The realtor called today - the deal's going through!!!
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I am now a homeowner. Well, condo owner. Well, I will be officially on November 24th - closing day. Meanwhile, though...I've already begun making to-do lists, wish lists, all kinds of lists. It's an adorable detached condo-cottage thingamajig with an upstairs and a front porch. And I get a yard with a big tree...and I don't have to do the yardwork. Woo!!!
Thursday Thirteen #168: Thirteen things to set up before the move
- Get moving boxes. I have about 9. I'll need about 60 or 70...so it looks like I'll be spending some time on Craigslist.
- Schedule the cable folks to come hook up the cable. I also want to have them put a cable outlet in the upstairs office, for my internet connection.
- Schedule carpet cleaners. I may as well have the carpets cleaned before I move all my stuff in...and since the current owners are selling it at rock-bottom price, they won't be cleaning the carpets on their way out the door.
- Schedule the movers. I had previously gotten several moving quotes because I'd made an offer on another condo (older construction, that deal ultimately fell through - the home inspection found water leakage) so I know which moving company I'm going to use, and how much it will cost. Now I just have to see if they'll have schedule time for a crosstown move the Monday of Thanksgiving week!
- Get my cable/internet/phone bundled services scheduled to make the move over to the new place.
- Put in my notice for this place. I have until November 10 to let them know I'll be out by December 1. I'm in a lease that extends through April, so if no one wants to rent this place until then, I'll be stuck paying the rent AND my new mortgage. This complex is so insanely popular, though, that even in November/December, there should be someone who wants to rent here and who's willing to disrupt their holiday schedule to move into a cottage apartment.
- Pack (obviously). The trick here will be to avoid packing so early that in my last week here, I'll be looking for books, clothes, and other items that had been tidily packed up three weeks previously. (I tend to be awfully proactive...)
- Get a new post office box. The new place is 100 blocks north of this place; and while I could keep the same post office box, I'd rather get one that's a little bit closer to me. Heck, I'm going to be in this place for quite a while - so I know I won't be getting *another* post office box in a year or so.
- Update my driver's license. It's almost time for yearly tag renewal - I may as well combine the errands!
- Update my voter registration. I'll be in the same county; and I've already voted for this election (hurrah, early voting!!!)
- Figure out what furniture will go in which rooms. I'm moving from a 2BR to a 3BR, so now I have the luxury of a formal library. (How endlessly cool is that?!??) I also haven't quite figured out where to put the cat tower. It's currently in a corner in the living room, and the cats really can't use the lower legs for stretching properly.
- Make my other lists: home improvements, long-range projects I want to tackle, and dream-upgrades (like a high-capacity stacking washer and dryer)
Other T13 blogs
- A Gentleman's Domain with 13 American remakes of British TV series
- Popin's Lair with books on her to-read list
- Joy of Desserts going all pear-shaped
- Alice's Restaurant with horrifying memories
- Journeywoman with reasons why she's voting for Obama in the upcoming US presidential election
- Writer's Cramps with examples of types of blogs
- Ruth, The Mom with reasons why she's ditching her van
- Confessions of an Unorganized Momma with a baker's dozen of items from her ever-growing to-do list
- Write from Karen with ways to stay healthy now that cold and flu season is upon us
- The Bumbles with ways music has shaped their family
- Where the Road Takes Us with thirteen knitting projects she's completed
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When we bought our house we went from 4 bedrooms to a 2+1 and I lost my library. Now it’s a library/office combo and spending weeks digging through the piles of books to determine what was heading out to the donor bin and what would be staying in my library was difficult. Looks like we might have to do another cull soon as my books are continuing to pile up. Evil school related books that I’ll likely need for a few more years are taking up precious sci fi/fantasy space on my bookshelves!
Good luck with the move! Every time I move I swear I will never move again!
