Quick Update (ie.I'm Too Tired to Write a Real Entry)

So inspections have gone well with the house. I am beginning to wonder, however, if there is life after buying a house? Do homes really become this all consuming? Does this get better or worse after the ink dries on the dotted line?

Really if you have some input, it would be most welcome. I'm a bit battle weary!

Looking forward to other subjects for entries ahead,
Megan

Let the Exorcism Begin

The Power of Clorox Compels You!!

Okay the bad news first, there is mold in the house. However, there is great news. The mold was found only in one place- the basement. Specifically, on a couple of wood timbers that makes the ceiling of the basement and the base of the above level's floor. The mold levels are well within the 'threshold' and thus, can be easily removed without much fuss. (hey I made a rhyme!)

So yay!! Mold in one spot, a spot that was tested at the last minute 'just in case'. The rest of the house checked out. We're getting estimations on the mold exorcism, but, everything else is go. Inspections are being scheduled and I am praying to all who can help that they'll be as smooth as this! Also, hoping we can wrap all this stuff up and close in the next couple of weeks. Beyond happy and relieved that we are over this big hurdle.

Pictures

As the camera is out for the count right now, and the owner was on top of taking the house off of the websites, I had to do some serious digging to find pictures of the place we could one day call home as long as the inspections go well of course.

Here's the house. If this link doesn't work let me know and I'll do what I can to get some photos. Mind you we're probably going to expand the half-bath downstairs, remodel the upstairs bathroom, open the kitchen up, and make the sunroom the breakfast nook. Not that we've thought much about this! lol

Hope you all like it!

House Buying Post Number...Wait I've Lost Count!

Seriously, buying a house in one heck of an intricate dance- and I'm not much of a dancer! I'll attempt to look pretty in a leotard, but, that's about it. Anywho, the bid that Jon made on the house was accepted first go around as is. I discovered that 'as-is' means everything, the price, the conditions, that we put on the bid were accepted, period, end of sentence.

Are you kidding me?!

Today we did the mold test- gee wonder why that was on the inspection to-do list first! The results will be in Monday. Which is nice, we won't have to wait too long to know if we can continue or jump ship. If all checks out then the other hurdles shouldn't be so bad. Of course that's in theory. The saga continues and btw I am SOOOOOO ready for this to be over with!

Yes Another "Stay Tuned" Entry

Seriously, do you ever tire of these, "wait and see" posts? You don't?! Excellent.

So I as I said we planned on bidding adieu to the house, and we did. Monday the contract was canceled. It was a major bummer and we really didn't want to, but, it was neccessary as our time frame is just too limited to wait and see what'll happen.

Today we put a bid on another house. Yes I realize it has only been roughly 36 hours since we said, 'buh bye' to the other house. I swear it's not like we were ready to jump to bidding on another house so quickly! It just so happened that Sunday Jon's sister saw a house, in a historic district, that had been recently reduced as it had been on the market since June. We did the look through Sunday night, Monday his father and sister came over, and yesterday his uncle (an architect) looked through it. That's right folks, to buy a house with Jon's family there is a three visit minimum requirement.

The verdict? Everyone loves it. The only catch is that it needs updating- like kitchen, bathrooms, knock out a wall here and there sorta way. That said, however, it is in great condition especially considering it is 84 years old! Jon is actually gun-ho, getting out of his long 'funk', and wants to go for it. Holy crap! I've been sick and wasn't quite prepared for a renovation house, but, I've warmed up to it and if we did do it- boy howdy would we get some money back.

The contract was sent in this morning... and now we wait- again! Stay tuned!

It's So Hard to Say Goodbye...

No worries, I'm not going anywhere (or maybe that's what you're hoping for? lol). Anyways, we are going to, 99% probability here, bid adieu to the house. The owner has not contacted us and unless she calls out of the blue with a very sweet deal we'll have to back out and we have to do that by Friday to be free and clear or the realestate gods will get angry. Well, actually the state laws of Oklahoma, but, those can be the same right?

Goodbye little bungalow on 18th Street in Tulsa. Hopefully, you'll have the right owners soon. And please God let us find a better house, with better potential, and most importantly that's not mold infested.

Post Script

Adding to the craptacular fun of this past week with the house, I'm now running a fever, feeling horrid, and thus having to decline tickets to the U2 concert tonight in Norman.

