Inspection Round #2

So we had the inspection on Dream House on Wednesday morning.  I got to spend 4 hours in the house and when I walked out of it I loved it 10 times more than the first 2 times I had been in it... if that is even possible.

Nothing major went on in the inspection, so that was a good thing.  We submitted our "Request to Remedy" yesterday and now (according to the contract) there are 3 days for us to work out an agreement.  I'm stressing a little bit b/c they haven't gotten back to us yet.  Once it becomes the weekend it's harder for us to get the signatures scanned and sent electronically.  Especially since we are going out of town this weekend. 

Before you say anything - I know it's stupid to go out of town when you are moving in less than 2 weeks and haven't packed a box yet.  But it's my Birthday and Mother's Day and this was planned before we even put our house on the market. 

Here's some things I noticed about the Dream House that I hadn't noticed before (or paid too much attention to):

• There are speakers in the ceilings in the kitchen and other rooms.  I suspect they are hooked up to some central system.  Not sure if it is still functional but if it is that's kind of cool.
• No official pantry in the kitchen.  Lots of cabinets though so not a huge deal.
• The kids rooms also have built ins in the closets.... soooo nice!  I thought it was just the walk in closets in the master and the guest suite but it's all the bedrooms!
• The master bath has little towel holders mounted to the wall.  This is so cool b/c you don't have to take up room on your counter for towels.  There are also 2 awesome chandelier type light fixtures in the master bath and the shower has like 5 nozzles and a rain shower thing.  The jets in the jacuzzi work too.  I may actually never leave the bathroom.
• The crawl space in the basement is seriously huge.  It runs the entire length of the house and in the back you can stand up in it.
• There are SIX cable outlets in the basement.  SIX.
• There are 2 a/c units and 2 furnaces and a 75g water tank and a humidifier hooked up to the furnace.
• There is a back up battery on the sump pump.
• The roof is only 4-5 yrs old.
• You can walk to a huge pond from our house in like 2 minutes.
• The current owners have a huge golden retriever dog.  They hid it so well that I never even considered they had a pet.
• The double ovens are actually 1 oven and one micro/oven.  I never noticed that there is not an official microwave, just a "micro-oven."
• There's a big closet in the basement that I didn't notice before.
• Two things that I wonder if they will leave: a huge trampoline hiding behind the pine trees in the backyard; and a portable fire pit on the patio.

The First of the Lasts

Today was the last time my cleaning lady (CL) will clean the house with furniture in it. 

CL has been with us for about 5 years, maybe a little longer, and she has seen LOTS of changes in this house.  When she first started with us we didn't have a lot of furniture (kind of like how the dream house will be for a while) and we didn't use 1/2 our house. 

The front room was an office and we had 2 full guest rooms and I honestly have no idea what we did with the 3rd room.  Was there a futon in it?  Dear Lord.

Since then we have been invaded by little boys and we now use every freakin' inch of this house and then some.  A couple rooms have been redone and redecorated.  Furniture has been purchased and rearranged.  And everything looks a lot more lived in.

CL is sentimental about the house too.  And probably apprehensive about going from cleaning 2100 sq ft to 4500+ sq ft.  But she is a good sport.  She is going on this adventure with us. 

So CL cleaned the house with our belongings in it for the last time.  She'll be back to do a "move out clean" but this was the first of the lasts.

Actually, I'll take that back.  A couple weeks ago was the last time Mr. Molly's parents will visit this house.  And last weekend was the last time BFF will see it.

So actually CL was the 3rd of the lasts.  Oh well... they will start coming fast and furious now.  I'm so very happy that we have something amazing to look forward to, otherwise this would be seriously depressing.

Updated: Did You Know?

Did you know you can reserve a PO Box online?

Did you know it costs $282 to ship a beautiful rug that you had in your bedroom as a child to your BFF to use in her precious daughter's bedroom?  Note to self: get another quote
Update:  Those shipping people are bogus.  UPS did it for $24.  What can BROWN do for you?  If you knew BFF you would know how appropriate that whole situation is.

(exact rug not shown)

Did you know you have to move everything in your basement 1.5ft away from the wall to get your Radon mitigated?

Did you know spiders are scary and it will give you nightmares all night long if you see one on your child's bedroom wall followed immediately by a huge black ant on your bathroom floor?

Did you know UHaul makes this AWESOME tape for sealing up your moving boxes?

