Home?

The sellers finally moved out last night…I know, it’s only been 2 days, but it’s felt like forever!  They still have to pick up trash this morning, but they’re done.

I went out last night, just to check things out and I was disappointed.  It didn’t feel like home.  It still felt like someone else’s house.  I know I have to give it time, but I didn’t feel well yesterday and my annoyance level was on high, so everything irritated me…the fact that I never checked the light in the bedroom to make sure that it worked during the inspection (it doesn’t); the freezer wasn’t washed, so there is spilled crud inside; the tenants on the other side have a child and their every movement can be heard through the walls; the sellers were supposed to leave the keys on the counter for everything, except there was one key and it didn’t turn the lock, so I had to leave the place unlocked last night.  Thank god it’s in the country.

I just didn’t feel at home and it bothered me.  I know it will be different once I get my own stuff out there.  And I know that much of the sound will be absorbed when I get furniture in, a couple of decorative quilts on the wall, etc. etc.  I know that I was only hearing EVERYTHING because my side was empty.

Today will be different.  I will get out there and start painting the basement.  My annoyance level is still up there because I still don’t feel well and I didn’t sleep well (it smelled like someone was burning trash and plastic all night – it’s still hanging heavy in the air here at the old house).  But I got up at 6:00, walked the dog and am having my coffee now.  Once the naproxen kicks in, I’ll feel better, Mum & Dad will be up to head out to the house with me and I’ll get the painting process started.

It’ll feel like home soon enough.  I know I just need to be patient, but patience isn’t always one of my strong points.

(oh, the burning smell is coming from the wildfires in Quebec…all the way down into Central Maine – crazy!)

Paint + Painting Supplies = lots of $$$$ = :^( wallet

I think I sold my soul to the Home Depot for basement paint and painting supplies.  I haven't even bought the paint for the rooms yet.  Good lord, but my budget is gasping already!  And I still have to take the dog to the vet next Thursday for her annual appointment and update on shots...ugh!


I woke up at about 2:30 am after having anxiety dreams...is that normal for a first time homebuyer?  Am I having a touch of buyers remorse?  I couldn't get back to sleep until after 4:00 am.  Thinking about it now, I'm okay.  I think I was just experiencing a momentary sense of panic in the middle of the night.  I was comparing it to a marriage.  For better or worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, through good times and bad, I am now committed to this house until that mortgage is paid. 


Lets hope for more good times than bad!

I am now a homeowner!

As of 4:30 pm (and after signing my name to about a million pieces of paper), I became a homeowner!  The funny thing was that I knew the wife of the couple selling the house - she is the cousin to my childhood best friend (who passed away shortly after high school).

It doesn't seem real yet, because the sellers' need Saturday and Sunday to move all of their stuff out.  I'm hoping that by Sunday morning or afternoon, they'll be done and I can get out there just to figure out what I need to do - clean up, check paint colors (as I've changed them about a dozen times now), see what needs to be fixed, etc.

It won't hit me until everything is done, I've moved in and I'm actually sleeping out there, that it's mine.  

God, I can't wait for the sellers to move!!

In celebration of buying the house, my folks, my friend Nicky and I packed a picnic style dinner and headed downtown for one of the best fireworks displays I have ever seen!  It was phenomenal! 

But now it's time for bed...so tired!

Packing Packing Packing

My packing buddy, Nymbus, has been inspecting every box and storage tote that makes it's way into the house.  He cracks me up! 


I'm on vacation for the next week, trying to pack as much as I can now so that when the house is painted, I can move right in.  Every time I turn around, though, I find new stuff to pack...new stuff to figure out HOW to pack! 

Closing tomorrow!! Can't wait!  

