Set in Stone

We're closing Monday, the 6th, at 12 pm. The bank decided to freeze our funds until Saturday. So we just moved the closing day until Monday. We couldn't have done a whole lot with the house over the weekend anyway since we have to wait to get the ceilings done.

Whew!

Got the big fat mutual fund check in the mail. We would have been in quite the bind without it during closing. We can breathe a little easier now. We will be taking a trip to the bank tonight to deposit it.

I just spent an hour on the phone (thank God for headsets) with Liberty Mutual and got our insurance set up.

Still feels like everything is happening so fast, yet in slow motion.

The Big Day!

I just spoke to our mortgage broker and we should be closing on the house this Friday. The bank wants more comps and he ordered them today. No one knows why they want more because our appraisal came back strong. But it's just another sign of the banks being conservative. We were also randomly selected for Patriot Act review. Which means we have to send in a copy our SS cards. Don't you feel safer? Doesn't seem like much of a threat to terrorists. Bad thing about closing on Friday, I'm supposed to be working that night. I might become sick *cough cough*.

I will now go pack more boxes!

Mamaw's House Broken Into

Last night someone broke into my grandmother's (mom's mom) house while she was sleeping. She woke up this morning to find her sliding glass door off it's track, furniture moved, a lighter on the floor and the front door not latched all the way. She looked in her wallet and her cash was gone, $150. If all that isn't disturbing enough, her purse was beside the bed, opposite the door, where she was sleeping. Someone was literally watching her sleep while stealing her money. My dad went out there and they called the police. There was a big hand print on the sliding glass door, so they should be able to ID someone if they are in the system. She is staying at my parent's house for tonight. I don't know what she is going to do after that. My mom wants her to sell the house and buy a new one, closer to family, or move in with my uncle, like he has offered before.

Mamaw has handled it pretty good, from what I've heard. I think I was more irrate than her. Just knowing someone has the nerve! Then she's also 86 yrs old! What scum. I can't imagine if something had happened to her. What if she had woken up while they were digging through her purse? I'm hoping it was punk kids but there are so many screw ups out there you never know what could have happened. I'm just glad she's ok. She may not have wanted to move, but I really hope she does. Her neighborhood isn't the best anyway.

Mmmm, Money.

Our renters signed their lease agreement today. They are moving in on the 17th. They had to fork over $1900 in security deposits. I almost feel bad for them. But it's not like we get to keep the money, so I don't feel too bad. Yet another step complete! It's all happening so fast!

In The Nick Of Time!

Jordan, of course, found this article today. We locked in our rate about 2 weeks ago and got an even lower rate than the national average. So selling our stocks yesterday wasn't the best ever, but thank God we got a low interest rate. Good timing for us, right Jenn?

What The?

I was browsing the internet for multi-pendant light for our breakfast nook. I found this cute one I really liked.



I clicked on it and looked for the price. $3,530.00. Yep, my eyes went wide. And I decided Restoration Hardware doesn't have bad prices after all....

Post Worthy For Sure!

I... don't even have... the words... OMG just watch the video

What Did I Just Do?

While the economy is headed toward The Great Depression part 2, we are being forced to cash out our stocks to buy our home. Fortunately, we put our money in a conservative mutual fund because we knew it would be short term, for the specific use of buying a house in less than 5 years. So we didn't lose any money, I don't think, but I'm certain we didn't earn anything. Unfortunately, 2 weeks ago we would have made $1000 more (willing myself not to think about it like that!!! I'm getting my perfect, beautiful home instead) In the last 2 weeks I've decided I don't like watching/playing with/investing in the stock market. It's nerve wracking, especially when you're trying to sell. With that said, I just finished the process of selling all of our stocks online.... I think. And a check will be mailed to our condo.... I think. Ugh, it's so much money and I honestly have no idea what I just did with it!

This is how it will go (per me crossing my fingers and begging God on my knees):

The check will be mailed to us in 3 -not 5, just 3- business days. We will immediately take it to the bank and they will immediately issue us a bank certified check to cover the rest of our down payment.

If anyone knows differently, tell me! Wait, don't! I don't want to know. But I need to. Ok, so correct me if I'm wrong. But do it gently.

Uncomfortable!!!!!! (Inside joke for small group, ya, we're cool like that)

Housewarming Gift Registry?