She: Ah, bah…books are good things, but they do have this nasty tendency to multiply (a lot a lot.) I’m really lucking out with this place!! I was looking for a 2BR - bedroom, and home office. I found this place just as they reduced it, and got my offer in before the other deluge (except for the one contingent offer) and I’m thrilled!!
Nicholas: I’ve been mobile for quite some time, renting. I made the decision to finally look into buying this past summer, when I’d been living in Seattle for six months and knew that, yep, this is where I could live for the next few decades. I had originally been thinking about saving up for the downpayment for another year…but this opportunity came along at the right time!!
Congratulations and best of luck with the whole escrow process. It’s so wonderful that you’ll have your own library! Happy Thursday!
I scheduled all kinds of things ahead of time, then a couple of appointments fell through and I ended up with no phone, or internet! for days on end. Ugh.
Mazel tov on the new home. May it always be filled with happieness.
2 things to make the move a little easier.
1) When packing, get ribbon or streamer from a craft shop and separate different colors for different rooms. If a box has a yellow streamer taped to it, it goes in the kitchen, if a box has a green streamer next to it, it goes in the bedroom etc. Put First To Open boxes with a color too.
2) When moving in, go to the groceries and get the following
a loaf of bread—so your home never knows hunger
Honey/Sugar—so you bring your sweetness into the new home
salt—so life has flavor—and since the salt is in the home—tears will stay out!
a bottle of wine—to celebrate!
Good luck
Joy: Thanks!! Everything’s gone pretty smoothly during this whole process - comparatively. The first condo I offered on had a not-so-great inspection. For this condo, I made an offer on a contingent property - another person had extended an offer to buy, contingent on them selling their current place. The sellers could have turned me down…but I just had to make the offer. And I got it!! (I just had to wait a nailbiting week for the other person to try and sell their place…)
Alice: I’m really, really hoping that doesn’t happen! It probably will, though. The Moving Pixies always take their tribute in some fashion: lost checkbook, broken candles, jammed fingers and toes, what have you. They will not be denied.
Journeywoman: I’ve done a LOT of moving (including three moves up the west coast of the US), so I’ve almost got this down to a science. :D I use labels, with CG art on them, instead of the ribbon…but I do tag the boxes according to what room they go into. I also pack two “open first” boxes: one with the books I’m reading, laptop, hone, meds, purse/wallet/keys, toothbrush, and coffeemaker; the other with my tools, electrical cords and plugs, cleaning supplies, first aid kit, and Aleve :D Thank you for the good wishes!! I hadn’t ever done that move-in ritual before, with the food. I think I’ll add that…especially since I’m now a homeowner and I won’t be moving for quite a while (hopefully)!!
Well you sound extremely organized - not a novice mover at all. So all that I can say is how nice it is when you move into your new home and the former owners have left behind a gift for you. When we left the closing from our first home purchase and drove straight to our new house, in the fridge we found a bottle of champagne and a card from the prior owners wishing us joy and happiness. I thought that was the sweetest thing!
moving ugh. I don’t envy you, but it looks like you have it under control.
Bumbles - I don’t know if the previous owners will leave a gift, because one of the reasons they’re selling is divorce. But they haven’t owned the condo for long, and none of the walls are painted really scary colors (like a few of the places I looked at). And while they don’t have any pets, there are cats all over the place in that house: a cat figure on the porch, a cat clock, cats embroidered on their towels, cats on their fridge magnets…I that this as a good sign :D
Judi - yes, moving is its own special hassle. I’ve done it often enough, though, to have a good idea of what to expect - plus this time I anticipate being in this place for minimum five years, possibly 15 or 20. Or possibly longer. I already know that it will go up in value when the economy recovers, because it’s being sold below market value; but its biggest benefits are 1) in a state and environment that I love; 2) walking distance to a mini strip mall, so I can hit a drugstore and a Fred Meyer without having to drive; 3) separate rooms for my bedroom, my home office, and the living common areas; and 4) a porch and a yard. (And I don’t have to do the yardwork!!!)