Painting for the Holidays

Buying Is Easy...Moving Stuff Is Another Matter

So here we are, home owners living in an apartment. Luckily, we had a full month left on our lease when we closed....because we HATE moving...with a passion .....never want to do it again.......staying in this house as long as possible.......good thing we love this house. The rooms are empty for now...we'll move the small boxes over the next few weeks, paint on the week-ends, then load up the u-haul ....drag the furniture over and set up house. Here's the latest snaps, before painting and stuff....

The End Justifies The Effort

Well, here we are, after a long/short 6 months.....and we have a home!...construction traffic...grass!...a private residence sign!...no newspapers delivery (yet)...great neighbors!...a workout center!...a great view of the common area!...


What an experience....not six months ago we were wondering when things would begin...and now we have to load up the camels and start the caravan from the apartment. My back is aching already.......

Signing Our Life Away

Before the big signing event, we had the 'delivery inspection' to go through. We reviewed the punch list from last week, made arrangements to correct a couple small things, and enjoyed the view from our completed screened porch! After months of waiting, countless visits to the site, and almost weekly discussions with the Winstar representative....the house was about to be ours.......if we could survive the closing......

I had heard horror stories about closings......incorrect paperwork, hours of reviewing documents, last minute re-scheduling....cramps from signing paper after paper.... Either the Gods were smiling on us, the angle between the sun and the moon was correct, the stories were dramatized a bit, or some combination of the 4, because it was a very smooth process. After 45 minutes of questions, review, initialling and some signing, we received the keys, and became genuine ... honest to goodness property owners. Holy Crap...how did I become an adult?

The Walk Through

I was surprised to find workers painting the exterior of the house when I arrived for the final inspection. Additionally, the screen porch had not been installed, and our shower was missing a panel of glass. On the plus side, we now had a kitchen floor, and the house was a comfortable 70 degrees.

Before our inspection began, our realtor met us at the house, and gave us the unofficial results of the home inspection we commissioned that morning. She gave Martin and Jim a short list of the findings before we began.

The walk through was well organized, and flowed nicely for us newbies. Things started with the new home manual, which contained directions, maintenance, and product information for all the major house components. Need to know who installed the heating system? What's the ideal height for the grass in summer? how do you light the pilot in the water heater? Its all there. As a long time apartment dweller, this will get me started in the right direction, now there's no maintenance staff to call...

After the orientation, and explanation of the punch list process...we started the top to bottom, inside and out inspection of our future residence. Problems were flagged, notes were taken. It felt a lot like grading a term paper... or what I imagine grading a term paper is like. Lose a few points for fit and finish in a few areas, but get them back for spotting and flagging some things before we do. Extra points for the bonus archways, and the slate stepping stones from the back porch to the garage. The final grade comes next week....but overall things are looking good.....

Small Setbacks Happen

Now we're talking....grass, flowers, porch rails, guys painting the front door and the chimney stacks.....closing on the 18th of December is in sight! But there was a surprise waiting in the kitchen for us. No, not the nice gas stove....the missing flooring! There was a small leak...these things happen...so out with the flooring.... Did I mention the walk through is scheduled for the 12th?

Moving On

A lot can happen in 2 weeks around here. This week's visit, we find the carpet going in, the hardwood floors are down and covered, and the stair rails are in. Outside, street lights are appearing in the green space in front of the house.