The Dog Problem

Do you remember this dog? She was my foster dog a year ago and ate my floor, recliner, rug, dog beds, you name it, she ate it. I wish I had green apple spray back then. It might have helped but then again, I would have had to mop the floor with it.

She (thankfully) went to a new foster home and then got adopted but a couple of months ago she got returned to the foster home. Now they don't know what to do with her because she still has many annoying habits including chewing inappropriate things, barking, aggressive play that turns in to fighting with other dogs, digging, and jumping on people. I feel partly responsible for her since I was the one who rescued her from death at the urging of the person in charge of the rescue group.

She would be a good dog for an energetic person who likes to run and could drain all of her energy everyday and be consistent with obedience training. We haven't been able to find that person yet. I thought up an idea yesterday to help get her adopted. We could get a dog cart and teach her to pull it then get it on video. Who wouldn't want to adopt a fun dog who can pull a cart? Dog carts cost $400 online but I was thinking that I could get one of those garden carts from Home Depot for $100 and then hook up 2 lengths of PVC pipe to link the cart with the dog harness. I have a dog harness already and I have a Halti collar too so she wouldn't take off running (hopefully).

I think it is a brilliant idea. Now I just need $100. My first impulse is to run out and buy it but with my house closing coming up I really should wait. I suppose buying a dog cart isn't the highest thing on my priority list (but it would be fun!). I'd better wait until next month and see if I have any money left over.

Another Week Closer

How did it get to be Sunday already? Only 2 1/2 weeks until I get my new house and then the real craziness begins. I've been going to adoption events every Saturday trying to get my dogs adopted before I move but it has been pretty slow (pretty slow for my dogs, our groups got 8 adoptions on Saturday which is an outrageously good day). I did get one little puppy adopted on Saturday. He will go to his new home on Wednesday after he gets his rabies shot. My old cocker spaniel is back. He was having some bowel issues and he got returned. The other foster home that was keeping him said he wasn't doing well at their house so I took him back. He is sweet. He sleeps a lot. I suppose he will just be mine until he dies.

The window in the house is fixed and I hope that is the last issue until closing. My co-worker who sold her house in 6 days, put in an offer on a house that she only saw on the internet and it was accepted. That was fast. She is using a mortgage broker and they say they can do the mortgage fast so that the closing on the 2 houses are on the same day. I think I should have used a mortgage broker. Of course, she is only at the beginning of the process so I will wait and see if she has any problems. I didn't even consider a mortgage broker since I really didn't know what they could do for me and they have had bad press with the whole real estate collapse.

The weather here has been great and in the 70's. Today it was windy and I had a sinus headache but I didn't have anything I had to get done so I could clean, take a nap and watch my kitchen remodel show. I'm out of shows to watch so now I will have to pick something else. Maybe bathroom remodel? The gold fixtures in the master bath are pretty awful. I think I will try painting them and see what happens.

Today's Drama

Today's drama started with an email from my mortgage agent. It said that I am pretty much approved for my mortgage, they just need my property tax records for 2011 and the appraiser to sign off on his report that the window is fixed. THE WINDOW IS FIXED??? Gee, it would have been nice if someone had mentioned that the window needed to be fixed for my mortgage to be approved. My realtor says it is a scam for the appraiser to get more money. The appraiser writes that the value of the home is dependent on the window being fixed and then the appraiser gets $100 more for updating the report when the window gets fixed. Why couldn't they just take $100 off the value of the house for the window?

A note was sent off to the appraiser asking if the wording could be changed but I don't expect it to be changed. So, I called Speedy Glass and got a quote for $108 to replace the glass tomorrow morning. It seems weird to be fixing someone else's house but since I am buying the house "as-is" the seller isn't going to do any repairs and I don't want $108 + $100 for appraisal update (grumble grumble) to keep me from getting this house after all I have been through.

Also, the appraisal came in at $92k. Back in September Zillow said the house was worth $105k. Now Zillow says $95k but Zillow doesn't know that the furnace doesn't work. Housing prices are still dropping but I think they are near the bottom. It is still worth slightly more than what I am paying so thankfully that won't interfere with getting my mortgage.