Anything else God?

Three's

Bad things come in threes- or at least so they say.

Inspections had been going well. Of course, there was this and that, things that needed to be taken care of. However, all was looking well. The bank paperwork is nearly complete and Jon's father was actually excited about the whole situation(which if you knew him you'd be surprised at that adjective too).

Then- WHAMO! The fan in the h-vac unit goes out. Being that it's a 30 some-odd year old unit it has been an ordeal as to what to do. If that's not stressful enough we then get a call from the man who did the ambient mold test. Apparently, the results are shocking. We don't know the exact measurements though and we don't know where the mold is. All we do know is that the preverbial ball is now in the home owners court. She must decide whether to do her own test, which it would be wise to do what's called a destructive test which is when they take samples out of the walls, floors, etc to determine what is mold infested where. If we were to back out she would have no choice but to disclose the 'mold history' before anyone made a bid.

So now we wait. The scarlett M is on the house. Now we haven't folded yet. If the mold is in the air ducts and wallpaper in the bathroom (which you can tell there's some on there) then that's easily fixable and as long as it is documented it won't be an issue for future sale. We all are hoping and praying it's the airducts! The h-vac unit is old and this woman hasn't been actually living in her space for awhile. The next 'scratch your head' thought is the fact that during attic and crawl space inspections no one saw any indicators of bad leaks, mold, severe rot, and so on. Lastly, no one who's allergic to mold had any problem when walking through the house!

Ugh, ugh, ugh!!

Oh and what's the third thing? Minor in comparison, but, the nice digital-slr camera that Jon lets me hog fell over. Nothing seemed wrong until I tried to take pictures. Seems the lense is 'off' and since I know nothing about nice camera equipment I don't know what the problem is. It can take pictures, but, the fine focus just doesn't focus that well.

So crap on a stick, deep fried in sewage. It's been a crummy week.

A Letter to Sleep

Dear Sleep,
I know we've had our ups and downs over the years. Sometimes I haven't appreciated you as much as I should have. Or, sometimes I have taken you for granted. Thus, I understand why you haven't been around much lately- I would be that way too. As of right now I make this pledge in hopes that you will know how much I need you. I promise to be better to you this time around as two weeks without you around has shown me how much better my life is with you. My head is clear, my problems do not feel as overwhelming, and teaching children hours a day is less of a practice in trying not to bite their heads off. I miss liking my job, being able to think clearly, and drive without the fear that my lack of focus will get me into a wreck.

As you see Sleep, I have been doing a lot of thinking these past few days. And, I want you back desperately. I hope this little message will resonate with you and you will embrace me once again tonight. I miss you oh so much.

Love,
Megan

PS- If I keep going without you I will probably go postal. Just something to keep in mind as I don't think you would want that on your conscience. ;-)

The Hangover*

Home sweet home!

*aka Why I haven't been able to blog the past few days

What a ride.

Ever since Jon's deal was accepted on the house we've kept saying to ourselves, 'Is this really about to end?' When we began to look at houses for Jon we knew it would be a bumpy road- but, we were in NO way prepared for the big growing pain it would become!

Allow me back up a bit. Jon's father told Jon that he would help out with the downpayment. Suffice it to say it was a generous offer and of course who would want to say no to a little extra help?! But, boy that little extra help proved to be a bit of a problem!! Jon wanted to live in a particular area of Tulsa, known as Midtown. His father was a little reluctant as he didn't think any home that wasn't the super nice old ones in that area are worth much. Jon figured he could just use his usual power of persuasion and work his father into the idea of a midtown house.

He was wrong... oh so very wrong.

Months dragged on. Jon became more disconnected and well downright depressed. Communication with his father was nill and no house shown by Jon to his father satisfied him. Little did we know his father believed that a house in Jenks would be worth more in the next few years as that area is 'in development'. Finally the situation came to a head. I was furious, frustrated, and upset that Jon wouldn't stick up to his father leading me to be uncertain about our future.

Fortunatly Jon and I worked through our rough patch. Then as soon as we began to settle things Jon's father hit a breaking point and issued an ultimatum to Jon, a house in Jenks or no gift. Suffice it to say I was amazed when Jon stood his ground- the first time he really had to do so to his father! At the same time, I was so proud, worried about what this would mean in terms of getting a house, but, somehow by Jon taking that step I knew things were going to work out.