I've always thought gift registries are kind of pretentious. I know they are very helpful for weddings, and I'm glad they are used for that specific event.

With that said, I've had multiple people ask if Jordan and I will have a gift registry for our housewarming party. I honestly have no idea what to do. We have all the decor we need, so Target or LNT is out the window. The stuff we do want are light fixtures, vanities, drapery, appliances, blinds, hardly things you put on gift registries. So we don't really need people to buy stuff for us. Since it isn't our first house I feel like we'd be taking advantage.

So I guess I kind of answered my own question; I don't need a gift registry. Gift cards would be generous but not expected. So maybe I'll just leave it at that. Hopefully people won't be put out trying to figure out what to get us or if they need to get us anything.

Hehe

I want one for Peanut and Jelly! Visit Cuteoverload every day for that warm, squishy feeling.

Steve Brown has a new blog post. He doesn't write them too often, so when he does I get really excited. He's such a great writer and I love his personality.

Cool verse I found from Stevie boy:

"Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things" (Romans 2:1).

I don't remember packing being this easy. I've done about 10 boxes. I did a couple today. Jordan's going to walk in and think we were robbed. All the art is off the walls. Nick-nacks are packed away. I think it's partially because there is nothing in my house I don't want, no clutter, and it's all already organized. So I just put one closet into a couple boxes and mark it. I've only moved 2 times in my life, not counting the time when I was 3, so maybe I hyped it up too much. Either way, I'm ready to move!

So Proud!

I love the fact that our country and soldiers don't fight just for our freedom, but for the freedom of every person. And I feel as though Americans have forgotten about what happened on 9/11. Protesters weren't yelling about world peace on 9/12. I'm so glad our soldiers and leaders have the big picture still in mind, and not a "what about me attitude".

So Soon!

We officially moved up the closing date to "Oct 3rd or sooner." Pretty much as soon as the bank has the paperwork, we're signing it. The broker thought the 29th was cutting it a little close, but sometime between the 29th and the 3rd we will be multi-property owners! Landlords and homeowners. I like it!

Nicest Dad in the World

I mentioned to my dad yesterday that I needed more boxes to pack. He can get as many boxes as he wants from work. Today he brought about 15 boxes and left them on my door step during his lunch break. I definitely didn't expect to have them hand delivered, nor did I expect them in less than 24 hours. So I just wanted to say I've got the nicest dad in the world. And I got some more packing done today thanks to him.

Moving the Closing Date

Jordan and I just decided on the fly to try to move up the closing date by a week. So that would make it this coming Monday instead of 2 Mondays from now. That would mean we have 3 weeks to move out of the condo before the renters move in. My thought is lets get it done. We have the financing, the renters and the house, so lets just go ahead and move already. Depends on if the bank can get the paperwork together that fast and if the owners can have all the stuff moved out by then! It's exciting though!

14 Days To Closing!

We only have 14 days until we sign on the dotted line. I feel like we're in the hurry up and wait phase. We could hurry up and pack, but we're not actually moving for another 20 days. Of course another stupid football game is the weekend we're moving. So instead of moving on Saturday, we are moving on Sunday. Told you football always manages to wiggle it's way into our lives and mess something up.

Oh Saturday!

Today I started my day with a nice long walk. I always listen to a podcast when walking and today it was Mars Hill. He's a good preacher and it makes my walk go by fast.

Jordan and I went to Home Depot to look at floors. We found a click together, thickest possible laminate that we actually liked! It has the beveled edges, dark glossy finish, and plank style just like we wanted. It's on sale so we're going to buy it asap, hopefully tomorrow. We just have to figure out where to store 450 sq ft of wood....

After some more shopping we went to Felix's for a football party. I watched my first full football game, Florida vs ummm... I already forgot... Tennessee! It still isn't fun. It's downright boring actually. After that game LSU vs Auburn came on. This was an even more boring game. So I left. The best part was taking Peanut and Jelly. They love going to other people's houses and chilling with the humans.

I packed my first box last night. I just did nick nacks. Oh, and I got the chandelier in the mail! I can't really see what it looks like though, since it isn't put together.

I'm sure there will be more tomorrow.

Why Do We Live Here?

