Long overdue update.

It's been a long time since i've updated, so on this snowy day I thought I would take some time to update my blog.

We've been in the house now for 2 months, oh how time flies. The first few weeks were spent hanging curtains, still not done. Getting furniture deliveries, doing a little bit of painting, hanging pictures, and getting stuff out of boxes. We also got our fence installed, so our dog has a place to run around, and do her thing. Along with the fence we got a storage shed. The shed serves two purposes. First it's a place to store lawn equipment. Second, I use it as a place for a couple of my hobbies, namely homebrewing and BBQ smoking. I haven't had the chance to brew any beer yet, but I did smoke a 9lb pork butt(pulled pork), and some chicken thighs. Having the shed also allowed me to clear out our garage to the point we can get both vehicles parked inside. Our old house only had a one car garage, and we couldn't get any cars in there. Being able to get in my truck early in the morning when it's freezing outside is awesome! Not having to clean 10-15 inches of snow off of them is equally awesome! I also installed a couple of bike racks in the garage. They hang from the ceiling, with ropes and pulleys. This really gets the bikes up out of the way. I also put in some track lighting in the garage. I don't know about everyone else's homes, but the lighting in our garage stunk. It was one light on the ceiling and  one on the garage door opener. I have wanted to be able to do some woodworking out  there and needed something to light the space.

Had our post settlement meeting also. We had a few things that needed to be addressed, namely a very loud squeak in the living room floor, and the basement stairs seemed to have a bounce in them about halfway down. These were promptly taken care of, and haven't been an issue since. No nail pops yet, but one of the corner seams is separated in the basement. Not really that bad, but something that will need to be taken care of at the 10 month.

We still have tons of things to do, but I think you get to a point where you just want to relax for a bit. Little bit at a time time now. I only have a couple of pics, but will be back soon with more. Hope everyone is doing well.

A couple of pics.

Snapped a couple of pics before heading off to work. We got our love seat this morning, so the family room looks so much better now. Need to hang some art or something, then it will look even better.

Closing plus two weeks.

It's now been two weeks since we've had our closing, and a lot has happened. I'm sure i'll forget stuff, but just wanted to post an update. As was planned, we got work on cabinet hardware and hanging curtains. Movers came on Saturday, and only mildly skanked up our walls, only marks and we're planning on painting soon anyway so I guess it doesn't matter too much. Spending our first night in the new house was a bit strange, almost like staying in a hotel. It just didn't feel like it was our home. It has gotten better in the past week or so though. We've slowly been working on things like getting the garage free of boxes, and getting things in their place. Trying to find where my wife put plates, glasses, and utensils took a couple of days, but is better now. The last of our family room furniture is scheduled to come tomorrow. After that i'll take a few pics and get them posted. We also have our fence install coming in two weeks. The company is actually busy enough to have a two week lead time. I was kind of surprised to hear that they were that busy this time of year. I'm building storage racks for the unfinished portion of the basement. I could of bought them, but just wanted to diy them. I'm gonna get the area where my shed will go prepped soon too, hopefully when it stops raining. Once that's in we should be able to get our cars back in the garage.

I now understand why so many bloggers disappear after they close. There is so much going on you feel very overloaded, and blogging is the last thing you want to do. All for now, hope to post pics soon.

Closed!!!

We had our settlement this morning at 10am.  The office is about 45 minutes from my mother in-laws, and traffic getting down there can be pretty bad sometimes, so we left early. We decided to leave around 8am, and hit one of the diners down there for breakfast. Get to the title agency, go in, sign a crap load of papers, and walked out homeowners.

I had to go to work not long after closing, so I only got to do a quick walk through. We dropped a couple of things off, and I was off to work. I've been getting updates from my wife all day. She unrolled her new area rug, which is not exactly flat right now, but i'm sure it will be after a while. She also picked up her drawer and cabinet pulls, and when I leave work i'm going to head over and start installing them. Curtain rods were supposed to be delivered today, so that might be a project for us in the morning while we wait for Guardian and bedroom furniture delivery. Movers are scheduled for Saturday, and when I get a chance i'll update with pics.

