Update

Well we moved into the house this weekend.

For the last 4 weeks we have been doing some of the repairs that I mentioned before. So for anyone following this blog I will check off what we have accomplished.

Some of the projects on the need to do now list are:
1. replace all the light fixtures (mostly done)
2. replace all the outlets and light switches (mostly done)
3. replace all the locks (done)
4. paint the whole inside of the house (all except 2 bedrooms done)
5. tile the hallway
6. install a new kitchen faucet (done)
7. repair the bathroom water hook up and the toliet (toliet partially repaired, decided to wait to do the water hook up since we will be completely remodeling that bathroom)
8. install hardware in the bathrooms
9. clean (done)
10. install a new garage door opener (done)
11. remove and cover live wires (mostly done)
12. install ceiling fans in the bedrooms (d0ne)
13. replace the baseboards in the living room (done)
14. replace a few places of sheetrock (done)
15. purchase and build a pantry (purchased and building it this weekend)
16. install things like smoke alarms and thermostats (thermostat and 1 smoke alarm installed, 2 more to go)
17. replace mirrors in the bathrooms
18. shave down some door frames so that doors will close (done)
19. install shower rods in the bathrooms (1 of the 3)
20. install a step in the garage
21. have a new bedroom door built for the master

On the want to do list:
1. level the back yard
2. remove deck in the front
3. paint garage floor
4. build a deck in the back
5. create a built in pantry?
6. move a closet door to another wall
7. remodel kitchen with all new cabinetry, a buffet, and an island
8. tile back splashes the bathrooms with tubs
9. have a gray tub refinished to white (will be completed by the end of Nov.)
10. new cabinetry in one of the bathrooms (will be completed by the end of Nov.)
11. build out a larger shower in the master bath
12. resod the yard
13. remove a large tree in the back yard
14. install french patio doors in the kitchen and one of the bedrooms
15. install new front door

Furniture and things we still need to purchase:
1. sofa (leather?)
2. recliners
3. side tables
4. entertainment hutches
5. new tv
6. another queen or two twin beds with frames
7. king headboard
8. artwork
9. new appliances (stove and dishwasher and possibly a fridge)

So that is where we are. Now the house is full of boxes. We have managed to arrange the living room in a temporary arrangement until we can afford a new tv and stuff. And of course first order of business was to arrange our bedroom furniture.

One small problem that we have run into is that our vacuum keeps breaking. The carpet in the house had never been vacuumed before and was brand new so it keeps clogging up the hose.

Soon C. and G. will move in with us and we will have a house full.

And were in!

We officially closed on the house on Sept. 30th. The house is ours! I can't belive that it is finally ours.

Now we begin on the projects to get the house ready to move into. I am ready to move now but I know that I have to be patient.

Some of the projects on the need to do now list are:
1. replace all the light fixtures
2. replace all the outlets and light switches
3. replace all the locks
4. paint the whole inside of the house
5. tile the hallway
6. install a new kitchen faucet
7. repair the bathroom water hook up and the toliet
8. install hardware in the bathrooms
9. clean
10. install a new garage door opener
11. remove and cover live wires
12. install ceiling fans in the bedrooms
13. replace the baseboards in the living room
14. replace a few places of sheetrock
15. purchase and build a pantry
16. install things like smoke alarms and thermostats
17. replace mirrors in the bathrooms
18. shave down some door frames so that doors will close
19. install shower rods in the bathrooms
20. install a step in the garage
21. have a new bedroom door built for the master

On the want to do list:
1. level the back yard
2. remove deck in the front
3. paint garage floor
4. build a deck in the back
5. create a built in pantry?
6. move a closet door to another wall
7. remodel kitchen with all new cabinetry, a buffet, and an island
8. tile back splashes the bathrooms with tubs
9. have a gray tub refinished to white
10. new cabinetry in one of the bathrooms
11. build out a larger shower in the master bath
12. resod the yard
13. remove a large tree in the back yard
14. install french patio doors in the kitchen and one of the bedrooms
15. install new front door

Furniture and things we still need to purchase:
1. sofa (leather?)
2. recliners
3. side tables
4. entertainment hutches
5. new tv
6. another queen or two twin beds with frames
7. king headboard
8. artwork
9. new appliances (stove and dishwasher and possibly a fridge)

So as you can guess we have a lot on our plate right now. I don't know how much all of this is going to cost but we will start down the list and get as far as we can. As we save we will do more. We hope to be moved in with atleast the stuff on the first list down by November or December. I will be excited to have our first Christmas in the new house with all of our family.

I am going to end this post now so that I can go get started on gathering the things that we need to get tonight so that we can have a productive day at the house tomorrow.

Hurricane Ike

We assessed the damage to the new house and there is some minor damage. Most of the fence was down and there was a leak in the hall bath. We are not sure what the leak is from. It could be from the roof or the plumbing. It flooded the bathroom and caused the hallway carpeting to be wet.