I was looking through Drudgereport.com when I read the headline "Woman gets life sentence for sex with 5 year old". I was hoping I'd click on the link and find out it was a 5 year old dog or goat or anything other than a person. But nope, it was a 5 year old kid. Not only that, it was a local news report. It happened in Sanford. And I just wanted to say we have some screwed up sickos here in Florida. Another example would be the Xbox killing of 6 sleeping victims. There is also the video of kids in Florida that made beating homeless men a sport.

Don't Have To Pay 2 Mortgages!

We got renters for our condo. A couple. With dogs. They are bringing their own washer and dryer so we're keeping ours. It was worth waking up after 2 hours of sleep to show the condo again today!

Permanent Whirlwind Around Here!

After not sleeping for 22 hours yesterday, I only slept 4 hours after work. My body just doesn't like sleeping a long time during the day. I guess it's a good thing so it doesn't mess up my nights too much, but I still ended up being awake for an hour last night.

Once I woke up I spent yesterday being lazy, talking on the phone, playing on the internet. Then Jaime calls and asks if she can show our condo in 1.5 hours, I was like "WHAT???". Of course we were in the middle of doing laundry so we had laundry everywhere! Plus the normal messiness. So I quick got off the phone and did some speed cleaning! Enough to work up a sweat. Forget about taking a shower or brushing my teeth. I hid clothes back in the dryer, ran the Roomba, and hoped for the best. Apparently my speed cleaning got the job done, the man who came to look at it thought our condo was one of the complexes models. He didn't realize anyone lived in it. And he loved all the wall colors. For me, this was the ultimate compliment! After he left, he called a couple hours later to see if he could bring his girlfriend by, but Jordan never answered his phone to set it up. They are coming back tomorrow at 12 to see it again. And from what I've learned about the business, second showings are a VERY GOOD THING!!!

After that Jordan and I had the valve stems replace on my tires because they had been recalled by Discount Tires. One person has died due to them leaking and causing flats. I picked up my car in a big hurry and sped off to have a girls night out with my friend Maribel. We were supposed to go paint pottery, but we never found the stupid store. GPS couldn't find it, driving up and down the same street for 30 minutes couldn't find it, we're convinced it doesn't exist. So we went to Park Ave and ate at Chef Justin's. We had a good time and contemplated stealing the plates since we were going home without pottery. Hopefully the pottery thing will work out next time. It's such a fun get together.




Today we had our termite inspection. On the way from the grocery store to the new house, I got a flat tire. Yep, the tire they just fixed was completely flat, and I was completely stranded! Jordan had to leave the inspection to come change my flat. I don't know what Discount Tires did wrong, but they will get an ear full tomorrow when I take back my "fixed" tire. And for the inspection, we haven't heard anything back yet.

And now I will work all night. Working is so much easier when you have something you're working for.

Oh ya! My maid of honor, Gwen, had a beautiful baby girl yesterday! Welcome to the world Riley! You're one lucky kid to have such great parents!

Obsession Continues

While looking through the over-priced lighting to Expo we found this not so bad priced vanity light. I compared it online and didn't find it cheaper anywhere else. Quite surprising!



And while looking through Target.com I found this thing. Why Target sells it, I don't know. Why it's sold in the first place, I really don't know. Who needs a coffee table that folds into a wooden brief case? Are gypsies still around? I don't get it. And it's ugly.

Sunny Sunday

Yesterday Jordan and I spent all day out and about. We started off by going to Expo, the over-priced but very nice home design center. We looked at drapery, floors, lighting, vanities and some furniture. We found this little faucet set



If you can't tell from the picture the two faucets go into a little bowl, the water spills out of the little bowl into the sink. Price at Expo $219, price at Home Depot $129. Which is really odd since they are the same company. Just shows how over priced Expo is.

After shopping we went to meet my parents for lunch like we do every Sunday. There just so happened to be a flooring store next to the place we ate. They had laminate like we wanted, thick, beveled edge, right color, floating. They also had an area rug I liked. I asked the guy how much it was and he said he would throw it in for free if we bought the laminate there. The rug was $250!!! So that kind of sold us, as long as the laminate will work.

We went BACK to Lowes after that to compare their flooring. I'm not sure, because Lowes is confusing, but I don't think the floor we picked out would work over tile. And it was more expensive than the free-rug-guy's stuff.

After all that shopping we went to Heather and Evan's baby shower. Co-ed baby showers are an epidemic, so Jordan has now been to two showers. Almost as many as me! It was fun seeing all the cute little things they got, and their friends are so sweet. The food was great! I need to learn how to make finger foods..... seems to be a hostess essential.

