The End

So we signed all the papers and our end is done. We just have to wait for the buyers to walk through the house and sign and then everything will be final. It's so stressful! It's 100x more stressful than I thought it would be. There were so many papers to be signed, and even though I was listening carefully to what they were saying, and looking them over as best I could, who knows if I really understood everything that I was signing. Much of it was similar to the papers I signed to buy the house, and that document I'd read thoroughly several times back in January, but still. Those things are never worded simply. And now I am regretting not taking longer to go over the papers with Eduardo. It's both of our house, and I was so caught up in trying to make sure I understood that I wasn't even thinking about whether or not he did. And I feel like he didn't get to take the time he might have wanted to look everything over before signing it all away.
*(Later on that evening) I was really pissed at myself for not thinking about that. It was so unnerving though to have all the months of hard work come down to that moment, and then to have it over and done so quickly. The whole thing took about 25 minutes. That's it. Afterward Eduardo seemed down, but he had to go to work, and I was so freaked out and out of sorts that I didn't want to go back to the apartment to sit and wait to go back to the real estate office to pick up the check after they were done with the walk through. So I went to Barnes and Noble to distract myself but it didn't work. Between the stress of signing papers, and feeling bad that I didn't give Eduardo more of a chance to look things over, I was almost in tears! And then we couldn't even talk about it because he had to go to work!
The agent called me back around 12:30 and I had the chance to meet the buyers. They were our age with two kids, and seemed really cool. For some reason that made me feel better. They also said it was OK if Eduardo brought his brother by to see the house next week when he is in town. I was really glad to be able to tell Eduardo that. So after chatting with them for a few minutes the title company lady gave me a packet with all the signed documents, and a check for the sale price minus the commission and taxes and I went back to the apartment to wait for Eduardo before taking it to the bank. After all that we have been through since last...October when we decided to move, I felt like we both needed to take that check to the bank. It represented months of hard work and tough decisions, and it was also the finish line, the pot of gold at the end of a long, sometimes stressful rainbow, that we decided we were going to be brave enough to pursue. So together we went to the bank and deposited the check. Not only had we restored Miss Meadowlawn to her former (or never before) glory, but we accomplished our goal, and flipped our first house!
*(Several days later) Then we went out for a celebration dinner and Eduardo got pneumonia.

THE END

Saying Goodbye

Last selfie in Miss Meadowlawn :(

I don't know if it's my hormones or what but I have had a HELL of a day! I am so emotionally exhausted I can barely think. Last night we got the last of the stuff out of the house. When we were leaving Eduardo said "goodbye house" and as I got in my car I burst into tears and cried all the  way back to the apartment! What the hell? Still I woke up this morning feeling pretty good. I slept OK, and dreamed that Kurt Warner made me a turkey sandwich. Then I had coffee in my new owl mug, and admired my fall tree, and looked around our new apartment, and thought about how exciting today was going to be.
Then Eduardo got up and we went back to the house to rake at least the leaves off the driveway (because they are out of control now and EVERYWHERE!) We did that, then took one last walk around the house, and again I felt like crying. I don't know why. I'm not really sad, but I guess I think Eduardo might be and just the thought of that is making me feel extra emotional about the whole thing. He worked so hard, and put so much energy and effort and love into that house that I can't imagine how he feels now that it's time to let it go. And then I got to thinking about all the memories we made there, in that short amount of time! Peeing on a stick in the upstairs bathroom is when I found out I'm going to be a mom. Eduardo spent the first months knowing he is going to be a father there. I used a snow blower and mowed a lawn for the first time, and we had so many learning experiences and fun times with Dad doing the remodel. The more I thought about it the more bummed out I felt. I swear by 10:00 this morning my nerves were SHOT. And we still had to go to the closing!

Last walk through and look around.

The final goodbye and the last look back.