We have tried to get ahold of our realtor but due to the storm she is busy. Speaking of realtors we fired our previous realtor. She almost cost us our current contract. Our first realtor irritated us because he would not return calls and the such but he was ok at what he did. We put up with him but then he decided to move to another state (not due to us but for personal reasons). So we were turned over to someone else in the same office. At first we thought that her quirkiness was cute but it quickly got on both our nerves. We would ask for multiple things and she would only deliver one of them. She would talk to me about something and I would ask her a question and then she would call M. back and talk to him. He would be irritated because he has not talked to me all day and she needed to talk to me, NOT him! So anyway...we fired her and a have yet another person from the office representing us. It has been an interesting ride. With all the hurricane clean up, the realtor is busy assessing her own damages (the new better one). Hopefully we will be able to get ahold of her soon and have the owner's insurance pay for the damages.

News Flash

I start this post with the news that we are all counter signed and are only waiting for closing for the house to be ours!!! I am excited that we are very close to having a home again. We are set to close around the end of September but we hope to capitalized on our fortunate situation and do a few things to the house before we move in.

Here are a few of the things that either have to be done or I would like to do:

make all the plumbing work
replace faucets especially leaking ones
repair sheetrock damage
install new baseboards around fireplace
paint the inside of the house
install a vent in one of the bathrooms
remodel kitchen and install new cabinetry and island
remodel master bath by knocking out a closet and enlarging the shower
modify the step down in the garage
move some shelving in the garage
replace all light fixtures with updated ones
install fans in all bedrooms
move a light fixture in one of the bedrooms to the center of the room
replace all outlet covers and some of the outlets
remove all live hanging wiring
replace counter top in one of the bathrooms
tile all bathrooms
install updated mirrors in the bathrooms
install new locks on exterior doors
remove a nonfunctioning spa
install a deck on the kitchen that wraps around the to the back bedroom
remove the deck in the front of the house

It is an extensive list but one that we can accomplish over time. I would say I would like to complete about 1/4 of it before we move in. We would like to try to move in by Thanksgiving or Christmas. Please continue to pray for us and this adventure that we are on. We will be searching out good contractors to do some of it so if you have an reccomendations please pass them on. Free labor is also good if you feel so inclined to donate some time and or any special skills that you have.

A Bit of Good News

Our offer was accepted!!!! So we move on to the next step. I am excited.

Let me back up a little bit...we put an offer on a house about a week and a half ago. Part of that contract included that the seller would repair the foundation if there were problems. We believed that there we problems and wanted to have it checked out. The seller at first countered our offer (it was low but doesn't hurt to try right??), we countered back and then we started investigating companies to inspect the foundation. We requested and received permission from the seller to have the foundation inspected before a final offer was accepted. After many phone calls to about 6 different foundation companies I was frustrated because the foundation companies wouldn't speak with me because I was not the owner. We finally contacted the seller and asked him to call the foundation companies and have an inspection.

So the signing of the contract was put on hold as the seller investigated the foundation issues. Come to find out that there are not really any issues that need to be addressed. M. talked to the foundation company that did the inspection directly to find out what they thought.

During this time, the seller had placed the house up for lease. I was so disappointed in this as I was afraid that they would not even consider our final counter offer. M. called the seller agent today and it turns out that they agreed to the offer. So tomorrow we go and initial all the paperwork and pay the fee. Then Saturday we will have a general inspector come and inspect the house from top to bottom. I am still not positive that everything is good and it will cost us at least $450 to find out if there are any surprises in the house. M. called an inspector that is also a structual engineer who can give us a detailed report. Hopefully on Saturday we will know more and I pray that all will go well.

I can already see us living in this house and I am excited that we are further in the process than we ever have been before.

On a side note, I am also excited about going back to work. This is a change in outlooks from last week. Please pray for us for God's will in the house process and that we stay healthy as we head back to work and the busiest time of year for us.

Holding Pattern

We made the offer on the house that we liked but we are now in a holding pattern. The house needs some foundation work and the seller has agreed to have a foundation inspection and make the decision as to whether they are willing to fix it. We hope to hear something by the end of the week. Until then we wait patiently.

It seems that some people have been concerned as to why M. and I are currently living in my family. We simply are inbetween houses. It is not because there is any concern with us. So we have this little efficiency dorm type room where we have our bed and our couch and recliner and TV. Other than sharing cooking and bathroom facilities we are fairly self sufficient. The A/C in our little apartment doesn't work so great so we have fans to keep us cool.

That is all for now folks!

House Hunt Resumes

So we recently found out that our buyer realtor was moving to D.C. so we were assigned a new one to continue our house hunt. This weekend we went and looked at a few homes. One of the homes that we looked at was one we had seen several times before. For some reason we continue to be drawn to this house. It is a 4 bedroom and a study. It is a small 4 bedroom but is in a really desirable area of town. It fits all our needs and with a few modifications over the coming years could even have everything I want. So after visiting it for the 4th time we decided that it was time that we made an offer on it. Unfortunately there might be a little foundation problem that needs to be corrected. We are including a stipulation in the contract to have the seller fix the problem. This is required in order for us to get a loan for the house. We are currently waiting for our realtor to properly prepare the contract for us to sign and officially make the offer. Hopefully by tomorrow we will have officially put an offer in and then we begin the waiting game.

We will pray that the seller will be willing to make the repairs. That might mean that next week we might be doing an inspection and see what comes of that. We are to the point of placing it in God's hands. I know that I can't predict how a seller might respond. I hope that the fact that the house has been on the market for more than a year will make him more willing to make some consessions including fixing the foundation. I pray that if that is the case that it is an easy fix for the sake of making everything easier.

Please join M. and I in praying for the appropriate outcome of this offer.