Did you know 4 year olds don't really understand moving and that when you show them what will be their new room they think the bed and the stuffed animal on the bed come with the house thus forcing you to buy a stuffed alligator so they don't hate their new house?

Did you know my birthday is on Monday and I was born on Mother's Day back in 1978?

It's that many candles x 3 - 2

Appraisal and Feedback

Our current house (known to my kids as "Our Old House") appraised for at least the selling price.  Woo Hoo!

Part of why that came to be is due to the fabulous work that Mr. Molly and Molly's Parents did to get the house "sale ready."  All that work is reflected in the showing feedback we got during the one week that the house was on the market. 

Here is a summary:

Friday, Apr 13, 2012 6:15 PM-7:15 PM

SHOWING TYPE & RESULT: Showing / Setup
SHOWING AGENT: KRISTEN KEYS
SECOND SHOWING? No

FEEDBACK:
Home already in contract, thanks!

Friday, Apr 13, 2012 5:30 PM-6:30 PM

SHOWING TYPE & RESULT: Showing / Setup
SHOWING AGENT: SANDRA LAING
SECOND SHOWING? No

FEEDBACK:
Did not show as was told it went into contract and Sellers did not want to continue showings.

Thursday, Apr 12, 2012 11:00 AM-12:00 PM

SHOWING TYPE & RESULT: Showing / Setup
SHOWING AGENT: RICHARD LEMMONS
SECOND SHOWING? No

FEEDBACK:
My buyers are relocating from Louisville and have a house to sell. Her comment was "This house wont be available by the time we are ready to buy!" Great staging

Wednesday, Apr 11, 2012 10:30 AM-11:30 AM

SHOWING TYPE & RESULT: Preview / Setup
SHOWING AGENT: MARY CAMPBELL STAEBLER
SECOND SHOWING? No

FEEDBACK:
Immaculate, sharp decor, pretty wood floors, staged extremely well. It's a "maybe"---it could possibly be a bit too small for my buyers, but it is really cute. If they don't choose to see it, I will keep it in mind for others. Thank you for the preview! Mary

Tuesday, Apr 10, 2012 10:30 AM-11:30 AM

SHOWING TYPE & RESULT: Showing / Setup
SHOWING AGENT: SUSAN BERG
SECOND SHOWING? No

FEEDBACK:
Did not like yard. House showed nice.

Tuesday, Apr 10, 2012 8:30 AM-9:30 AM

SHOWING TYPE & RESULT: Showing / Setup
SHOWING AGENT: HARLEY HAAS
SECOND SHOWING? No

FEEDBACK:
Your new listing has further confused our buyers. They had two homes in this price range they were considering but now have three as this new listing showed very well. We are meeting them at 5:30 this evening to further discuss and prepare an offer on one of them. One has a much nicer back yard and finished basement, another has a larger interior and the other is nice but is just priced better although I think that one just fell to 3rd place. How flexible could the sellers here be on possession? would it be possible in 5-6 weeks if we come to terms? This and pricing may sway them towards one or the other. Please let us know.

Monday, Apr 9, 2012 6:00 PM-8:00 PM

SHOWING TYPE & RESULT: Showing / Rescheduled by Agent
SHOWING AGENT: FRAN GREENBERG
SECOND SHOWING? No

FEEDBACK:
Very nice and clean home, but a little above their price range. They looked at 6 homes and they need to make a decision.

Checked Off

I need a moving checklist.  Maybe this is something RL or BFF can provide.  I know there are a billion things to do and I love lists.  Here's what I got checked off this week:

• Go into contract on dream house
• Schedule inspection for dream house
• View apartments for temporary housing
• Sign lease on apartment (3brdm/2bath furnished townhome at $3350/mo - blech)
• Get estimates from 2 movers
• Schedule mover
• Get estimate for Radon Mitigation System installation and sump pump replacement on current house
• Schedule RMS installation and sump pump replacement
• Get current house appraised
• Get all neccesary documents to mortgage company to lock in intrest rate for dream house
• Schedule closing on current house
• Start collecting newspapers to assist with packing

Not related to moving:

• Work (only marginally accomplished this one)
• Keep kids alive
• Provide dinner each night
• Lose weight (down 2lbs this week!!)
• Take kids to music class
• Get hair cut
• Change sheets for BFF's visit
• Get pack and play and whole milk for BFF's precious baby girl
• Watch New Girl

Pinch Me

Here is the description (some names have been changed):

This spectacular home in the Stepford Country Club offers 4 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, and approximately 4,589 square feet of living space. You will find luxurious details throughout this home that is awash in natural light all year round!

