<p>I have a lot of catching up to do on this blog! My handymomming got put in hold for a while when shortly after we moved in, we found out we were expecting our next family member. This put a damper on my ability to do some of the work around the house, to say the least. Now that our newest girl is 3 months old, I am getting back to working on this house and thought of my old abandoned blog. I hope I can remember the stuff I did to blog about it.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
What a year!
Friday, June 24, 2011
Signed, Sealed, Delivered- As Is
We closed on May 31st. After a ridiculous number of signatures we were handed the keys.
A few hours earlier I had done my final walk-through with our Awesome Agent Laverne Brookie. When I later get around to sharing our short sale story, you too will agree she is awesome and would use her as an agent too! We plan to use her if we ever leave this place we are slaving over.
Anyway, during our walk-through, it became clear that not only had she left it very dirty (expected) but had left quite a bit of stuff behind. And I mean quite a bit! We were told that she had promised some of it to neighbors, but since they had not come before the closing, it was ours to deal with- oh joys!
That night, with keys in hand we ventured to our new house. It took us the evening to just gather stuff into the garage. Admittedly, there is still stuff in the storage area of the house that still needs to be moved. Even after we agreed to give the neighbor a desk, bed and armoire for their daughter, we still have half of our new two car garage filled with stuff ranging from random junk to furniture and appliances . We were going to have Goodwill come and pick up but decided that we will be hosting a garage sale in July to try to make a little bit of cash off the stuff to offset a tiny portion of the fixing up...and then have Goodwill pick up.
I don't know why it never occured to me that As-Is, also means whatever is left behind, but I guess I never thought someone would leave so much behind. A couple of the finds that we plan on keeping is a large combination charcoal grill/smoker, lots of dog toys that Nilla gratefully acquired when we mowed the jungle in the backyard, her fridge that is now the garage fridge, some random techy books for the hubby, and some rakes. Unfortunately, there is much more to get rid of...I will be sure to let you know when we garage sale it all :) Maybe you will be in the market for a 7 foot wide, hand-painted, asian fan....
A few hours earlier I had done my final walk-through with our Awesome Agent Laverne Brookie. When I later get around to sharing our short sale story, you too will agree she is awesome and would use her as an agent too! We plan to use her if we ever leave this place we are slaving over.
Anyway, during our walk-through, it became clear that not only had she left it very dirty (expected) but had left quite a bit of stuff behind. And I mean quite a bit! We were told that she had promised some of it to neighbors, but since they had not come before the closing, it was ours to deal with- oh joys!
That night, with keys in hand we ventured to our new house. It took us the evening to just gather stuff into the garage. Admittedly, there is still stuff in the storage area of the house that still needs to be moved. Even after we agreed to give the neighbor a desk, bed and armoire for their daughter, we still have half of our new two car garage filled with stuff ranging from random junk to furniture and appliances . We were going to have Goodwill come and pick up but decided that we will be hosting a garage sale in July to try to make a little bit of cash off the stuff to offset a tiny portion of the fixing up...and then have Goodwill pick up.
I don't know why it never occured to me that As-Is, also means whatever is left behind, but I guess I never thought someone would leave so much behind. A couple of the finds that we plan on keeping is a large combination charcoal grill/smoker, lots of dog toys that Nilla gratefully acquired when we mowed the jungle in the backyard, her fridge that is now the garage fridge, some random techy books for the hubby, and some rakes. Unfortunately, there is much more to get rid of...I will be sure to let you know when we garage sale it all :) Maybe you will be in the market for a 7 foot wide, hand-painted, asian fan....
Our First Home
We have now been homeowners for 25 days and it has already been quite a ride. I have been working my tail off since day one to get this place move in ready and on Monday we move in. In the last couple of days, I have been thinking I should have started a blog about this process. And today, I decided- better late than never.
A little background: We bought a short sale house. For some, that will say it all. For others, here is a translation: the previous owner couldn't afford their mortgage, therefore couldn't afford to do any upkeep on the house and, generally, to say it is in disrepair is an understatement. We got a great deal, through the 3.5 months of the short sale process and have a great monthly payment on a house we love the bones of, have heard the neighborhood schools are great and love the area. What we knew came with such a great deal is a great deal of sweat equity.
This blog will be a testament to that labor. I will attempt to show the progress we have made, yes, but hopefully it will be more than that. I plan to share information about great companies I have encountered along the way, products that were awesome (or not so much), tips and tricks I have learned, etc. Also, we are on a tight budget so this will an honest approach to getting as much as I could for the money, without compromising too much on quality. I hope this helps at least one other person out there.
My first several posts will be retrospective, looking back at the last 25 days or so and the projects I have worked on. I don't promise this will be a regular blog once we have caught up to comfort level, but as homeowners, I know there will be many projects in the future.
A little background: We bought a short sale house. For some, that will say it all. For others, here is a translation: the previous owner couldn't afford their mortgage, therefore couldn't afford to do any upkeep on the house and, generally, to say it is in disrepair is an understatement. We got a great deal, through the 3.5 months of the short sale process and have a great monthly payment on a house we love the bones of, have heard the neighborhood schools are great and love the area. What we knew came with such a great deal is a great deal of sweat equity.
This blog will be a testament to that labor. I will attempt to show the progress we have made, yes, but hopefully it will be more than that. I plan to share information about great companies I have encountered along the way, products that were awesome (or not so much), tips and tricks I have learned, etc. Also, we are on a tight budget so this will an honest approach to getting as much as I could for the money, without compromising too much on quality. I hope this helps at least one other person out there.
My first several posts will be retrospective, looking back at the last 25 days or so and the projects I have worked on. I don't promise this will be a regular blog once we have caught up to comfort level, but as homeowners, I know there will be many projects in the future.
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