From the baby shower we went to church. A quite awesome guest speaker spoke. His name is Dr. Robert Tuttle, our pastor's seminary professor. It was a flash-back to the Freedom Fellowship days listening to a charismatic speaker. And he was a hilarious old man.

And to finish off the day, we went to Bahama Breeze with Jen/John and Alison/Josh for dinner. It was a lot of eating for one day, as you can tell. But it was a good finish for such a busy day.

Shopping

Today Jordan and I went with our friends, Jen and John, to look for flooring. We're going to try to put down wood floors before we move in. So we went to a couple different stores that helped us figure out what we like and what we don't like. Neither of us like laminate. We like a little glossy shine. And we like darker finishes. And beveled edges are my favorite. Jordan and John think that the wood can be installed over the tile, as long as it's a lock together wood. It was really hard finding a non-nail/glue down wood. We also compared prices for carpet. Ends up Lowes is cheaper. After we dropped off Jen/John we went to Lowes to see if they had any wood we liked. Ends up with both agreed on one! And it's a lock together type install. It's engineered wood, so it's more expensive than the laminate. You can't really compare the 2 though.

And this evening I tried to decide on what I'd like to do for drapery. I'm excited to have options. I think it's because our condo doesn't have very many windows, so now I have more to work with! I think I'm going to have to make the valances, but hopefully I can buy the panels premade. This is what I found and liked:

For the bedroom! But I would use rings on the rod instead of a rod pocket, I think it looks cleaner like that. I'd also like to use a color like this in the bathroom.



And maybe the dining room (big maybe) minus the valance (gag)



Instead of using a rod for the dining room, since the window is curved on top, I'd use this medallion style to bring out the curve.




Bath drapes are from Bed Bath and Beyond so they are fairly cheap! I know this probably didn't make sense to anyone except me, but I love thinking about this so much. I plan it in my head, find a picture on the internet, sketch something out, then get so excited I have to blog about it! I'm hopeless, I know.

Drunk At 9 am

I went to have my EGD done today. I wasn't nervous about the actual procedure, it's what would come out of my mouth under anesthesia I was worried about. Ends up, my worries were legit. Jordan and the nurse said I did a lot of yelling, tried hooking up the nurse with my friend, told him I wouldn't flash him (apparently my gown had fallen off my shoulder), and asked everyone in ear shot if I could get those drugs in pill form for home use. Yes, I'm completely mortified. It sounded exactly like I was drunk. I flicked off the camera while Jordan was taking a picture and everything. And let me reinforce that my supportive husband was totally taking advantage of my vulnerable state and taking blackmail pictures! Once I woke up I heard someone else yelling something from another room, so it apparently is quite common. And once they took out my IV, held it and bandaided it I bled all over the place. Same thing happened when I got my nose pierced. So I met me going back to my regular doctor to get that checked out

The EGD showed I do have a 5 cm ulcer in my stomach. Dr. Santos said it could have been 3 times larger before I started the medication, Zegerid. Apparently the medication actually heals the ulcer. I didn't know that, but that's totally cool.

And now I'm stuck at home. I can't drive or sign documents for 24 hours. Good thing I was taken off the schedule for work tonight. It would have been illegal for me to work.

Before they drugged me



After (and apparently I did this pose for the camera on purpose, not that I remember)




It's a good thing I can laugh at myself, cause that picture is priceless.

Looky What I Found

I got a Restoration Hardware magazine in the mail and I found this chandelier.



I really like the black shades and it's on sale, so I'm gonna get it! It's about half the price as the other one, which convinced me pretty quickly to let go of it.

We spent the night making to-do lists and wish lists for the house, long term and short term. Chandelier can be checked off!

Nevermind

We had a plumbing inspection this morning. The plumber said poly was used for the piping but all the connectors are copper. This is good. It's a sign of quality work. He said he doesn't see why the plumbing wouldn't last the expected lifetime, 30 years.

Now we will proceed as planned since that scare is over with.

