, maybe the toilet. Youre not even allowed to wash your hands cause you don't own it...

Anyway, I saw when I sign that final piece of paper on closing day I will feel like singing, cause that house is mine!...

Closing day,
see you there,
Pen in hand,
Sign away.

Its a house,
not your life,
don't be scared,
Go! I say.

With my click pen I will BUY! a house
With my click pen I will buy an investment and a roof to

to protect, protect my head, from the rain, and other things.
Equity, building up, ownership, the joy it brings.

With my click pen I will BUY! a home
Its not an igloo or a mansion that's all Britney Spears
Its just a house in Tampa near and

I'm the one to buy it up
elbow grease and cover up
Rehab it back to awesome state
Then I'll just need pla-ates.

Thats the plan
Own the house
Fix it up
Living fine

Its hard work
Especially this
But I'm almost done
Finish Line

With my click pen I will SIGN!

The FHA has certain requirements shall we say? when you are buying a government owned home. Thats means there can not be any uncovered ground (concrete), strange electrical (live wires in the garage and front of the house and some oddness on the porch), unlivable carpet (installing laminate in the house), there must be a light outside any outside door (adding one outside the garage).

The guy who owned the house before me did a lot of his own work, but some of it is very patchwork so it all needs to be cleaned up and permit-ized and made kosher with the FHA. He did some awesome tiling in the kitchen and bathrooms though! My sister (who may be graciously helping with the flooring later) bought me a faucet (I'll pay you back!) for my new awesome sink. I am also thinking of making some renovation to the master bedroom later on (more closet space, and get rid of that sitting area).

I can't wait to have my awesome dance floor in the house and see all my appliances in the right place!

Credit Card work out

I went to Best Buy today. Twice. Well, you already know I don't do anything half way. Or the easy way apparently. I bought a set of microwave, dishwasher, stove and fridge. Then had to go return the dishwasher (on paper) and get the right dishwasher that gave me the 20% discount I was looking for. And then explain to the clerk a few times how much money I should be getting back and why. It got mostly straighten out and I got most of my money I should've back ( I fought tooth and nail for it (Don't mess with me!)) Now, I need to fax my I-bought-a-stove receipt to Reynold so he knows the stove should be there by the time the appraiser gets to the house. The stove is being delivered Friday and the rest next Thursday. That's another 3 trips out to the house (one for installation also). That also means I will be waiting at the house for the deliver and installation people each time ((Hopefully not missing to much work) Sorry Boss!)

Also, I still need to get a termite inspection (I accidentally flaked on the termite guy last time). Got my quotes for flood today and will probably buy Home owners hazard insurance tomorrow. Hopefully after that I can set it on cruise control for a little bit. A home buyer's work is never done.

Slow progress

Expecting to hear
Two days but waited a week
Banks respond slowly

Paperwork glory
Whole financial history
They want my life story

Crawford, Reynold and I
In the office two hours
Signing paperwork

Inspection to do
Unforeseen broken items
Need to visit house

Electrical guy / Plumbing and flooring / Drywall and AC
Out to give an estimate
Need to visit house

Solo Contractor
Home Depot sent out for all
Need to visit house

Septic inspection
Drain field fails needs replacement
Written on wrong forms

Paperwork needed- Tax history, bank statements, copies of checks, signed disclosures, paychecks, copy of an escrow check, even sometimes when I thought something was done I had to do it again. Repairs needing done- AC unit needs to be replaced, drywall in garage, flooring in garage, minor plumbing issues, new electrical panel, garage lighting, fan in the living room, installing a new vanity in the master bath.

It doesnt matter much who it is. If you need a response tomorrow and they tell you they will get you a response tomorrow you will probably not get a response for a week. This was the case with Home Depot, Lowes, and the Septic Company. I was all over Home Depot and Lowes every day, but maybe times my contact would be out or they would need to call me back or they dont have the information yet. For real, there was one uy I called who was on lunch so frequently when I called, didnt matter what time of day. 5pm? Lunch. Noon? Lunch. 2pm? Lunch.

From the time I started the process with them to the time I got completed quotes it was probably 5 weeks. 5 weeks of calling every other day, constantly out to the house (25 minute drive), trying to get the whole thing completed. I met 7 contractors to get 2 complete estimates. My septic inspection was on the wrong forms, my estimate was 5 days later than I was told. My tax paperwork was rejected from the IRS. Executed contract just barely hit the tax cutoff date (it took the bank about 2 weeks to sign and send it back).

Auhuhuhuhuh

My yell as I sit in my car leaving Lowes. Its more exasperated than anything else. I spend an hour and half at Lowes today and an hour at Best Buy yesterday looking at appliances. I spent also a couple hours online looking. The Best Buy website is dreadfully slow by the way, plus its nice to have the physical product in front of you to look at. I was checking out some stainless steel- its quite nice. But it has a quite hefty price tag. 2600 after taxes and installation. and they didnt have the set I wanted in store.

So I went to Lowes to see what I could see and maybe price match. BB has a 20% off if you buy all 4. (2600 was only 15% off and after taxes and 300 for installation). Lowes- I looked at every white model they had and had my sister check reviews. I need the stove in like tomorrow so that is most important but if I buy the bundle it will be less expensive. So that means quick decision making. I looked at white appliances at Lowes so I thought it would be less expensive. To my suprise, the 4 items, the guy quotes me 2600! Thats without a price match though. But how can I price match when they dont have the same items at all! I will go back to Best Buy and look at some white appliances tomorrow eve, since they are already closed and I needed to come home for rest and food. BB said they can deliver next day though, so thats good news.

Reynold (my mortgage guy) order the appriasal today. That means the stoves gotta get in the house in the next 2 days. I also got my survey back. All thats left is home insurance and the stove. I can see my house from here!

I looked Far and Wide

I looked at houses with two floors,
I looked at houses with blue floors.
I saw houses too small
and houses I liked none at all.
I looked far and wide
and tried and tried.
I saw houses with trees
and backyards fully free
(or no backyard to speak of)
which was as fine as the above.
I put in offers a few-
accepted but location fears grew
rejected rejected
under contract so I was deflected.
No, not this one
septic is no fun.
Looking at it anyway
everything else fell into place.
She is the one,
so put in an offer that day of Mon.

Journey through my experience

So this blog is going to be so that you all can accompany me on my journey though the most difficult first time home-buying. I am starting a little late, though I wish I had been blogging it from the beginning- the idea was just given to me by my realtor- Crawford.

Somewhere along the way, January of '10 I think it was- I got an inkling of the idea for me to buy a house. It started with some personal finance books- Capitalist Pig, think and grow rich, etc then moving into books about real estate- Creating Wealth, First Home Buyers and many books on mortgages and a good portion of what you need to know before you commit to buy the house.

I looked to get pre-approved, called 2 places, and started looking for houses. The first round was newspaper and driving around the area I thought I might want to live. At the beginning, you have no idea what you really are going to end up with or what you value the most- as time goes on, the more houses you see, you realize what you like and don't like, need and don't need, want if possible and don't want if possible and things you can live with if everything else is perfect.

I looked at some short sales. What does that mean? Well at the time, it meant you are not closing for 6 months and the house is probably in disrepair. Driving around is probably the worst way to find houses that are on sale. Houses, frequently, are going to already be under contract or the realtor will be hard to reach, you will do a ton of cold calling. I started looking into zillow.com (thanks to friends Trey and Lisa) I spent hours between zillow and google maps (suggested by another friend)- this is fun when youre addicted to looking for houses, but again not most productive.

I finally spoke with a friend of mine who is a realtor and asked him to realtize for me, Crawford. And thus the process began, late January.