One more week!

Closing is scheduled for next Wednesday at 10am. It feels like we have so much still to do. I spoke to our mortgage processor last week, and she mentioned an inquiry letter that we would have to go over. She also mentioned that our info would be going to the closing department, and we would be hearing from them as well. It's now one week from closing and we haven't heard a thing from either of them. The last thing I want is for something to delay our closing. I did send an email this morning, and will give it until this afternoon for a response before I call. One other thing, I wasn't able to get the day off from work, so i'll be going to closing and then to work, kinda sucks, but I need the job to pay for the house.

Moving on. I talked with the gas and electric company, and set up our account. Guardian will be coming the morning after closing to set up the alarm system, and bedroom furniture will be delivered sometime that day. The movers are set for Saturday the 22nd. Hoping for good weather that day, at least no rain, looks like it will be a bit cold.  I've started thinking about everything we'll be doing once we close. It feels a bit overwhelming if I think about all of it at once, but i've tried making a mental list of how i'm going to approach it.

While we've been waiting to go to settlement, and even over the summer, my wife has been trying to find a new sofa and love seat. We spent several weekends going to every furniture store around. Carolyn finally decided on a set a couple of weeks ago. She then started looking for curtains and area rugs, and yesterday made her choices. I'll post the pics of the sofa and love seat, but don't have pictures of the curtains. Once they're hung, i'll post some pics.

Pre-settlement done...

And the wait begins.

Had our pre-settlement meeting this morning. We showed up, and our PM greeted us at the door, with his dirty boots sitting on the front porch. I thought that was nice of him, not tracking in a bunch of dirt. We walked through each room, checking the condition of everything, and learning what switch operates what. Overall we were very impressed with the way everything turned out. There were a few minor issues that our PM assured us he would take care of. It was so great to actually walk through the house and see everything.

Now for some pics.

Start with the house on the outside. If you see the foundation below the siding on the garage. You can see the seams from the foundation pour. Our PM said he would get the guys to parge that so it looks nicer.

Family room, looking into the kitchen and morning room.

Kitchen, only got the laminate countertops for now, maybe granite later.

Morning room. Love all the light.

Family room, from the kitchen.

Family room, looking out towards the living room, and the stairs.

Front door, and foyer. Should of probably put this in earlier.

The loft, and wifey's future office.

Hallway leading to the master bedroom.

Master bedroom.

Part of the master bathroom. Need a wider lens to get the whole thing.

Walk in closet. I really like how they staggered shelves. You can actually get more clothes in there this way. We had planned on taking this stuff out, but might hold off on that for a while.

Finally one of the finished basement.

Pre-settlement on Monday!

We were originally scheduled for our pre-settlement meeting today, but they weren't quite ready for us. We still ride over nearly everyday just to peek inside and see what we can see. Last week we noticed they removed all of the protective covering from the flooring. It was awesome to see the wood and carpet! I took a couple of pictures through the windows. They also replaced the two broken windows, and fixed the sliding glass door.  I can't wait to get inside the house and look around, but i'll also be looking for every little imperfection. We've already written some things down that we could see through the windows. If they aren't fixed when we walk through, they will be before we settle, but that's not for almost a month anyway.

Will update Monday evening after the walk through.

The grass is starting to come in too. This will be much better than having a bunch of dirt and mud for our dog to go outside.

Getting closer.

Being locked out of the house really sucks. On the plus side to that, it means we're getting so much closer to the end. Our update from our PM last week was pretty short and simple. Gas meter was scheduled to go in, which it has, also interior work would continue. He also mentioned the top coat on our driveway would be completed, and that too is now complete. We had to take a ride by last night to peek through the windows and see what else we could see. The garage door opener was installed, railings stained, and appliances are in too. Unfortunately the workers didn't leave any lights on so we couldn't get a good look, or pictures. Next week is supposed to be our pre-settlement walk through, but we haven't gotten the word from our PM that it will actually happen. Stay tuned.