And they did!

Jon's father backed off and relented. We began looking at houses with a realtor who was a friend of Jon's family as opposed to looking online, arranging a time to see things, all on our own. In about two weeks we walked into the house. It was serendipty from the start.

The neighborhood was one of the original neighborhoods we were looking at. The owner was a former co-worker of Jon's. So far so good. Then the concern came up that Jon's father would take forever to look at the house because he had just undergone galbladder removal surgery. However, Jon's father asked his son-in-law and brother to look at the house. After getting postive reviews he said, 'Okay let's go for it!'

The bargaining phase as I said was intense. Jon had to do more standing his ground, but, it turned out to be so good for him. His father actually respected his position and thanks to Jon's cunning and a lot growing up he's done over the past months he was able to take control over the situation and get the deal accepted. Now we wait to make sure the house is okay after inspections- but, major victories have been won and no matter what happens I am so very proud of Jon and us for taking some hits, learning from them, and growing up.

Now you have an idea as to why I'm so drained!

Good News!!

I can tell you!! This is the good news!!!!!

Jon's offer was accepted today. It was a tough bargaining phase which was why I was so hesitant to say anything earlier- we weren't sure if it was going to happen. Now we can move on to the inspections and all of that. If all goes well, closing will be November 12th and Jon's moving in right after that. Like seriously... probably an hour after papers are signed. lol

I will go into the details of this long, long journey later. For now, however, take a look at the link and let me know what you think. :-)

PS- good job to Sarah for guessing correctly!

I promise

As soon, seriously, as soon as this situation has some degree of resolution I will let you know. Right now we are in the middle not sure which path we're about to go down and I just don't want to say much until things are clear. I know the suspense is killing me too! ;-)

I do appreciate you patience and keep your fingers crossed for some good news.

Big News on the Horizon...

Or at least I hope so! I'm not going to say much as I don't want to jinx anything. Buuuut, the crappy start to October for me has been balanced out with some big, positive, developments in the past three days; which is why I haven't been around. I will only say it involves Jon, the situation needs a bit more time to come together, and no there is no ring involved. ;-)

I will let your imagination run wild. Hopefully I can update you all soon with good news!

My Start to October

Today is the day October begins as well as the office hours at my studio. So, to get things started on the right foot I wake-up late. Okay, no biggie, I'll just get there 15 mins late- max. It's not as if I have a boss waiting for me to come. Alrighty, so, get pets food and get me coffee- oh yes, and food too. Next step is to wash hair, pick out an outfit, let the dogs out for one last romp. Wait, better check on the puppies as it's too quiet in the yard.

Go out into the yard and realize the wind blew the gate wide open and the dogs are nowhere in sight. Start panicking, run into the front yard in bathrobe with wet hair and begin calling for dogs while workmen across the street look at you in confusion. No dogs? Okay now start freaking out. Frantically run back into the house, grab cell, dog treats, and keys. Run out of the house (still in the bathrobe), get in car, call boyfriend for back-up, begin driving around the block and the next street over.

Still no dogs- okay now for the meltdown. Drive back towards the house and- SWEET RELIEF!! There they are!!!!! The workmen across the street try to corale the escape artists up. Throw your car into park before it comes to a full stop (I'm sure the transmission LOVED that!) get the treats and tempt one dog to you. Louie gets captured, but, the spritely 8 pound dachsund seems to be having fun playing hard to get.

Okay- so now, let cute workman in your neighbor's yard hold the big dog while attempting to catch Oscar. Insert two other workman, a neighbor running after his dog, to the chaos. Catch neighbors dog, but, not your roomie's dog. Give dog to neighbor, continue playing cat and mouse with the I-swear-he's-on-speed dog. Finally run him over to a fence where another dog is barking, lunge after him, thank God you have some shorts on under the robe, get both dogs, profusely thank workmen, go inside, call boyfriend to tell him things are alright, rush to get ready, and throw dogs in the cages.

I got to the studio and began office hours 35 mins late. All things considered not too shabby.

At least the dogs, and the workmen, had a fun start to October. How did yours go?

Edited to add-

This is how I ended my first day of October

Giving my poor cat Mina a bath after she got a fly trap strip (you know the sticky ones) stuck all over her body. Today wasn't a great day- but, I think Mina had it far worse.