Step into the elegant entry that is flanked by a study with French doors and beautiful dining room accented by pillars. The spacious kitchen lends itself to entertaining and boasts lovely white cabinetry, high-quality stainless steel appliances and a large center island. Enjoy your morning coffee in the charming breakfast room with wood sliding door leading out to the patio and fenced yard.

Relax or entertain friends and family in the two story great room with fireplace, stunning windows and beautiful built-ins. Relax in the evenings to the sumptuous first floor owner’s suite with high ceilings, breathtaking oversized windows and a private bath with large vanity, double sinks, walk-in closet with built-ins, and corner garden tub.

The dramatic open staircase leads to the upper level that features a guest room with private bath and two additional sunny bedrooms connected by a convenient Jack-and-Jill bath. The huge lower level offers a family/media room with wet bar, additional full bath with tiled shower and a 2nd finished area, perfect for a workout room or additional bedroom.

Additional features include a first floor laundry, new a/c unit, newer roof and wonderful location.

The location is really amazing... established neighborhood with tons of trees, walking paths and parks.  It's so beautiful.

Here are some more pics of the house... honestly though they don't do it justice.

Foyer (very important to me that the stairs aren't right at the door) and open staircase

Really pretty clean kitchen

With a massive fridge and double oven

Lots of light in breakfast nook

Nice fireplace and lots of light here too

First floor master actually makes me happy.  You can't see the long hallway that leads to it with the awesome laundry room off of it (utility tub - booyah!).  Also, these windows and high ceilings are to die for and the window treatments on these windows are awesome.

Fab. What you can't see is the walk in closet with awesome built in organizers.

This was one of the biggest things for me, I really wanted the boys to have their own Jack and Jill bathroom that they didn't have to share with a guest.

Additional living space that we have been craving.  Now 2 people can watch TV at once and not in a bed!

Nice feature.  This area is right off of the full bath.

This will be the boys playroom.  And maybe my jigsaw puzzle area too.

This big space has a lot of potential... I'm thinking outdoor living

The yard has a sprinkler system (booyah!) and I love this tree.

The fence is a nice touch.  And we don't look into the neighbors kitchen from ours like we do now.

Dream House

I have a secret for you guys.  We bought our dream house!!!!!!!!  (pending inspection and appraisal)

Here it is!!!!!!   We are so ridiculously excited!!!!

I didn't tell you about it because I didn't want to jinx it.  But here is the story:

Wednesday 4/25:  In the middle of my despair over there being nothing on the market BFF convinces me that we might be able to afford this house (even though it is priced above Mr. Molly's original "acceptable range").  Also on this day Mr. Molly leaves for a business trip.

Thursday 4/26:  I convince RL to take me on a secret trip to see the house.  I know it will be perfect (from online pictures) but I want to make sure there are no deal breakers before I even approach the subject with Mr. Molly.  It is perfect.

Friday 4/27:  Still having not done due dilligence on the numbers, Mr. Molly agrees to see the house when he gets back in town.  Driving forces were 1) the house is perfect, 2) there is nothing else on the market, 3) we have nothing to lose, and 4) interest rates will never be this low.   He loved it, but he still wants to number crunch to make sure we can make it work.

Saturday 4/28:  We go and look at houses that are in the original "acceptable range" and they are all horrible.  Good houses on bad lots, or bad houses on good lots.  It makes Dream House look even better.  Mr. Molly spends 5hrs crunching numbers.  We make an offer Sat. evening with an idea of what our maximum amount would be that we can be comfortable paying.  We offer $35k below asking price.

Sunday 4/29:  They counter.  They only come down 5K.  We are sad but forage on closer to our max cap.  We counter to them and come up $10k.  Now we are $20k apart. I spend considerable time internet stalking the sellers.  I find out that they are moving out West, that their daughter is graduating this year and going to school out West, and what they do for a living including the company he currently works for and his new position out West.  The internet is amazing.

Monday 4/30:  They counter.  They only come down 5k.  I am starting to get discouraged.  We are still $15k apart and we are very close to our max cap.  We counter with a "best and final" offer and we are willing to walk away if they don't take it.  I can not breathe or sleep.

Tuesday 5/1:  They accept our best and final!!!!!!!  I am shocked and amazed.  I really thought we were going to lose it. 

Closing is set for 6/30 and we can take possession on 7/5.  Happy Independence Day!!!