In other news, my wife and I are starting to do a little shopping for some stuff for the new house. I don't know about any of you, but I really hate furniture shopping. It's especially worse when you know you're not going to buy anything that day. Sales people can really be a nuisance. You tell them you're just there to look and get ideas, but they will stalk you as you walk around the store. The only place we didn't feel this was Macy's. We did find a nice little place out in Lancaster County PA, that had all Amish built furniture. Carolyn found a bedroom set she really liked, and I found some barstools that I really liked too. I might try and make the barstools myself, but copy the design.

We still have to pick out a washer and dryer. I've seen a few that other bloggers have purchased, and might be leaning towards a couple of LG models. We also have to get an estimate on a fence so our dog can roam free again, as well as make a final decision on how big of a shed i'll need. I'll need enough room for lawn equipment, my bbq smoker, and all my home brewing stuff. I've looked a couple of times and think i'm getting a 12'x14' shed. I just don't want to take up too much of the backyard, so I don't want to go too big. We'll see.

That's all for now, when I hear from our PM about pre-settlement, i'll update. Enjoy your weekend everyone.

Landscaping.

I had to go to Texas for work, so I haven't been by the house since Saturday. I got home yesterday, so the wife and I had to take a ride by so I could see the progress. While I was away she kept me updated, but it's not the same, as i'm sure many of you know. In my absence, the carpet was installed, as well as the countertops. Yesterday we pulled up to the house and saw that our landscaping was done too. They put several small plants in the front, and also on the side of the house. We drove around the neighborhood, and pulled up the side street towards the back of the house, and saw two trees had been planted in our side yard. We got out to take a closer look, but couldn't figure out what kind they were. A couple of the plants out front had tags on them so we could see what they were. Several white azaleas, and a few others we weren't sure of. It looked great, and can't wait to see it next spring, when they flower.

As far as the inside stuff, I was only able to look through a couple of windows, because the place was locked. From what I could see the carpet looked good, but i'm not sure I really like the countertops. We just got the laminate thinking we would swap out for granite or quartz after we moved in, so I guess it's not too big a deal. I don't know maybe i'll like them better when I can see them without having to peek through a window. That's all for now. Here are a couple of pics of the outside.

A few new pics, and a tentative closing date.

Went by the house this evening and took a couple of new pictures. Yesterday we found out that the hay and grass seed had been sprayed, and they put our mailbox out front. They also installed our outdoor light fixtures and outlets.

Today when I went by I noticed the A/C unit was in, and could see our ceiling fan in the family room. There were workers doing there thing so I just looked from the street. Another cool thing I noticed was that there are now stop signs and street signs in the neighborhood.

We also got word that our settlement date is tentatively scheduled for November 19th. Not really sure why it's not until late November, when our PM has us scheduled for pre-settlement walk through on October 23rd. I guess the house will sit there done for almost a month. Maybe settlement will get moved up, but i'm not getting my hopes up. Knowing the house will be finished is going to be torture.

As promised here are some new pics.

Update.

Went over to the model today and our SR was able to hook us up with a walk through of our house. A lot of work has been done in the last week. Paint, at least one coat is completed, as well as most of the trim work. Cabinets are installed, although one of them has a broken door. While we were walking through we also notice a lot of the recessed lights were in, and a few of the other lights. All the railings were in, not stained yet, and as I walked into the upstairs bathroom I was shocked to see the vanity mirror and lights were all in. The master bathroom also had the vanity and mirror installed. The tile was installed in both bathrooms as well.

Overall everything looked pretty good. There are a few minor things that will need to be addressed. It was so awesome to walk through the house, we've only been able to look through the windows lately. Walking through the future yard was cool also. I've already been looking at riding mowers as well as a new snowblower. There's going to be way too much snow to shovel being on a corner lot.


Here's some of the pics I took.