Growing Up

With only a few weeks before we close, we find ourselves jumping through the last few hoops before we call the house ours. Homeowner's insurance is my most recent battle. How do I know what good coverage is? No one else seems to know either - every single person I've asked went with their car insurance company. I have been looking to change my car insurance, so have a world of options. While I have a few in mind, whoever calls me back first will have the best shot. With calls and emails in to a number of agents from various companies on Thursday and Friday, I'm hoping Monday will bring a few returned communications.

The best news we've had so far is that the appraisal went as we'd hoped. Our house does not appear to be in a "declining market" and our mortgage broker doesn't think there is anything to worry about. The moment I give him the name of an insurance agent, our portfolio is off to the underwriter. This is the best news we could have hoped for after all the doom and gloom about appraisals these days.

My next battle will be packing, while still trying to be a worthwhile teaching professional. We've got two weekends in between now and moving weekend. The second of those, I have an out of town commitment on Saturday afternoon and we won't return to Columbia until Sunday afternoon. With a new set of research papers to grade and classes to plan, my head reels with amount of work that needs to happen between now and then. The only things getting me by and keeping me from totally losing it are Matt's complete calm about all of this and my soon to be garden. I tend to be the worrier/planner in our relationship and he tends to get things accomplished quietly and in his own time. While I plan what nights I'll pack and give myself deadlines to take things to the Goodwill store, he just has faith that we'll get it all done in time. I know he's right, but my imagination still tends to get the best of me when I'm grading and feel like I should be packing.

In a flurry of anticipation and procrastination, plus some excitement about our new back yard, I decided we need a lawn mower before our move in date. The yard is beautiful, but we don't know how long the grass will be when we move in. It might be ready for a trim, and as of this morning, we're equipped to provide it! Sears had a sale on all lawn and garden appliances and for small chunk of change we'll be able to pick up both our line trimmer and lawn mower this afternoon. On the checklist of adult benchmarks, we're checking them off pretty rapidly these days.

No Buyer's Remorse

We close on May 14th, 2009!

Of course, this is pending home inspections, appraisals, etc. One final viewing on Monday night reminded us how good we feel about this house. Even though we knew going in that this was the house for us, we took a look at every room, closet, tile, shelf, appliance, the yard... And we want it. So we offered. They countered once, and we accepted! Seller pays closing costs, buys home warranty, leave the fridge - all under the original asking price!

Signed and done. Financing was discussed with the mortgage broker this afternoon. Now on to inspections. Termites and radon this weekend, whole house inspection on Tuesday. Fingers crossed.

Offering

We cancelled our appointment to view more houses tomorrow, because we are making an offer TODAY. We meet Jody at the house in two hours, and I just don't know how I'm going to make it through teaching my seventh hour!

What a strange emotion this is - trepidation meets total elation, meets anticipation, meets relief, meets confusion, meets pride, meets contentment. Send me "good luck" mind bullets if you think of it this afternoon. I'm going to buy a house.

Anticipation

This could really happen...With some creative borrowing and stellar timing, we have figured out our financial road blocks. With a few houses in mind and one that has been our favorite for weeks, we are ready to make an offer. In four days we will meet our realtor to view a few comparable houses before making a final decision. After emailing her to tell her the list of houses we'd like to see, I'm left wondering why we don't just make an offer on the house we like since it fits all of our criteria.