Water vs The Countdown

Count Down:  8 weeks and 1 day till closing

Monday the power was turned on.  The water was also supposed to be turned on but  it's not working.  The guess is that the pipe is frozen between the house and the box from where the city turns it on. Outside temperature in town was 13 degrees.  I saw the guy dig down close to one of the two matching big blue spruce trees in the front yard and turn it on from the city's end.    We lent the other agent (not ours) our space heater- the kind that costs about $350 and they advertise on TV all the time.  It's currently pointed at the wall where the water pipe accesses the basement.

My son is suggesting we start putting videos up on YouTube so you could all see what we're talking about and perhaps get some extra cash for fixing things up.   Our budget is going to be kind of tight since we can't use our very economical contractor friend Kyle who let his license expire.  We have to come up with a new contractor by the end of the week.  The first one we contacted gave us a rough estimate of $30-40,000 to get the house up to snuff. We only have $25,00 currently budgeted in.  Time to set priorities and figure out which priorities we're the most passionate about! And see what FHA will require......

always,
Vickie

Follow @AlwaysVickie

The Price Was Right....

Yes our price was right this time around.  The bank accepted our offer but now we have to coordinate on a closing date.  They want it to be March 23 but our loan officer says it will take the full 60 days.  We don't want to pay that daily penalty of $100 for closing late so we're suggesting the first week in April.  We could officially be in possession of the property before Easter!   I can hardly wait to start posting pictures and let you all in on more of the property details that I've been keeping undercover. 

Bad news is we are pretty sure we can't use the contractor we wanted.  He was waiting to renew his expired license until  we got approval on this project.  The loan officer says he not only would need a current license but also show that he's been actively working - using the license.  Waiting on the license would take an additional couple of weeks we don't have at this point.   It's going to be close on pulling this all off in the 60 days due to all the paperwork and "stuff". 

One cool thing is that perhaps we'll be able to make this work by  the "real Christmas", April 6th. Some theologians  believe Christ was born in the spring because of the shepherds being out in the fields. Not looking for a debate but I thought it was an interesting  and amazing coincidence that according to modern day prophet Joseph Smith the actual day of Christ's birth is April 6th.    I said I wanted a house for Christmas.... and things are coming together not how I imagined it but in a very unique special way. 

Thought you'd all enjoy a head's up and hang in there.... I"m sure we'll have more news a bit more often now that we've agreed on a price :)
always,
Vickie

No Word.....yet....

We're still on hold while we wait to hear from the bank.  But it's a new year and I'm tired of sitting around waiting.  While I wait I can work on getting my current house in order and  prepare our family for an easy move.  Cleaning is not my forte.  I don't mind cleaning, I just don't like to keep cleaning the same items over and over and over........I want to clean something and have it stay that way :) 


I've also noticed that keeping track of my progress and accomplishments no matter how small they may seem makes me feel better.  So far in 2012, I've only missed on day of shining my sink.  I'm not going to beat myself up over goofing one day out of the month or even the year.  Last year I started shining my sink consistently in about June and now I've hit my 6 month benchmark.  Yeah Me! 

Today I made a form that shows the main rooms in the house that I'm responsible for keeping clean- kitchen, living room/dining room combo, master bedroom, bathroom and the younger kids bedroom.  Now I can mark if those areas are getting better or worse each day.  Is my house getting cleaner and better organized each day?  There are no neutral days around here with our large family.  Doing nothing is falling behind.  I"m trying to no only do something but to do enough that we are headed for a clean and beautiful home where ever that may be.  

always,
Vickie

Why would they bother.......?

So our financing is back on track thanks to Wells Fargo and their 203k in house loan program.  I'm excited that they even have a renovation specialist- oooh cool!  There were other banks willing but this loan is supposed to be a royal pain so an experienced helper will be most appreciated. 

We had to initial five additional pages of  addendum legalize stuff about how we wouldn't hold anybody liable and if our house inspector gets hurt they're not liable and if anything happens, they're not liable and ... etc adnauseum.   We read everything, asked questions and just went for it.   We even resigned and dated our offer so everything is current and clean.