Moving Out

It's hard to believe, but we are in the process of moving...again. This will be our third time this year. Dad is helping move the big stuff, and then when the guys are at work, I plan to take everything else over to the apartment in light and tiny increments. There is so much to do in so little time! And it's hard to go from something as beautiful (and huge) as Meadowlawn into a tiny, dumpy apartment...But it's all part of the plan. Hopefully it will all feel worth it when we get that check at closing! In the mean time though, it's back to work! 

Back on Track

Finally the sale is pending!

Everything worked out with the appraiser and his ridiculous demands, and we are back on track. But now everything has suddenly been shifted into high gear. We were so unsure about whether everything was going to go through that we didn't pack anything up (in case we had to put the house back on the market) but then all of the sudden, today, our agent says that we are scheduled to close next Thursday at 11:00! And just like that we need to have everything boxed up and out of the house in less than a week! Luckily we didn't unpack much, but there is still a lot of furniture (that I can't help move now!), and boxes and the whole garage! We are going to borrow a POD from Dad I think, and we also need to find somewhere to live! I was hoping to move into the downstairs of the coffee hosue, but after talking to dad that isn't going to work, so now I think we are going to try to rent one of the small one bedroom apartments just around the corner. So much to do! So little time!

The Appraiser

The dangerous crack.

 This whole selling process is going much slower than I thought it would. We didn't hear back about the inspection forever, and then the same thing happened with the appraiser. And he came back to our agent saying that the comps he had were too low, so our agent found a couple more that were higher (thankfully!) and so the appraiser OK'd it for $500 over what we were asking. But then a couple days ago we got a call from our agent saying that the appraiser told the mortgage company that there was a crack in the driveway that was a hazard (to women in high-heeled shoes apparently) and that it needed to be repaired before the loan could be approved! I was like WTF? Seriously? First of all he wasn't even the inspector. And then of all things to complain about it was the 1/8" crack in the driveway that was going to hold everything up?  Anyway Eduardo fixed it the other morning, and I sent pictures to our agent who sent them to the appraiser. Then yesterday the guy came back and said we needed to get rid of the uneven cement blocks on the side parking area, because they too are a hazard. I was really upset when I got that news. It's so annoying that the whole thing is being held up by stupid little things, and that I can't even do them while Eduardo is at work because I can't lift or do anything anymore! Anyway, Eduardo moved the blocks when he got home and I got gravel and filled them in. Hopefully this is good enough to close! How annoying though!

Our second emergency repair

The Last BBQ

We know we are coming to the end of our stay here. We aren't exactly sure how long it will last, but we decided to BBQ one more time in the back yard, and really enjoy the beautiful fall day we had last Sunday. It was a great afternoon. Just me, Eduardo and our little Tadpole incubating in my stomach:)

Making Memories

Opening Day of 2014 NFL Season!

Football toothpicks? Check!

Cheese hat? Check!

Eduardo's Happy Football Season Present!

Ahhh...Bathtime!

Someone didn't want to get up. But I made the bed anyway.

Eduardo's Birthday!

Eduardo's present from Tadpole!

Nap time!

Who Done It?

The people who are trying to buy the house wanted to have an inspection. So the guy came out today to do it. We were just leaving when he arrived with all his ladders and stuff and we passed our agent on the street about to pull into the driveway. He was going to be there while the inspector did his thing along with the buyers.
We ran some errands and when we were on our way back from having to pay the taxes on the house our agent texted us saying he couldn't get the garage door to close. So we went right home. And the power was out in the garage. After flipping the breaker a bunch of times it randomly went back on. Our agent had already left and we were on our way out to lunch. So I hit the button to close the door and when it got about 3/4 of the way down it made a terrible noise and stopped moving! Eduardo said he noticed that the door looked a little weird, or bent, when we got back and were standing in the garage talking to our agent. I don't know why he didn't mention it then, but he didn't. Anyway, on closer inspection, we realized that the door was bent, and that somehow, it had happened while we were gone. We called our real estate agent and he said the inspector tested the door and held it open as it was coming down, but that it worked fine afterward, and he'd even signed off on it. So we don't know what the hell happened, but the frame, and the actual door itself is bent now and doesn't close!
Eduardo is PISSED! Oh my god, he is really upset. I am too, but not as much as he is. But I don't fault him for being angry. Someone is clearly lying to us because there is no way that happened and no one noticed.
Anyway, our agent called the inspection company and the owner came out and looked at it, and long story short they are paying to have someone come out tomorrow and fix it. So I am OK with it. But Eduardo is still pretty steamed.

