That's right, we're buying a house. I've kept it semi-quiet from the likes of Facebook for the past few months, more out of superstition than anything else. I worry that if I share exciting news too early, something is going to happen to derail it. Even now, the night before closing I am having a hard time coming to terms with sharing this with all of you before I'm actually holding the keys to the house.
We started looking for a house pretty casually a few months ago. One night I searched a bit online, just to see what was out there. Tom caught me Zillow-ing and got pretty interested himself. And the rest, as they say...
Has been a crazy mess! We are so excited about this cute little cottage of ours (I think it's cottage-like), however we have been going crazy the past two and a half months with the whole process. My original intent was to vent all over this blog post about every single bump and hiccup in this process (and there were a lot!), to outline the nightmare that is proving your money is your money and endless inspections and phone calls and faxes and banks...
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| Allen, our helpful home inspector from Helpful Home Inspectors! He was incredibly helpful. |
But, no. Rest assured, Tom and I encountered just as many problems as ever when we deal with beauracracies. It was tedious and annoying and boring and not as entertaining when I try to explain it.
Instead, I will tell you about tomorrow. Tomorrow we are going to sign more papers and call more people to set up more accounts and appointments. We are going to hand over a ton of money to people we don't know and drive to Jersey for the privilege to do so. We are going to have a long, hectic, inconvenient day.
And then we are going to own a house. A whole house.
I'm trying to imagine how it will feel. I imagine pretty much the same as now except with more freedom. And yet... more responsibility. Funny how that happens.
The back of my mind is filling up with more lists. The lists of stuff I want to do (start a compost pile, DIY yoga studio) and the stuff I have to do (call PECO, ground the electrical outlets) and the stuff I've barely even thought of yet but will probably realize more once we're in the house (blinds... there are no blinds there!).
The past two months has felt crazy with all the running around we've been doing to get this house-buying thing lined up. Are we about to realize that that time was actually the calm before the storm? That we will be wishing we could go back to the days of just endless paper work rather than the endless lists of maintenance and improvements?
Nah, paperwork always sucks the worst.
Tomorrow we buy a house. Not just the house, but the land it sit on. Six thousand square feet of our town, of our state, of our COUNTRY will belong to us. If we wanted to, we could secede. Probably.
I'm nervous that we forgot to do something. I'm nervous that we are going to move into this little house and it's going to turn into The Money Pit. I'm nervous that we are so busy that we are never going to unpack or paint or plant a garden... I'm nervous that this is a big decision and what if it's not the right one?
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| Best laid plants... |
Well, I've never been one to shy away from bad decisions, so I guess we will just roll with it. If you or a friend enjoys painting, packing, moving or electrical work, send them our way. For now I'm going to try and relax for my last night as a carefree renter.
Tomorrow's To-do List:
- wire transfer more money than I can actually believe belongs to us (momentarily)
- deal with the seven stages of grief related to parting with said money
- call PECO
- call Verizon
- call the realtor
- call the settlement company
- call the whole thing off
- call it back on
- drive to Jersey
- sign a million pieces of paper
- worry that we should have gotten a lawyer
- sign a million more pieces of paper
- worry that my signature is SO illegible the papers will be deemed inadmissable in court and we don't actually own the house
- own a house
- go sit in empty house just because we can
- talk about how crazy it is that we own a house
- start the new house to-do list
- sleep
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