I'm Getting Closer and Closer to Home

At the end of March/beginning of April, I had this brilliant idea to take Memorial Day weekend off and head to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. I’ve never been and I just felt this need to get out of Maine, to go away and relax for a while. My friend Nicky and I were going to book a hotel room as soon as we got our next paycheck and drive down at the end of May. I put in a request for time off (we have a 4 day weekend, but I asked for an extra two days before and after the weekend just for packing and down time after the drive home). That weekend (after I had made this decision), my parents came to visit and out of the blue said, “There’s a duplex we want to go look at it. We’re thinking about buying it and wanted to know if you wanted to buy it with us?” My folks own two houses, the one they live in now and the one that I rent with my brother (that my folks have been wanting to sell for ages), but they’re looking for some place to retire to, to be closer to the family and the amenities that they don’t really have where they are now. I was looking for someplace to call my own that was out of town, where the neighbors weren’t right on top of you, police and fire sirens weren’t an hourly occurrence and strange people didn’t walk the streets at night making so much noise that they wake you from a sound sleep.

So I held off on getting a hotel room in NC, but I kept my request for time off in, in case this fell through and I could still make those reservations. Mum & I looked at the place and thought it was cute. Built in 1984, it had been on the market since September of 2009 and sat on 1.75 acres; it had two bedrooms, kitchen, living room, bathroom and a full basement on each side and independent heat systems. It sat on a dead end with 2 other duplexes, off a camp road and was backed by a Central Maine Power right-of-way (so no one would ever be building back there – a big change from the nursing home that currently backs my house.). Mum wanted Dad to look at it and he liked it. If we bought it, I would live on one side and we’d rent the other until Mum & Dad were ready to sell their current house (which would greatly help pay the mortgage).

Mum started calling banks and kept encountering negative loan officers who said things like, “Now is a bad time to get a loan, no one is lending,” “You don’t have 20% to put down? Oh, our bank won’t even consider it,” and “You already own two houses, that won’t work to your advantage.” It was rather disappointing. But after finishing my budget one day, feeling particularly discouraged that we couldn’t come up with a 20% down payment, I started praying for the perfect bank to come to us, one that would work with us (I’m not Christian, but I’m spiritual and I believe in the power of positive thought). I kept repeating “the perfect bank will come to us at the perfect time and offer us a loan for this duplex” like it was a life saving mantra. Suddenly, an email popped into my inbox with the daily news headlines (when I say “suddenly”, I mean as soon as I saved my budget and closed the file…it was just that quick). The subject of the email was about a bank merger and expansion. I don’t believe in coincidences, everything happens for a reason. So I called my mother and told her to call this bank. They were great – the woman said things like, “Oh, now is a great time to buy a house,” “You have two houses that are paid off, that can only work to your advantage,” and “You don’t have the 20%, don’t worry, we work with our people…we’ll figure something out.” And they did! They’ve been phenomenal!

We started looking into the house & property and come to find out, it was sitting on less than an acre…but that was okay and we put in our bid.

After several days of back and forth with the owners, we were at a stalemate. They didn’t want to go any lower than their last counter and we weren’t going to go any higher than our last one. It was looking like it wasn’t going to happen…but it didn’t feel that way. It felt like the story wasn’t over and that we were supposed to get this house. But we knew that we couldn’t justify going any higher and we thanked the real estate agent for his time anyway, and said that if the owners wanted to reconsider a month or two down the road to call us. The agent told us to hang tight and he’d see what he could do. A day later, he called and said that he would drop his commission by $6,000 to ensure that we got the house for the amount that we wanted and the sellers wouldn’t have to drop their asking price any lower.

From there it was a whirlwind; sign these, meet with the bank, sign more, get the inspection, test this, check on that, send this in…now wait…and wait…and wait some more. Now all of a sudden, it’s back to hurry hurry hurry! And the closing is scheduled for next Friday. The process has only taken about a month, but it has felt like longer. And I have to say, hearing house buying stories from friends and coworkers, this process has been smooth and positive!

Now, with closing just over a week away, I’ve got to start focusing on packing; on what’s staying, what’s going and what needs to be bought new…and how I’m going to afford those things. It’s more than a little nerve wracking, to say the least! I managed to pack a box last night – whoo hoo, one box – hey, it’s a start.

Since today is raining, I thought I would take the day to go through closets and really delve into the process of what goes to the new house and what goes to Goodwill.

~:: Wish me luck! ::~