Update: They fixed the door. You can see where the vertical metal beam was bent, right where the arm attaches to the door. So they bent the door back, then reinforced it with two new horizontal metal bars, and it works like new again!

Handy Man

Eduardo has taken full advantage of the garage. He is out there all the time working on stuff. He made a light for the grill using one of the old outside lights from the front of the house, and we got a couple of workbenches on Craigslist, and he has been coming up with all kinds of projects to do while we wait for the house to sell. He made my fall tree for me! Something I have been wanting to do for YEARS! And he made an awesome coffee table out of an old window and some leftover pieces of trim. I painted the glass, but otherwise it was all him!
Just seeing him out there makes me love the garage, even if I'm not the one using it except to park my car! Of course it's great for that too, when it's raining or whatever I can go into the house with all my bags and not get wet. But I get the feeling we are both going to miss the garage space when we have to pack everything up and move.But at least we are enjoying it now right?!?

Sold? or Sold!

We have already started looking at houses again. We have had a lot of interest in Meadowlawn and the offer we got for $130K we have countered at $134K. We are waiting to hear back. We had another offer for $115, and one for $120 but those were so low that we didn't even bother counter offering. It's hard to not feel offended when someone offers such a low price. I know it's only business, but it's like how it was when the agents came through and priced the house low. I kind of take it personally somehow a little. I feel like they are trying to take advantage of me or think I'm stupid or something. It's weird. But then I think to myself, well, our first offer on this house was pretty low too. Granted it was a forclosure, so maybe the bank doesn't feel too attached to the houses it's trying to sell. Anyway, we are waiting to hear what they have to say.
*So it's a little later and I guess if the house appraises OK then we have sold it!!! When it's all said and done we will walk away with $132.5K, which is less than we were hoping, but still better than what most of the agents predicted. We just have a few things we need to take care of (like have the furnace guy come, and we've decided to hire an electrician to figure out our wonky light situation) before the appraiser comes through. Hopefully it appraises at the price we need it to. I don't know what we'll do if it doesn't. I guess we just have to wait and see.

Showing Off

We have already had several showings of the house. Our first was only 4 days after we listed. Our agent said they all have nice things to say, but we haven't gotten any useful feedback yet. Of course they think the house is nice, but what about the price? Do they want to make an offer? That's what we want to know!!!
Eduardo has really taken over the cleaning since I am still not much help. He's mopped the tile floors (all 600 sq ft) several times now, and even got a specific kind of mop that he likes to use to do it. And of course we dust, and vacuum, and make sure everything is put away. We make sure the lawn is mowed and looks nice, and the front walkway is swept. We spray air freshener and turn on all the lights, even the ones out on the shed, so people know there is power out there. It takes anywhere from one to three hours to get the house ready to show, and we have not turned down a showing yet, so we have been busy. It's not easy living in a house staged to sell. But at the same time, it's really nice to be somewhere that is so clean and beautiful too,
And it really is a beautiful house. Even we are impressed when we are done and take a look around. It could easily be in any home decor magazine.
Our agent has brought one couple back to look at the house for a second time and he says that he thinks they are going to make an offer on the house. Not too shabby for only a couple weeks on the market!

Road to Perfection

Eduardo is still at it. He manages to find something to work on everyday, and whoever buys this house has no idea how lucky they are that they are buying it from him. Every detail, every piece of trim, and every bit of work that could be done to make this house perfect Eduardo has found and finished. He even power washed the driveway! And he made a great entrance to the crawl space that looks so inviting I almost wanted to try it out!