Trying Not to be Sad

Today the inspection was complete! We got bad news. The house has polybutylene plumbing. This is bad. Very, very bad. As in "class action lawsuit against the manufacturers was awarded one billion dollars" bad! This house did not file a claim within the 10 years required of it being built, so they are not illegible for replumbing costs. Obviously, this is a huge wrench in the plan. These pipes are known to explode (not leak) and flood entire houses in minutes. Insurance would cover the water damage, but not the replumbing. It's not a matter of "if" they explode, it's "when"? I told Jordan we wouldn't buy a car that we knew the transmission was going out, so why would we buy a house with such catastrophic issues? I think we're going to get a plumbing estimate and ask the seller for the money. They will never be able to sell the house as it is, unless someone really stupid comes along. That won't be us.

Tomorrow we will be telling the listing agent/seller all this. If they don't give us money, we will not be getting this house. I'm somehow comforted by knowing it's in God's control. If this is not what he wants for us, then it won't work out. There are plenty of other houses for sale not waiting to explode. Please pray that that we will be able to make wise decisions and God will open or close doors as he sees fit.

The Dirty Work

The dirty work has officially begun, if you couldn't tell already. I spent 2 and a half hours on the phone this morning, with the mortgage broker, Liberty Mutual, and Jaime. Jordan and I are still in the process of figuring out how much we want to put down on the house. The full 10% or 8.5% really doesn't change a whole lot, except our payments are higher with the 8.5%, about $50, nothing to write home about. We still get the same interest rate, and with that extra money in pocket we would be able to do some extra work on the house. I think Jordan is more nervous about the whole process than I am. Probably because I know the money better so I have exact numbers in my head. And I've been the one talking to all the professionals. He's calling the mortgage broker today to get his questions answered, and hopefully we'll have this downpayment thing decided on today.


And for the insurance hunt, it was a short one. Liberty Mutual gives EA Employees a discount, plus their rates are low. While on the phone with sales, I had never answered so many questions about a house before. What are the counter tops? How much of the flooring is tile? How high are the ceilings? Are there any doors above average height? These are weird questions to me. But our monthly payment is lower than expected, so I'm cool.

I have to work tonight, so I will now be heavily drugging myself and turning off my phone to get some sleep!

And the Chaos Begins

Sunday we went back to the house with my family and Jaime. We spent about on hour there going over what to do with this and how to fix that. Everyone is in agreement the ceilings need to be scraped. The tray ceiling does not look as beautiful as it could with knock down or a smooth surface.

After the house, Jaime, Jordan and I went to Starbucks to go over the whole contract. We accepted their counter offer. Jaime called the listing agent and asked what repairs would be finished if any, since we did put in the contract to buy the house "as-is". The owners are willing to repair the fences, mulch part of the backyard, finish painting, repair some broken tiles in the bathroom, fix a broken window and hang a new door where one is broken. We were really shocked to hear this because we really didn't expect them to finish any of that. I guess they don't feel right selling the house in disrepair. More power to them.

After we signed the contract we went furniture shopping. I want a buffet for the dining room and a coffee table. I found a couple buffets that I liked plus some accent pieces. All that will come after we've moved in though. This is one buffet that I picked out. I don't know if it's too tall though, since the large picture needs to go above it.





Today I spent the afternoon on the phone with lenders. Interest rates have gone down over the past month, and pretty drastically over night since the government took over Freddie/Fannie. We got some competitive offers and found out what we want and don't want in a mortgage. We're still deciding exactly how much we want to put down, that's negotiable but the closing costs are pretty much set in stone. Either way, we're getting a really good rate.

Jordan set up the inspection for Wednesday. Hopefully he will clear everything without a problem.

Tonight we went carpet shopping. All three bedrooms need new carpet. We went to the most accessible stores, which are Home Depot and Lowes. We are probably going to go with Lowes because they're install and labor lump sum is better. I'd be happy with just about any carpet as long as it is some sort of biege. The carpet dudes will come out on Wednesday also to measure the rooms.

And I will apparently not be getting any sleep until all this has calmed down.

Shiny

Isn't she purty? I found her at Restoration Hardware. They have my favorite chandeliers. I did some online window shopping for chandeliers over the weekended and found out I have very expensive taste. Sounds nice until you find yourself looking at a $14,000 chandelier. So this one is a much better price and I think it's just the cutest. Plus, my birthday and Christmas are coming up....

"My Muslim Faith"

This is weird. And awkward. And unusual. And yet another reason I don't trust Obama.


Reason number one: George Stephanopoulos, the interviewer, clearly doesn't like him, or believe anything coming out of his mouth.