I'm figuring if they're taking the time to request new paperwork, talk to "Management"  and such, we're headed in the right direction!  or why would they bother?  It sounds like maybe they're really wanting to sell finally and that perhaps they're a little nervous since getting a 203K loan is getting harder and harder to get.

Good news is the longer they take on getting this all worked out, the closer we are to getting our tax refund and the closer we are to spring and low or non existant heat bills for at least 3 months out of the year..... 

always,
Vickie

Bad News?

Tuesday we finally heard from the listing agent and the bank wanted a new pre qualification letter.  I thought that was a little strange but when I contacted our mortgage broker I found out that his investors had temporarily suspended the program.   He did give me a referral to someone who he thought could help.  I called her first thing but she was out of the office until late in the afternoon. 

While I was waiting to hear back I made a lot of  phone calls.  The people who got back to me were Zion's bank, and they also are no longer able to do  203K FHA loans  and Dave Ramsey's preferred provider Dave out of Portland, Oregon.  He said he is the preferred provider for all of Oregon and Idaho.  I did talk to a nice lady out of Missouri but I prefer to deal locally if I have the option. 

Once Ashley called me things got rolling and hopefully the paperwork will be on her desk ready to go this morning.  I"m  glad our broker was able to get us to someone who really can do 203k FHA loans and is good it it.   Getting closer to our goal every day :)
always,
Vickie

Unhappy Homeowners...

 Just checking my emails, surfed around and found this link.  I think you can probably relate.  We buy a house and we "love it".  It meets our needs and we are happy.  Then we start comparing and lose our gratitude.  We want MORE and BETTER and .... we DESERVE it..... 

Do we really deserve anything?  I remember an  article in the Saturday Evening Post by CS Lewis- at least I think it was by Lewis and I think it was in the Post.  The article talked about someone getting a divorce so she could be happy.  At least by getting a divorce she thought she would be happy.  He talked about the "right to happiness".  He said that we don't have a right to happiness.  The Constitution does not guarantee us  the right to happiness.  It guarantees us the right to the pursuit of happiness.  Big difference.  The right to the pursuit of happiness would mean the ability  to even own a piece of property no matter how humble or how grand.  That is one of the great privileges of living in American currently. 
http://www.tofw.com/story/343-video-parade-of-unhappy-homeowners

Yesterday I read a couple of articles about Tiger Woods ex-wife.  She's in the news because she just bulldozed an apparently perfectly good home that cost $12 million dollars.  We live in America where we have the privilege of doing whatever we want with what we have for the most part.  It sounds like she intends to build something bigger and better and with a $100 million dollar divorce settlement she can afford it.  I can't even imagine owning a $12 million dollar house let alone demolishing it to start over.  I wear it out, use it up and often do without.  My needs are pretty basic.  Not that I don't like really nice things but I can do without them especially if I can't afford them. 


 http://207.58.151.151/forum/showthread.php?t=246440
This is a sports site that shows the pictures of before and after.  I don't know who   posted the article originally but  this has the good photos. I just don't recommend reading the comments as they are vulgar.

What do you think about all this?
Have a great day!
always, Vickie

Not Shocked...

Well here it is January 3rd and still no answer about if the bank will accept our offer.   The way I look at it is at this point if they continue to delay things, there's an awesome chance we'll end up not having to pay TWO heating bills!  Plus we'll probably have our tax return money by then, be debt free... for  who knows how long...

Well until we buy a house and/or invest in the next stage of orthodontics and dental work for the son who got his tooth knocked out in PE class with a hockey stick or whoever else is next in line there's a current jockeying of position.

If you're into contests  you can enter to win a free house at  http://www.hgtv.com/dream-home/hgtv-dream-home-2012-master-bathroom-tour/index.html. 

I used to win all kinds of stuff from a king sized mattress, books, tapes, etc..  I'd be concerned to win the above mentioned house as I'm guessing it comes with a huge tax bill and a life time of indebtedness with huge property tax bills.  I'm off to put my home in order after the Christmas break and hoping your New Year is looking as promising as ours. Blest wishes from all of us to all of you.
always,
Vickie