House

Rob and I have a home!

It's taken me only over a month to share, not because I didn't want to but because I have been so busy lately! I am actually writing this as I sit on the 10th floor of my hotel in downtown San Diego where I am staying for a 3-day work conference.  Well, here is our house! Work in progress, but we love it and are already enjoying calling it home!

Updates!

Home:

I have really tried containing excitement for this house thing - and I am happy to report we are further along then we have ever been. Fingers are crossed and lots of prayers that we get this one. In trying to contain my excitement I took up a good deal that ShutterFly had and bought return address labels with the new address. Granted there is a possibility (small I suppose) that we don't get the house, but if so I will be out a couple bucks and I am OK with that. So inspection went well - didn't really tell us anything we didn't already know... We did some work to make some stuff pass code for the appraisal(replace a few rotted boards, add a handrail for the basement)... and then we had the appraisal and it appraised for the list price so that's good. And now our file has been passed on to the loan underwriter. And now we wait! As of August 20, they were processing files from July 16, so needless to say the government is a bit behind and that is what we are waiting on. Then we will pick a closing date and be moving! Couldn't come at a better time since rent is going up October 1 by $30!! Hello lower house payment!!

Other stuff:

My cousin and now 'cousin-in-law' are married!! Yay! She was an absolutely stunning bride and it was such a fun night!! Here are a few photos!

Sloooowwwllly... moving forward :)

After a near stress attack yesterday... I know my mom was getting a lot of concern from her friends because of my vague facebook post... *sorry*

I'm happy to report that we have our house inspection tomorrow at 9am. We also were able to "barter" with the previous buyers - we won't have to have a well/septic inspection as we got a deal and bought theirs! Win-Win!

I am not posting photos until the house is ours... but I think we may actually get further with this one. That is the hope and end goal anyways....

Until next time.

Oh man...

I keep being reminded by my sister-in-law, Katie, of how terrible I am at keeping everyone updated on our busy lives... so here goes nothing, almost 2 months (or longer) since I last gave an update... and unfortunately, I do not have much to report this time either  some good news, well exciting/nerve-racking etc... (catch all that strike-out font... this was going to be a boring start, but since I started it a LOT has happened actually - read on!)

Rob and I might be once again (third time is the charm?) - homeowners! It's all happened so fast, but we got a call from the new realtor we are working with about a house we had been interested in and had never gotten the chance to see it. First time around it had a few offers on it so we didn't look at it. We were working with a different realtor at that time... well it was still showing up in my search on realtor.com so I asked our new realtor about it and she said she would look into it... well good thing she did because last wednesday she called and said that the buyer had walked and we could look at it Thursday evening! So Thursday evening came, we saw the house, we wrote an offer... Jump to weekend, we verbally accepted the seller's counter-offer last night (Sunday) and tonight we go and sign paperwork and then hopefully have inspections lined up! I honestly don't want to jinx us because I think this house is perfect for our first home. It's not on a lake, but has lake access (about a mile from Lake Victoria in Laingsburg)... has a lot of unique characteristics to it as is and has lots of room for updates to improve and make a sell down the road profitable. I know that Rob and I have been to this point before and were quite disappointed/frustrated/discouraged when things didn't work out ---- but move up and forward right? And remain optimistic too! So that's the news. Nothing official, but here's to hoping :)

BzzAgent - Green Giant Veggie Snacks

Did you know I was a BzzAgent.... well, I am...

And lately I have been really enjoying these chips from Green Giant. They come in a few different flavors, are healthy and yummy! They are also available at Kroger stores! You should go try them!!

Let's call this one 'Busy, Pre-occupied and Don't Have Time'

That title sounds reasonable.

I really do want to get back to blogging. Honestly. But managing three blogs, keeping up with things at work, home and trying to move up with my photography business - its a lot. And its kicking my butt...!!

In short, I don't know about Rob, but I feel like I'm just trying to survive. End of the day I am exhausted and right now I am over my head in projects. I have a few photo shoots coming up and almost finished with wedding invitations for my cousin and then I get to jump into wedding invitations for my BFF...

Yikes.

So our vacation was AMAZING!! Thank you Heather and Steve, Maya and Puma for making our trip an exceptional one. One we want to repeat again. Like now! LOL.

Vacation Time

Today I write this as we are waiting in the airport waiting to board our plane to Florida! Yea for a hot, stress-free, fun week! So happy to be leaving for a much needed break!

Below are a few photos: luggage, my painted piggies in new sandals, the hubby, and current temperature of our destination! Buh-bye snow and cold!

Another update...

Well the past few weeks have been cray cray to say the least...

In short (because I don't want to deal with the length of the previous post)...

Our vehicle (the older of the 2, the Alero) starting acting up. We got wind that it was a head gasket which was not thrilling at all while waiting on the house situation, since head gaskets are not cheap...

Meanwhile we find out that a) our loan couldn't go through on the house with it being on the flood plain, AFTER we did the inspection they informed us we could do (VERY FRUSTRATED - money we will not get back and didn't have to spend!!)  and that b) we will not be able to afford repairs on a house and a car IF in fact it would be as big as an expense as they predicted....

So we signed paperwork to back out of the house last week (bummer). Now the car is in the shop getting looked at and I just got word that it is a best case scenario - only the intake valve! Yay! Can I get a big Phhheeewww!

So relieved. So what now? Rob and I continue on our budget (or try to), vacation next week (hence the trying the budget) and keep our eyes on the market for a different house that possibly needs a little less work. Please keep us in your thoughts :)

Happy Easter!