Reason number two: Obama, uh, says, um, his words, um, with a, uh, lot of, um, this, uh, going, um, on. So much for being a great speaker. He sounded like he was having a hard time putting his sentences together. He was clearly thinking VERY hard.

Reason number three: why are they in a barn? Hay, wagons, other barn paraphernalia. Weird.

Reason number four: and the most important, why did he say "my muslim faith"? Yes, I understand that he was TRYING to say people are implying he has a muslim faith, but that's not what he said. He said "my muslim faith." Oh wait, then he changes it to Christian faith after George Stephanopoulos corrects him. He looks up kind of bewildered then says "Yes, my Christian faith." This is really weird to me. It proves one of 2 things; 1, he really is a muslim and put on the Christian faith, like a hat, because we are a Christian nation, or 2, because he needs a speech writer at all times. There were so many better ways to phrase what he said. "My supposed Muslim faith" "the Muslim rumors" But "MY Muslim faith" makes it SO personal.

Wiping Away Tears...

Not really, but close. And now my over joyed heart will spill out an acceptance speech. They do that for buying houses, right? Anyway, I can't hold it all in so here it goes! Pretend like I'm holding a mini-house award in my hands.

To God, our Father, who made Jordan and I with this plan in place. You have made us wait for our reward, and for that I will always be thankful. Teaching us patients and trust is a lesson we will always take with us. May this house bless you and your message.

To Our Parents: Without the 4 of you, we would not be the people we are today. Thank you for all the discipline and correction, spankings and all. You shaped us into responsible, educated, independent adults we are. Your emphasis on Christ, our education, and family values has brought us to where we are today. And when you're old, maybe we'll let you live with us.... maybe.

Jaime: The best realtor ever! Never was I disappointed in you and how you handled all the different situations. Jordan and I are picky to say the least and you NEVER seemed annoyed with us. Always willing to take another trip house hunting. You fought hard for our price and you got us exactly what we wanted. You will be special to us forever, helping us buy our first home.

Vernon: For being my brother and always asking about what's going on with the house. Now you have a place to have parties.

Jen and John: For all the "you should totally do it"'s that you have said, bet you don't even remember them, do you? You've both said that phrase multiple times, and each time it has encouraged me to try a new path in life. Oh, and thanks for all the future "volunteer work" I have lined up for you ;)

Rebekeah Restivo: For your facebook conversation the other night. You were so sweet with all the words you used and the encouragement was much needed. You're very wise (not to make you feel old) and you're words were very appreciated.

Jamie Garrett: For listening to all my complaints and drama about the house hunt, you're a great friend.

Heather Oberly: All your emails meant so much to me. Just knowing someone was keeping up with all the house hunting blog drama and taking the time to send an email was wonderful! It's amazing how an email can brighten someone's day.

Jenn Heuslein: For keeping up with the blog and all the house ups and downs. The fact that you and I grew up together, got married and are now buying houses at the exact same time is kind of creepy/cool. I wonder what else we will do simultaneously?

Cousin Jenn: Your energy abounds! And all the facebook messages have been so encouraging. I feel like you're my personal cheerleader!

Peanut and Jelly: You now have a backyard to dig, lizards to kill, and evil cats to ward off. Don't you feel special you're parents bought a house just for you?

Future Renters of our Beloved Condo: please show it the same love and respect Jordan and I have. It's an adorable condo and hope you pay the worthy price for it!

WE GOT IT!

They counter offered for 10k more (which was our goal) and WE'RE GOING TO CLOSE OCTOBER 6! It's in the neighborhood we've been drooling over for 3 years. Tomorrow we will sign all the papers. Then we will have the appraisal done. If it comes back as expected we'll be smooth sailing from there. Unfortunately I had to tell Jordan through txt message, which was kind of weird. He's in Gainseville until 2 am for some stupid football game. Football always manages to wiggle it's way into our lives....

WE ARE MOVING INTO A HOUSE!!! Our perfect house we have been waiting so long for!

The Offer Is In!

This morning we met with Jaime and put the offer in for the Piedmont Oaks, house #1. It's 30k less than the asking price. We gave plenty of room for negotiation. Plus, it's a buyers market. I don't expect them to accept the offer, but a counter offer within our price range would be nice. I'm not holding my breath though. These things never seem to turn out the way you think they will. But we did take the house as-is, so stinky carpet and all. We didn't want the owner in their replacing stuff for us just to go in there and replace it again.

