Category: Family

Wow, this has been a busy week. Missy and I have be kid-less all week so you’d think we would be wild’n out, but no, we have used this week to enjoy some quiet time and lazy evenings. On Monday we went out for a nice Anniversary dinner and Tuesday we started packing the basement, but mostly it has been chillin’ out before the upcoming move.

Today marks one week before closing, and everything is still on track. I submitted what I hope is the final document to the mortgage lender today, and will be making a few phone calls this morning. My company agreed to pay for movers if I would cut my time off by 3 days, so I will only have 6 days off to build the office and get moved, but it will be worth it to have others move the bulk of the household contents, including our newly found free piano!

I am off to Cleveland, OH later today for our annual company meeting. Normally I would be looking forward to this trip, the guys I work with are crazy and a lot of fun, but I really just want this trip over. We have a lot to do to get ready for next week, but I suppose making time to throw back some Buds on Packy’s dollar is not a bad idea either. I just wish my company was located in Las Vegas, Miami, New York, or someplace really cool. Cleveland is the taint of the USA, the ABC if you will, you know, the gouch. Detroit takes the cake for being the armpit.

There is definitely an air of optimism and hope around the house, and nobody is really dreading the hard work that is coming up. Just the opposite, we are all looking forward to it. Papaw (my dad) will be arriving next Thursday to help me with the basement construction, and Missy and I have already been to Menards to make the first round of purchases for the house. I suspect before my dad leaves my truck will be able to drive itself between Cross Plains and Menards 🙂

Whew! There is a huge sign of relief echoing around our household right now. We got the home appraisal back yesterday, and this time we didn’t get screwed! It came back with only $100 to spare, but that is good enough for us. Having that done is like a huge weight has been lifted off us.

Since we are pushing the dates on the contract pretty hard at this point, I called Dave Haack at Haack Homestead and scheduled the inspection for this morning. He had a cancellation so the timing worked out great. I met Dave at 8:30AM since I wanted to be there for the inspection, and also to take a few more measurements for the upcoming basement construction project.

Dave is a super nice guy and appeared to do a very thorough inspection. I debated whether or not I wanted to shell out another $355 for the inspection, but like most people, I sure am glad that I did.

Within 15 minutes he had found a substantial, but easily correctable, problem. Water had gotten under the shingles in the back of the house, over a soffit. The plywood underneath had rotted and was destroyed. Since this is over a soffit, no water got into the house and no interior damage was done. There is extra plywood and shingles in the garage, so a repair should not cost too much, just a little time. We are asking the seller to have this repair made. Her son built the house, so he will likely be the one making the fix.

The other problem Dave found was that the window frames in the basement windows had rotted to the point they are falling apart. These are near the ground and protected from sunlight by tree’s, so in all likelihood snow built up there and the moisture could not evaporate. The windows themselves are fine, just the frames need repaired or replaced. We are also asking the seller to fix this, though even this should not be an expensive repair.

Overall the house is in excellent condition. Even the air conditioner was so clean you could eat off it, no dust or anything. Dave was surprised at that, he thinks the owner must have had yearly maintenance performed on all of the mechanicals because they were so clean and well maintained.

I had found a place in the vinyl siding where there was a hole and had planned to fix it myself. I was pleased to locate several long sections of siding still in the home, so making a near perfect match will be easy. Dave even mentioned that I should take an existing piece from a not-so-visible place on the house and use it to replace the broken piece, and then put the new piece where the old one was. The older aged piece will match exactly. After he said it, it made perfect sense, but I had not thought about that before.

So, back in the basement I figured out that my original plan for my office didn’t work, the placement of the door just would not go where I planned it. That is no biggie, I already had a backup plan in mind, so will have to go with that. On the plus side, there is more already framed and insulated than I had planned, so there will be even less materials that I have to buy.

iFreedom Direct’s underwriter only came back with 2 conditions for final loan approval. The first was some document that we signed but was missing, they are getting that from our Realtor. The second is proof of funds for closing. Nobody yet knows the real final closing costs, but are hoping to be able to calculate that pretty accurately in the next day or two so that we can submit our proof of funds for closing and get this baby sealed up.

It really looks like this is going to happen! I cannot say enough nice things about our mortgage broker, Jules Stewart at iFreedom Direct. She has been absolutely wonderful to work with. She’s professional when she needs to be, and friendly and goofy at times when things get crazy. She always calls me when she says she will, and often times when she doesn’t. She responds quickly to her emails and actually answers her phone when I call her. I highly recommend anyone considering either an FHA or VA mortgage to give her a call (800.891.5785 x6624 or 801.682.9907).

She is like the Anti-Jon Barca at RLCA. As crappy as he is, she is that on the good side. Ok, bashing of RLCA, Jon Barca, and Lynette Richter is done. Poof, you are out of my life 🙂

Right now is the start of day 7 without cigarettes and “Hell Week” will be over when we wake up tomorrow. Most of the time, quitting has not been that hard, but it sure has its moments! The mornings are the toughest for me, I always want that first smoke when I wake up. Missy brought home Chipotle burritos for dinner last night, and that really triggered a craving. But we did not give in. I am feeling a WHOLE LOT better than I used to!

The home appraisal will happen tomorrow, so we are really sweating that now and hoping all goes well. We are showing our rented duplex tonight to the next possible tenant, and really need an answer on the house tomorrow. I sure hope we do not have to wait until Monday!

I completed the drawings last night for the office addition in the basement and put an estimate together for all the materials I will need to build it, less than $1,000 including hardwood floors. It looks like it will be a fun project, I sure hope I get the chance to actually build it!

I have now made it through 5 days without smoking, pretty close to a new record for me. Missy has too, other than one small slip today that doesn’t really bother me. She said it was terrible, almost made her sick, so I don’t think it will be a problem. My cravings are manageable and I have not had any real strong desire to smoke. I have had dreams about smoking for the last 2 nights, which is strange, especially since I am not smoking in the dreams, but trying to not smoke.

Delaney, Halle and I also visited the new house today. This was mostly for me to get measurements so that I can start planning the basement remodeling that will need to be done, but also because neither of the girls had seen the house. Haley went with us when we looked at it. Fortunately, both girls approved 🙂

My mortgage lender did tell me that the appraisal has been scheduled for Friday of this week. We are hoping to know that day what the dollar amount is, but fear we won’t know until Monday. This is making getting an inspection done in time quite difficult, but the biggest hurdle to get over right now is the appraisal. We are only 3 weeks from closing and are showing our duplex to a potential renter Thursday night, so we are flirting with the possibility of not having a place to live at all if we do not close on this house. Stress is building daily.

On a wonderful note: Make-A-Wish granted our nephew Devin his wish and we had a great party at their house this evening. He wanted a Nintendo entertainment center, and they delivered in a big way. They delivered a 40″ Sony Bravia LCD TV, Sony Surround Sound System, a Nintendo Wii with TONS of games, Nintendo DS Lite, 2 X Rocker video gaming chairs, and a bunch of other gifts and video game items. They also brought him clothes and Culvers catered the event with tons of chicken planks and all the side dishes, including a yummy ice cream cake!

Super-special thanks go out to Make-A-Wish Foundation, Best Buy, Circuit City, Nintendo and Culvers. Devin had a wonderful evening and will be enjoying his “rig” with the rest of his family for many years to come. If you are interested in learning more about their family, my sister-in-law Kris maintains a blog located at mama4jesus.blogspot.com.