Dave’s Good Stuff

I am now an Official Home Owner! I have the key in my hand, and a bottle of wine to prove it!

• series_part: 13

I close on the house in half an hour. I’m excited, nervous, worried, joyous and a host of other things that are best summed up as pleasantly anxious. Wish me luck!

• series_part: 12

My agent and I did a "final walkthrough" today before closing on the house tomorrow morning at 10:00am. They’ve still got a LOT to do. The hardwood floors aren’t sanded yet, much less stained and given a polyurethane coat. The walls, while mostly painted, aren’t quite done yet. That’s fine, b/c I’ll get back in there and repaint at some point in the next few months. The oven range is still there, but the delivery guys can take that with them when they bring my new one in. They still have a lot of stuff left in the garage and the basement. The two cracked windows still are, and it’s generally messy all around. There’s no way they’ll be done by 10:00 tomorrow morning.

So, what we’re going to do is either get all the repair moneys in escrow, or proof of work with certified reciepts, and get in writing that all the remaining work will be done by Memorial Day. It’s a little edgy, but we don’t have that many other options. They need out, I need in, there’s a lot left to do, and they simply don’t have the time. Frankly, that’s fine with me, b/c it means that instead of shopping around for big appliance and crap, I can spend a little time out in the sun and riding this weekend… maybe even mow the lawn (at the old house, not the new).

• series_part: 11

Ready to have the keys in my hand. Ready to be done with it and move in already. I don’t understand how people can spend months and months searching for and buying a house. It’s been about a month since I decided to buy instead of rent, and I’m *more* than ready to move in and make it my own. It’s not been a long road, but it has been a crazy one. It’s all gone so fast, to say I’m in something of a state of shock would be… well, it’d be damned accurate, actually.

I figure I’ll be moved in by the 19th of June, with everything I own in place, or at least within dragging distance of in place. Maybe a month or so after that, when I’ve had time to make the house a home, I’ll have a blistering house warming party.

Let’s see how this goes… I’m going to set down a few goals, things I want to have accomplished in the first year of first home ownership:

* Remove the swing set. I can see injury in the future there.
* Build a nice wood deck to replace the decaying brick patio with the help of a friend in the business of building such things.
* Repaint the pale pastel yellow exterior to something more palatable.
* Repaint the white interior to give it more color.
* Install built in book cases in key places.
* Install a bar in the basement along one of the short walls near the bathroom.

That might be too much. We’ll just have to wait and see. I’m excited about the prospect of making this my own home, as well as increasing it’s base value.

• series_part: 10

I took care of my utilities today, and have all of them set to continue on where the current owner leaves off on the 20th. I love the idea of owning my own home, but sometimes, all of the tedious little details are just that… tedious.

I’m feeling an odd mood today. On the one hand, I’m excited as hell about the happenings in my life. It’ll mean closure on a lot of different levels. On the other hand, I’m nervous about the form in which the closure will take, and how well things will work out in the end. These are major things I’m doing now… things that will in no small way shape the course of my life, at least for the next few years, if not longer. I’ve been going full bore for the last few weeks, barely taking time to seriously consider my decisions… trusting and acting on instinct. I’ve been far more impulsive lately than in recent history. Hell, I thought to myself one day that I might like to buy instead of rent, and a week and a half later had signed an offer letter for a ~$150,000 house. Three weeks later (and a week from now) I’ll be closing on that same house. For the betterment of everyone helping me move, I think I’m going to employ the same mindset in terms of what I’m keeping and what I’m pitching/selling during the move.

All this frenzied activity has left me barely enough time to stop and reflect on what I’m doing. I’m pretty sure that’s not a bad thing, b/c I’m confident that my instincts have been correct. Still, there’s a small part of me that dreads, even if a little, the inevitable calm after the storm, in which my mind will, of it’s own accord, bend itself towards everything I’ve done, for better or worse, over the course of the last 6 months.

That’ll be a hoot.

In the end, time will be the final arbiter, regardless of how much or little I worry about it.

• series_part: 9

Last night I finally took the opportunity to take my freshly tuned bike out for a real ride, as opposed to a quick little jaunt around the block. In Lawrence, there’s a several stage bike/walking trail that goes from behind the movie theaters on the south edge of town out to Clinton Lake and beyond. The first stage is a little over 5 miles. I wasn’t sure if I could, given how long it’s been since I rode any distance at all, but I made it the entire way there and back again for something between 10 and 11 miles. I was winded, but I wasn’t anywhere near exhausted. It really felt great!

I hope I can find some decent smoothe trails after I move. I’m thinking, at least for now, plans for a Cannondale are on the back burner. I have appliances to buy, insurance to set up, and a ton of little things that add up to deal with for the new house. I’ll deal with my old Giant for the time being. She’s done me right so far, and I’m sure I can stretch her for a few more miles.

Latest on the house. They’re wanting to sell as-is, in spite of the inspection findings. That’s fine. We’re getting a couple professionals out tomorrow to give estimates on repairs, and depending on their estimates, I’ll either bail or negotiate. If I negotiate, it’s really going to be more along the lines of "Come down $X on the price." If they don’t, I bail.

I’d really like this house. It’s very nice, aside from the repairs that are needed. Great yard on a corner lot, great location in the city. It’s nice all around… except for those pesky repairs. I’m willing to fight a little for it, but I’m not going to take a hit b/c the current owners didn’t disclose everything prior to selling (if they bothered to find out), and aren’t willing to budge now. They’re facing double mortgages if they aren’t out very quickly, so I’m betting they’ll deal.

Bottom line, if I’m not comfortable (and I’m becoming less so) there are many many houses out there right now in this buyer’s market.

• series_part: 7

I found out last night that the seller has agreed to fix everything on our "Unacceptable Inspection Findings" list, with certified reciepts! I’m going to talk with my agent more today about it, but what didn’t look too hot yesterday is burning up today!

• series_part: 8

Some interesting developments on the house front. I won’t go into details here, but the sellar balked some at the inspection findings, and negotiations continue. My agent is encouraging me to continue the house hunt, while we sit on this one. Time is a little short, but not critical at this point, so if I *do* have to find another place, I’m not worried about finding one in time. However, I do like the place I found, and do want to see the deal go through. My agent is a star, so I’m sure no matter what happens, I’ll be fine.

• series_part: 6

I just set a connection date of the morning of June 7th for my broadband provider at the new house. Now I’m pretty much going to have to move most, if not all my stuff the first weekend of June, a week and a half after closing. I did that on purpose to keep myself from lollygagging around with the moving of the stuff. Actually, all that needs to be there is the television and the computer. But if I’m going to do that, then I may as well move the home theatre equipment. If that, then the couches to sit on. If those, then the end tables and the coffee table. If the computer, then the desk, and the computer books. If those, then the rest of the books… you see the direction I’m going. I may as well just get it over and done with, leaving the rest of the summer to unpack, sort and settle in, which will unerringly (and by force if I have to), leave plenty of time for outdoor fun.

Two things I’m looking forward to after the move… a dramatically shorter commute, and I’ll be much closer to the racquetball courts.

• series_part: 5