If this house doesn't work out, we will move on the to house #2. If that one doesn't work out, we will be back at house #3, the original bank owned house. Good news is, I can see myself living in any of them.

Now I'm off to work. I'm actually glad to be working tonight. I doubt I'd be able to sleep knowing we're hours away from an answer!

House number 826

Or some number pretty close to that!

Today Jaime called and said the house I posted about previously is pretty firm in their asking price. Houses in that neighborhood sold for 250k within the last two years. We won't be offering anything near that number cause this house is in slightly worse condition than those that sold. So Jordan and I have our offer number in our heads.

AND THEN! Jaime gets an email from the realtor of our original house, the 2 story that needed work. The BPO dude literally laughed at what the bank is trying to get for it. And the number he is thinking will support our original offer. So that opens up this option AGAIN!

And third on the list, the house off of Thompson Road that Jordan liked. Formal living room and dining room, granite counter tops. Small unfenced backyard. Large sq footage!

So many options now! Honestly the houses are in this order of "wantability":

Piedmont Oaks



Dominish Estates



Royal Oaks



I'm literally in the process of trying to get Jaime on the phone to try to make on offer on house #1.

POW John McCain

I'm trying to be an educated American. I found this article from John McCain about his POW experience. I read all of it in one sitting. Not just because this man wants to be our president, but I don't understand how a person can come out of being a POW whole. I came away from reading this piece knowing he is a very strong man, emotionally and physically.

The piece was written by McCain in 1973 after he was released by North Vietnam. He spent 5 and a half years in a POW camp. This was my favorite part and made me proud that he is our Republican candidate. He set this plan in motion in 1973 and he is still fulfilling his goal today. Looking at it from either side of the line, it's commendable.

"My own plans for the future are to remain in the Navy, if I am able to return to flying status. That depends upon whether the corrective surgery on my arms and my leg is successful. If I have to leave the Navy, I hope to serve the Government in some capacity, preferably in Foreign Service for the State Department.

I had a lot of time to think over there, and came to the conclusion that one of the most important things in life—along with a man's family—is to make some contribution to his country."

Location! Location! Location!

Only house hunting could get me out of bed with less than 3 hours of sleep! And that's exactly what happened today. We met with Jaime at a house in one of our favorite neighborhoods. It's right off of Piedmont Wekiwa in a cute, established neighborhood. Large oak trees lining the streets. Homes built in the 1990s. We really like the houses in the 1990s. Any newer than that and they tend to take on a sterile look.

There are 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. The master bath has a garden tub with separate shower, double vanity sinks and 2 walk in closets. The backyard has nice trees and a large screened patio.

There's a total of 1460 sq ft (wow, it feels like a lot more than that!). Tile throughout main living area except the bedrooms. They have carpet that needs to be replaced very badly.

Starting with the front of the house. Beautiful double doors stained in a dark finish.



Through the front door you enter a foyer and the eat in kitchen is the the right.





Slightly further into the house is a formal dining room and an arch way that leads into the family room. The Dining room has a tray ceiling.





The family room has a fireplace, sliding glass doors, vaulted ceilings and sky lights.





Pros: great neighborhood, formal dining, foyer, indoor laundry room, double vanity master bath, open floor plan, sky lights.

This house needs very little done to it. The carpet is a must though.

Cons: Smells like cigerrete smoke very bad, light fixtures are outdated, chipped tile in bathroom.

Hopefully with a coat of paint, new carpet, and some cleaning the cigerette smoke would come out. Worst case scenario, the popcorn ceilings would have to be scraped.

This house was only 1 of 5. It was obviously my favorite. There was a very close second, but it was a little further drive for us. Not as great of a neighborhood. Small, unfenced backyard. But still a very nice house that had a formal living room and dining room.

Jaime is going to draw up some comps for us and hopefully we'll start putting in bids here soon! This house is a normal sell, not a short sale. So we would hear back from the sellers about our offer within days and we could close within 30 days. So much easier to deal with than a short sale!

Quick update on the last house we put an offer on. The bank is still trying to get top value. The house needs about 10k of work done on it. It's not the best location due to the surrounding neighborhoods. And that would be a WHOLE lot of yard to take care of! So we're holding off on it for now. If these others don't work out and the bank figures out their aren't going to get top value, maybe we'll reconsider it.