Merry Maids have nothing on us!

After over a year of waiting for my own home, I finally got my keys to the lovely house on Orchid at 6:00pm Friday!  Given how late everything went through, we weren't able to start tearing into the house as much as we wanted to.  I was able to show my mom the house, and we exterminated the property.

Yesterday was the first real day of terror.  We spent over 10 hours cleaning and disinfecting this house, because it was absolutely filthy.  The master bathroom took almost 3 hours in and of itself, and we still have to finish taping the baseboards to paint!  After all day, we only got through both bathrooms and the master bedroom!  The bright side is Cox came and installed the cable and internet, and he even put an extra cable outlet in my living room for me for free; this is awesome because now I can rearrange a few different ways.  Even better, ADT screwed up my install date and came yesterday, so I was able to kill two birds with one stone!

Today will be the remaining cleaning and taping, and we have a full day ahead of us.  I'm very much crossing my fingers that we can begin painting first thing in the morning tomorrow, but it will be a close call.

DAY TWENTY-SEVEN: a picture of yourself and a family member...

I have the coolest little brothers in the world

Hours...

I am officially less than 24 hours away from getting my keys and walking into MY house!!!  I drove out to Los Angeles today to sign all my loan documents, and after 157 pages and 3 hand cramps later, all is said and done. They took my money gladly, and now all we have to do is wait for the sale to be recorded and I get my lovely house on Orchid!

DAY TWENTY-SIX: a picture of something that means a lot to you...

My Family + Barkley, Mia, Kobe & Jackson

13 days!!!

holy moly, 13 days from closing... i still have so much to get done!
*call the alarm company
*call cox cable
*have utilities switched to my name
*schedule carpet cleaners
*have brandon look at my AC unit and fix my pool equipment
*sign the final paperwork
*make the down payment
*buy cleaning supplies
*buy paint
*have appliances delivered
and that is just the beginning...

DAY THIRTEEN: a picture of your favorite band or artist...

John Mayer...hello!

DAY FOURTEEN: a picture of someone you couldn't imagine your life without...

Drew Snider, my life would be so boring without him =) 

second time around...

So I met with my wonderful friend Tom tonight to sign my loan paperwork (again!) for my lovely little house on Orchid at my favorite little sports bar--Zipps.  I signed all of the remaining real estate paperwork yesterday, and scheduled my home inspection for Valentine's Day!!!

When reviewing the SPDS report--which is basically a full disclosure from the seller about the property--I was very pleased at what I found.  First and foremost, no reported scorpions! Now, this doesn't mean I don't have them, but at least they haven't made their way inside the house or have been seen!  Also, I found out why the carpet was in such good shape...a flood!  Apparently, the fridge broke back in late 2009 and flooded the entire house; therefore, all the carpet and tile were replaced, plus drywall repair!  Very nice for me...

it's finally here...

After exactly 2 months from submitting the offer on Orchid, we have FULL APPROVAL!  I have been waiting for this day for 11 months, and it is finally here!  Our official COE (close of escrow, i'm so fancy with the acronyms haha) is March 11!  I am overjoyed I can close on this house a full week earlier than expected!  Once I know more details I will post again, but that's all I have for now!

I hope I win in Vegas...

a new shed of light...

And with a new month comes new hopes!  I found out today, a new closing date for my lovely house on Orchid.    I also found out what the hold-up is on this whole long mess!  Luckily for me, I have some very committed and persistent sellers; they have offered extra money to the bank and mortgage company to ensure that the sale goes through and offer an extra incentive to move forward... this is definitely a rare and unselfish occurrence in this market!

The "plan" thus far is to have a full approval from the bank and a release from the mortgage insurance company by the end of the week, or at the latest, early next week with a closing date of March 18! My guess is it's going to be more like the 25th or later...but I hope I am wrong!

Thank God this is taking place after Vegas and not before... stay tuned!

slowly but surely...

Mortgage Insurance company got the paperwork yesterday...waiting for an answer from them before the full contract!  Please Lord let me get into this house before my birthday...

here we go again...

So today, we FINALLY got some news on Orchid.  The offer was submitted December 6 (I believe) and B of A decided not to suck so much and got back to us within a month even with the holidays falling right in the middle.  So, here's the story: while we do not have a "fully executed contract" yet, we were told today that the contract is accepted in full, with the exception of the home warranty; basically, the bank accepted the offer of $107,000 (which just blows my mind) and agreed to pay all closing costs, but not warranties on the appliances...  

As of today, we are looking at a closing date of February 11, or a few days later depending on final negotiations.  Apparently, the bank is wanting cash contribution from the seller, so hopefully that goes smoothly...

While I am over the moon about the news, I still am not believing the closing date of the 11th, and frankly, I won't believe anything until inspection clears and we open escrow...  stay tuned!

baby steps

So not a lot to report on the house front; well, nothing major at least!  We got the signed purchase contract for Orchid from the sellers on 12/8, and then yesterday we heard that Bank of America ordered a BPO (broker's pricing opinion) on the property to determine its current market value and that they will be moving forward with the process!

Fingers crossed we get a counter before Christmas!

this just blows my mind...

As you may know, on Thursday of this past week Jim, the garmin, and myself set out on our fourth bonding experience of this past 9 months.  Basically, I could have had a child in the time it has taken Jim and I to find me a house...which I find oddly creepy and sad.  Either way, we sped through the East Valley, and Jim got very acquainted with Gilbert and the 202.  We saw 8 houses in a matter of 2.5 hours, and the day was quite a blur!

With Wanda being so unpredictable, it was time to find a true front runner that would make me feel awesome about cheating on her and not make my bank account wince.  We found that exact thing in a house on Orchid Lane (nice ring to it, right?).  Orchid was an identical floor plan to Kent, except flipped and it was on the cheaper side of the subdivision in terms of HOA fees since there was not access to a community pool.  This was all fine and dandy for me, since Orchid Lane had a pool, and Pebbletec at that!  

The main advantage of Orchid was the price (only $2,000 more than Wanda!) and the fact that it needed zero repairs or updates.  Orchid had beautiful, over-sized tile and upgraded shag carpeting that was in great shape; a kitchen island with wrap-around counters; a separate shower and tub in the master bathroom with double sinks; and an actual laundry room.  I had more storage and more kitchen, but I gave up a walk-in closet in the master and some living room space; but I did gain a pool and a newer house (built in 2002!).  The even better part about this house was we could close in about 50 days!  They had a contact fall through on 11/10, so basically someone had already done the leg-work for me, and I reaped the benefits.

Here are some pictures of Orchid from the listing:

view from the front door

view from the edge of the kitchen

kitchen

dining room view

this color is even more hideous in person, and it will be changed

back patio, you can semi-see the pool

Now, I know that every time I write something on this blog, the next day it changes, but that is part of the fun I guess =).  Our paperwork is still in on Wanda, and we are in a first come, first serve situation with 2 houses now...which is kind of exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time.  However, we do have a tentative closing date of January 25 and we are AWC-I with our contract right now, which means the seller has accepted it, and now the bank has to as well; Jim says we will know by Friday where we stand...

Fingers crossed...