It's been nice to relax this weekend! Last night we hung out at my sister and nephew's place for our Easter gathering! We enjoyed a yummy dinner of ham, 7-layer salad, biscuits, and sweet potato casserole (that I made). A little offended Rob didn't try it, but oh well. Sis and I gad a relaxing time and we watched a cute movie, "What's Your Number?" (I think it's what it's called, or similar). Super cute definitely one I would buy! Rob and Kor got to bond over Xbox games!

Today Rob and I got up and went to Easter service. We came over to his dads afterwards for a yummy brunch! Katie and Asher are in town so it's been nice to see them! Lunch was yummy and we ate too much for sure! It really has been a great weekend with family. Here's a cute bonding photo of "Knuckle Rob", niece Emma and nephew, Asher! I hope every one had a blessed Easter!

Updates and updates...

Part I - pre-inspection...

Well, as of today we have made it further in the housing market than we have in quite some time...Read my lengthy, very lengthy update below to jump to the point at which we stand today.

By the time you are reading this, Rob and I will have been dressed like the kids from Christmas Story out at the house scraping trim off of the outside windows and attempting to re-paint them. Yes this is amusing, because a) it likely wont adhere and b) it will probably glob up and freeze, but if it gets us pass the mortgage company assessment - woohoo thats the goal!

So how did we get this far...

Long story short, but we'll start from the beginning...

In October 2012 we put an offer in on a HUD home in Bath. That offer was the second or later and we didn't get the house.

December 2012 - we put an offer in on a house in Dewitt (we call this house the Jason house). At this point, while awaiting to see if we were approved - lots of prayers, thoughts and well wishes were being sent our way and I am pretty sure everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, thought this house was a "for sure" thing. We had 'banked' on getting this house. Remember the saying - don't put your eggs all in one basket? Yes, *pointing to myself* <-- guilty as charged! That is exactly what Rob and I did. After 4-5 weeks of long, LONG waiting (or so it felt), we got the bad news that the other offer was accepted instead of ours. Big B.U.M.M.E.R.

Jump forward to March and not seeing a lot of houses, and still being upset, frustrated and saddened by not getting the Jason house... we start hearing rumors of that house coming back on the market (Wahoo right?)...well just as we are putting in an offer on a house in Saint Johns... KID YOU NOT, literally Rob is submitting our final and best offer on the house in Saint Johns (March 1) we are hit with knowing Jason house is back on the market. SIGH... what to do... what to do?

Well we do what any crazy person would do, submit the offer on the house in Saint Johns and re-submit the offer for Jason house (with updated dates - nothing more, quick and easy right?!)... Nerve-racking to say the least having two offers out there... I think in our minds we knew the house in Saint Johns was a no go. It was a too good of a deal, at a great price and with the high taxes we simply couldn't bid high enough. We found out the following Monday (3/4) that the house ended in a bidding war in which it sold for about $25,000 more than what we offered. So a bit of relief, but still stress in our minds with the Jason house. You see, we I thought it was a sign that maybe this house was "meant to be"" since the previous offer fell through. So why did it fall through with the previous buyers? - because a year and a half to two years ago the flood plain lines were re-drawn by FEMA. Nice widened lines and now the house is in the floodplain. How they figure that, we will never know, but at first glance we were questioning be able to afford the house with flood insurance. Our first quote on flood insurance was going to max out our budget after adding it in to our pre-existing budget...

... well super long story made longer... in the past week, we have gotten new estimates based on our loan amount (and not replacement cost) and I know we can afford it. Our offer for Jason Rd was signed wednesday March 6 after the seller said they would not sell to anyone else (Thank you so much!!). The seller came into the realtor's office the following day, accepted our offer with official signature to which we had already signed the documents claiming that we acknowledged her acceptance of our offer (confused yet?!), and Friday, March 8 our offer was sent to the bank. The following Thursday brings us (basically) up to speed at where we stand now. We were given notification that we could start housing inspections! Can we say "Yay!", "Holy Crap!" etc etc?! Talk about nerve-racking! The biggest concern is that at this point since our offer hasn't been officially accepted, we will lose out on the money from the inspection. Our take is that we are going to get the house and we won't be out the money (normally inspections are done AFTER your offer is accepted so that you have a reason to back out if you so choose..), but the thought sticks in the back of our mind. Our house inspection is today at 3pm. But because our loan is unconventional the lender will be doing an assessment of the house so we need to pretty it up some - paint the trim. And we are doing that today... and its below freezing out. Yes, good luck with that one.

Part II - post-inspection and painting...

Well post inspection, I'm lying on the couch with very little of a voice and a very sore throat! I just finished looking over our official inspection report. The house needs some work.

While at the house we were not able to paint (darn, sooooo disappointing) but we added some sauffit and replaced some trim on a window. It was so cold and with being sick I felt pretty useless. I think my job was more or less to supervise, give opinion or for moral support. At the end I was just downright cold, so I sat in the truck. Did I mention it was 23 degrees out? Sounds like there's potential to go back and paint, when its warmer... So maybe next week! A lot of scraping and painting...

I'm exhausted and I've reported most everything so I'm off to sleep. Here's a few photos...

Not much to report!

I'm keeping this short, but am including photos...

Rob and I are still on the house hunting after a second house we put an offer in on was shot down. We were bummed but are moving on...

So what photos do I have. New Hobby!
Crocheting!