Saturday, July 18

Wow!  How things change.  While we were out today, we got a message from Kathi about a place I'd looked at before.  The previous offer fell through and we have first dibs.  We'll take a look at it tomorrow and decide if we want to offer.  Kathryn is initially reluctant.  Her thought is that we really loved the place on Bush Street, and it's hard to "settle" for Todd.  However, I don't think we'll find another "Bush St." in our price range.

Sunday, July 19

Wrote the offer.  Went with a straight offer at their asking price.  They countered with "As Is, except the Roof, Termites, and Chimney"  I was reluctant, but Kath and I agreed.  We are officially in escrow...

Now we have a calendar of events:

          7/27    Chimney work begins

7/28    Termite work begins

          7/29    Roof work begins. (Fortunately, we got to pick the shingles)
          8/19    Closing.
          8/20-21 Cleaning
          8/22    Moving Day   (guest appearances from Steve, Brian, Pete, Greg, and others.)

Tuesday, July 21

The thrill is gone.  Mike did a very thorough inspection for us.  I spent almost four hours with him, walking around the house and picking out every flaw.  There wasn't anything that was a real stopper, but buying certainly isn't the romantic affair it was.  (It's kind of like learning that your first true love isn't a virgin.)  She has some flaws, but we'll still take her.  Among the new goodies we found:

• sink in laundry leaks
• hot water heater has about 1 year left, max
• dishwasher doubles as floor cleaner- by dumping all water on the tile

The good side is that he doesn't think the crack by the bedroom window is fatal.  Other than that, it's mostly small items we can do ouselves over some period of time.  Kind of what you'd expect from a 40+ year old house.

Thursday, July 23

The house is bagged and gassed for termites.  Next entry on Saturday.

Monday, July 27

No sign of the mason today.  No sign of a permit, either.

Tuesday, July 28

I called the city planner's office this morning.  They confirmed that there have been no permits issued for the place.  They will issue a stop-work order in case the masons show up.

Wednesday, July 29

The masons apparently arrived and started work after finally getting a city permit.  I'm not sure if they were trying to do it without the permit or if I was just ahead of them at he city office.  Anyway, the city was very helpful and assured me that we are protected.

Gere Masonry did a complete teardown today, so the chimney is gone down to the shoulder.  They'll start laying brick tomorrow.

Apparently the second termite inspection we ordered was completed.  We thought we were getting "small holes drilled" into the stucco.  Instead they seem to have taken a sledge hammer to the walls every 16 inches.  Ouch!!!

Thursday, July 30

Went over to the house this morning and met the seller there (by chance).  She was wondering about the stucco too.  I explained that if there is section 1 damage, she'll have to fix it.  Otherwise, Kath and I have to do it.  Later in the afternoon we got confirmation from Kathi that the secondary inspection did turn up Section 1 items.  This means that the seller has to fix the termite damage plus they have to pay for the inspection ($400) and pay to repair the stucco.  Very cool, and a smart investment.  Even if we hadn't turned up any additional items to repair, it would be nice to know that we didn't have subterranian termites when we first move in.

Went over and met with the mason again tonight.  Seems like a nice enough guy, but didn't do a great job on the top of the chimney.  There is a "cap" on top of the chimney that is not much more than 1 1/2 " of mortar, slathered across the 4" expanse on each side of the flu.  As you can imagine, mortar doesn't dry evenly in this heat, so it has all cracked.  I'll make a note to go back and call the mason to have this fixed.

Roof tear-off completed today.  The roof is currently nothing more than rafters over our attic.  I did take advantage of the easy access to the roof to clean out some extra insulation around the soffets.  This should improve ventilation in the attic and help keep the house cooler in the summer.  (This was one of the items Mike pointed out in the inspection.)

Friday, July 31

Roofers have delivered the materials and applied the plywood.  This will need to be signed off before they can shingle.  I talked to the roofers about putting in those circulating fans on stacks.  Instead we decided to install a thermostatically controlled fan in the attic.  I'll need to run the wiring once we're in, but that's easy.  With the upgraded shingles we ordered, our roofing excess will be about $635.  Could be worse...

