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.

Coffee Cup Dreams

The manager at Kaldi’s is married.  He’s attractive enough, but that’s not why I scoped out his left hand.  The thing is, times are tough.  I’m sure he’s a hard worker as he seems to be here every time I pass through – always friendly, ever-helpful.  And I’m certain I’m a hard worker because so much of my time is spent preparing for, doing, or thinking about my role as a teacher. 

I want to know how much money he makes, if he has a financial planner or a family budget plan.  Is he a student as well as a barista manager? He can’t be more than 30 years old.  Does he have children, a wealthy benefactor, a fancy sports car payment, a gambling problem? I speculate about him and what kind of home he lives in, what he does on the weekends, if his wife is the primary breadwinner and whether he grapples with the choice to either buy the single cup of coffee or splurge for the bottomless mug. 

This morning I found out from Chris, our mortgage broker, that we’re back to square one.   Matt and I find ourselves in a strange pocket of the housing market - wanting to own a home and start investing in our future, but without a down payment.  We are in our mid or late twenties, we are educated with Masters degrees, and we both work much more than just 40 hours a week.  We also have large student loan payments and rent that continues to rise.  Do we have the incredibly bad luck of picking careers that are not going to provide, or are we in the same boat as everyone else?  Can the man who manages my coffee and cream make a large down payment when I cannot? 

While I drink the coffee he poured for me, I search the internet for loopholes in the policies of lenders and federal loan programs.  All of this makes me feel foolish.  I do not want to have to look for loopholes.  I want to be able to do this on my own, without assistance from family or the federal government.  That small bit of pride I have is only compounded by an overwhelming desire to call a little piece of the world mine. 

I want to mow grass.  I want to pay homeowner’s insurance.  I welcome leaky faucets!  I want to paint walls.  Linen closets.  To have my own linen closet would mean the world to me.  I will have a vegetable garden in the back yard and in front, I will grow a flowerbed with daffodils and petunias and bougainvillea every spring!  I WILL have these things, but maybe not for a very long time. 

After reworking my budget, I see only a few small places to cut  - two-dollar mugs of organic coffee at Kaldi’s for instance.   While I am more than willing to do this, I see it will take a very long time to save our 3.5%.   A little depressed, I wonder if Brent, the coffee expert has bougainvillea in his front yard.