Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
Monday, September 24, 2018
Saturday, September 8, 2018
Monday, July 30, 2018
Closing on the House
July 30, 2018. We closed on
our new house at 11 am today! We started
looking at houses this spring, and the market was so hot that we missed a
couple of really good houses by very short delays. So, when we decided that we liked this house,
we made the offer while we were there with the realtor. We only got this one because we cut short our
trip to Vermont, and came home the day after Daddy’s burial, instead of making
our planned visit to Ft. Ticonderoga. We
saw the house the day after we got the notice that it was on the market, when
we had planned to be in upstate New York.
So, the timing was awesome.
It was about a week before the seller reviewed the bids, but we
were told up front when that was going to happen. The evening of the day they reviewed the
bids, we got a text that our bid was accepted.
That was a Thursday, and everything had to be signed and filed by the
following Monday. Our realtor, Rob K.,
worked through the weekend, and everything was e-signed that Monday
morning. That was when the waiting
began. The house was a foreclosure, and
we bought it from HUD, so they had up to 30 days to return a packet for
closing. A week ago Friday, they called
to schedule the closing. They wanted to
do it on Wednesday, July 25, but I was scheduled for major surgery the morning
of the 25th – that’s another story to be told – so they set the date
for this morning.
Closing on a house five days after major abdominal surgery was
cutting things close, and I know my husband wasn’t sure I’d be up to it. I was determined to do it, even if it was
uncomfortable. Happily, my surgeon
cleared me to make the trip to the title office, about a 45 minute drive from
us, so that was fine. Truthfully, after
being out today for the closing, and then for lunch at our favorite diner, I
feel fine.
The closing itself was very easy.
Thanks to the inheritance I received from the trust, after my dad died,
we were able to pay cash for the house, with enough budgeted afterward for a
few immediate repairs, such as replacing the roof. It’ll be a relief to be out of the trailer
park, with neither rent nor mortgage to pay each month; the monthly amount
budgeted for taxes and insurance is about a third of what we’ve been
paying. It was somewhat stunning to wire
the money from our credit union to the title office on Thursday morning, which
Pat did on his way to take me home from the hospital. Spending that much money at one go left me a
bit breathless.
The house is a ranch, built in the 1980s, with three bedrooms and
two full bathrooms. It was a large
living room, a decent-sized kitchen, with a pantry, and a separate dining
room. It’s about 1,440 square feet,
which is almost half again where we are now.
As a wonderful bonus, that space is doubled by a full, finished
basement, and extended even more by an attached, two-car garage. We have neither basement nor garage where we
are now, so stuff is crowded into the spare bedrooms; the stored stuff will be
housed in the new basement, allowing me one of the smaller bedrooms for a
library and office, and the other for a dedicated art room. My husband plans to use the basement and
garage for his projects and activities, and there’s plenty of room. The house has an impressive amount of closet
space, besides; I’m looking forward to using my office closet to store the
small, but ever-growing, cache of family memorabilia. The master bedroom has two closets, so we’ll
have plenty of room there! The house is
located on a relatively level, 0.64-acre parcel of land, on a street with homes
of similar size. It seems like a quiet,
pleasant neighborhood.
We hope to be moved in the next week or two, and certainly by the
end of August. The contract with HUD
requires that we occupy the house within 60 days, so that should be no
problem. In my excitement, yesterday, I
wrote notes to everyone on my address list, announcing the new address. Those cards will be mailed this week. Pat is changing the locks today, and all the
utility folks are coming out to de-winterize the pipes, start the electricity
and cable, check out the furnace, and whatever else he has set up. The general contractor will be there Saturday,
to look at some smaller repairs, and the roofers are coming next Monday. There’s a decrepit sunroom, which we’re going
to have removed, and replaced with a deck, so someone will be coming out soon
to deal with that.
That’s my big, exciting news!
Friday, July 27, 2018
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