Monday, August 3

No signoff from the inspector yet.  Then agian, it was hot as hell today and I sure wouldn't want to be up on a roof!  The good news is that, even though it was 113 degrees outside today, the inside of the house was only about 80, which is a heck of a lot better than our current digs.  (Sorry, Pete!)

Tuesday, August 4

 I talked to the masons today.  They agreed that the chimney needs to be taken care of, and said they would send someone out prior to the close of escrow.  I'll have to check up on that in a few days.

The roofing guys were out today, too.  I don't envy them in this heat.  They installed the shingles and it is now awaiting final inspection from the city.  I hope that they are planning to haul away the pile of trash in the driveway.  I'll try to leave work early enough today that I can inspect the roof in the daylight.  I guess it's time to buy a real (extension) ladder, too.

Thursday, August 6

All of the roof work has been completed.  I walked around up on the roof and they seem to have done a reasonable job.  The good thing is that they hauled away the pile of trash.  The only remaining issues will be to clean out the gutters (choked with sawdust) and the attic (full of sawdust and old shingles- thanks, guys.)  Also, they didn't install the attic vent fan they promised.  No big deal, and I can do it myself- it's just one more thing to add to the list.  I promised Kath I'd vaccum the sawdust out of the attic before we start cleaning the inside of the house.

The other big news of the day is that the place across the street from us is on the market.  Should be interesting to watch, since it is in much nicer shape.  We'll probably sneak by this weekend to get a look at the inside for remodel ideas.

Friday, August 14

I have never signed so many papers in my life.  We signed all the loan docs today.  The current drama is that Kathryn still doesn't have a 1996 W2 from Andersen Consulting.  The say they mailed it on 4 Aug, but I don't believe them.  Kath and I chatted this morning.  She called and they faxed a page with all the numbers from her W2, layed out correctly, but just not printed on the W2 form.  We gave that to the closing people today and are hoping that is enough.

If things go according to schedule, the loan will be funded Tuesday and the documents will be filed Wednesday mornign.  We should have access by mid-day Wednesday.

The place across the street hasn't sold yet.  I think the stock market gyrations this week haven't helped any.

Monday, August 17

No W2 yet...

Tuesday, August 18

Still no W2.  If I hadn't quit Andersen 2 years ago, I would now.   Pretty damn scary that these f*cking  idiots can't even mail a form.  Kath called long ago and confirmed the address, requested that a backup be sent, etc.  They seem to have decided that they don't give a damn about it.

I talked to the finance folks today.  The lender didn't finance.  They were apparently thinking that they didn't have a W2, or a 1040, or something.  I had Kath re-fax her 1996 1040.  Cynthia said she'd get the financing there first thing so that the title could be filed in the afternoon and we'd still get it at 5pm tomorrow.
 

Wednesday, August 19   1:00pm
Closing Day (target)

I just talked to the title company.  They are not going to file today.  I followed up with the lender to see what the story is.  The bank didn't come trhough, they tried their best, but essetially we are screwed.  No house tonight.  I'm sure that real estate agents and finance people see this all the time and it's no big deal to them, but it matters a lot to me.  It's our first home.  I have been looking forward to this for a long time.  I've even arranged to be off today, tomorrow, and Friday.  We're pushed back, though, and there is nothing we can do.  It's like moving Christmas to the 26th of December.  Sure, you eventually celebrate, but the 25th seems like a miserable day.  Re-target for tomorrow...

Biggest real impact is that I have a long list of items I wanted to get done before we move in, like replacing the laundry sink, cleaning the attic, etc.  Some of those items are going to be harder now because they will have to wait until after we get settled.  Shit.
 

Monday, August 24

Wo-hoo!!!  We're finally in.  Friday we spent the day clenaing.  Special thanks to Mom and Adah, who both came over and helped to clean the place till it shined.  Saturday we had the whole crew assembled at Chaquita by 9:15.  We were a moving machine!  Kath behaved herself, and didn't move any boxes at all.  Of course, with five guys all vying for the heavy stuff, she was pretty well out-gunned.  All the boxes were in and we had lunch on our own dining room table at 1pm.  More details will follow, but we're happily unpacking now.

Next up:  The project list...  :-)