Decisions

We have decided to go with the second agent, and list the house at $139K for two weeks and if we don't get any bites we'll drop the price to $134k, and be willing to take $130K if it comes to that. It's really hard to make these decisions. And we are limited by those stupid comps. I really did not realize how important they were, and how much they could impact the sale price of the house. Basically it doesn't matter how wonderful the inside of the house is, or what the upgrades are, if there aren't other houses close by that have sold for the amount you are asking, then the mortgage companies will not approve a loan. Period. It's one of the difficulties of having the best house on the street. And it's the reason experts always caution about over-doing the finishes and putting too many upgrades in certain houses. So we will see how it goes I guess.

Listing

We are ready to list the house.  We went to look at a house that we thought was similar to ours the other day and the only thing that other place had over us (in our opinion) was a better curb appeal. So we went and got some landscaping logs and more mulch and cleaned up the front walkway a little more. Then we did a thorough cleaning of the house, top to bottom, with everything perfectly in place and staged, and all the lights on. The house was immaculate. We had talked about it and we were hoping to list the house for $140K. We thought with all our improvements it was worth that.
We had three agents come through and give us their opinions today. When they asked us what we wanted to get for it we skirted the issue to see what number they came up with. We also wanted to get a feel for each of them, since we'd be working with them to get the house sold. The first guy was an older man, and while he was impressed with the work we'd done he priced the house between 100-120K which was MUCH lower than we were hoping. I won't lie, it was pretty discouraging.  And it was hard not to take personally, even though I knew I shouldn't. He kept saying it was because there were no comps that could be comparable to our house. We didn't really realize that would matter, but apparently it does for anyone who'd be needing to qualify for a mortgage when buying the house. The second guy that came was younger, our age, and said that he'd brought a sheet with comp,s but after seeing the house they were way too low. So he said he wanted to go back to his office, and try to find some houses more comparable to ours. But his ballpark was $129K. That was better, but still lower. The last guy came in and took all of five minutes to give us the same $129K number. He seemed to know his stuff, but he was so...nonchalant and casual, I just didn't get a great vibe from him. So that's where we are at the moment.

Before and After Part 6: The Laundry

The laundry room was a disaster like the rest of the house. We did the usual, paint, floors, trim, new doors. But perhaps the biggest impact was the really nice washer and dryer set that Eduardo bought. We had some problems with the washer (we failed to remove the shipping bolts from the underside before trying to run the washer which resulted in the machine bouncing and jumping around so much it dented both walls, and made a sound like the whole house was going to come down!) at first, but now both machines run great. We were able to reuse two of the old kitchen cabinets to create some storage at no extra cost to finish out the room.

Before and After Part 5: The Master Suite

I wasn't impressed with this room initially. I didn't like the deck, I wasn't a fan of the sloped ceiling, and I thought how much time does anyone really spend in their bedroom anyway? But I have since changed my mind. This room was my biggest "surprise" in terms exceeding my expectations.
Pretty much everyone but me thought it needed a walk-in closet. I dragged my feet, but they won and so we moved the living room wall out about three feet to add to the existing two foot deep closet. As with every room everything was painted, we put in a new ceiling fan, new window and sliding door. Eduardo spent a cold, drizzly day outside power washing the deck. We put in all new doors, and new carpet as well. The space is so big that we have plenty of room for our bed, plus I was able to set up a cozy reading corner and still have room in the middle to roll out a yoga mat.
The master bath was small and pink. Well actually I think "mauve" might have been what it was called originally. Whatever it was in 1989, it is hideous now. The guys pulled everything out. We trashed the toilet, sink and fiberglass shower stall. I was able to save the vanity and painted it white. I painted the room in a relaxing shade of grayish-lavender, the guys tiled the floor and laid the most beautiful shower I think I've ever seen. It looks like it belongs in a fancy New York apartment or something. We got a new toilet, sink, and hardware, and we scored a great deal on the perfect shower door to complete the package. It might be small, but it is bright and cheerful and SO luxurious!
The whole combination of bedroom/private deck/closet and attached bath make the space feel like a high-end hotel suite. It's such a surprise to me how much I enjoy spending time in there (especially since I've become pregnant). I feel like I'm on vacation!