Now I know a lot of people have told me that buying a house is nerve-wracking and confusing but I didn't really understand until now. One good thing though, the second bank for the house finally sent us their approval letter with the February 15th closing date on it so I think I can mark that date on my calendar now.

Moving To Civilization

A while back, one of my commenters asked about the difference between where I live now and where I am moving to. Well, here is a little visual aid.

This is where I live now. Most people have 3 acres and a manufactured home. There is a lot of desert between the houses. Plenty of room for dogs but also plenty of room for rattlesnakes!

This is where I am moving to. The suburbs. Shared walls, paved streets, swimming pools, and plenty of neighbors to annoy when my dogs bark.

I hope I can adjust to living close to people again. I certainly don't want to spend the next few years feuding with my neighbors.

New Mortgage And House Progress

3 weeks from tomorrow and I should be the owner of a new home. I hope. A new Chase representative called me today and said that my file is now with the underwriters and I should know if I am approved by the end of the week. At least that is progress. We got a revised letter from the first bank for the house that said the closing date of February 15th is ok with them. We are STILL waiting for the second bank to send their revised letter. I am nervous because things can still go wrong.

I have researched chimney sweeps and tree removers and I am prepared to have some work done, assuming the house will be mine. The tree removal quotes have come in lower than I expected so that is good. For removal of both Chinaberry trees and stump grinding it will be $900. Removal of the dying pepper tree and the giant pine tree that is too close to the house will be another $1500 but I will do that later. Maybe next year. I am thinking about just replacing the broken window glass with plexiglass for now because I would like to upgrade to double pane windows in the future. It will depend on how much they will charge but I can't imagine it will be cheap since they have to come out to the house to replace the glass.

I found my new favorite show. It is called I Hate My Kitchen and it is on the DIY network. I found many episodes that I can watch from their website. I like it better than Kitchen Impossible because they talk about their budget, usually around $10,000-$15,000, and compare the prices of different materials such as recycled glass counter tops, poured concrete kits, and modular granite tiles. I am learning a lot about the costs of remodeling. I bet I could create a nice kitchen with items from the Habitat Store. That is if I wanted to put money in to the house. I must not forget that I am supposed to be saving up for a new furnace.

Anyway, it is fun to imagine the possibilities. I am excited to move in a get a closer look.

Typical Saturday

I managed to get 3 dogs loaded in the truck and meet my realtor at the new house by 11:30 this morning. Half way there I realized that I forgot my wallet. Oops. Well, I couldn't buy any dog treats this time but that's ok. My dogs will survive.

My realtor and I put plastic over the broken window so that no water will get in if it rains. It isn't completely broken out but there are some holes and lots of cracks. I measured the living room and breakfast nook because that is where I am going to put the dog fencing. I ordered one puppy pen on Amazon that was 50% off. It will stretch out to 16 feet in length and the living room is only 13 feet long so that will work fine. I want to buy a second pen but I am waiting for my Amazon gift card to show up that I bought with my credit card rewards. I hope the pens are still on sale by the time I get my card. If not, I will just have to continue to hunt for them on craig's list. One of the pet store employees said that he has one that he will donate next weekend but I won't count on that until I see it plus it might be one of the short ones. I already have one of the short 2 foot pens and now I am thinking that it is not tall enough.

No luck with adoptions today but one of my dogs went to her new foster home so everything seems a little less stressful around here. I was hoping that my puppies could get fixed on Friday so they could be adopted but only the 2 boys are getting fixed. The girls have to wait another week and a half. I still hope to have the puppies adopted before I move. It will be at least 4 weeks and then probably a bit longer to get things ready at the house.

Now I think I will go look for a movie to rent on Amazon with my Christmas gift card that I got and pop some popcorn. Yay!

Space Heaters For A Little Longer

Guess what? The HVAC guy went out to my soon-to-be house in the rain and explored the furnace. His diagnosis? Burned up transformer. He asked if I wanted to go ahead and replace it. I said yes because I really wanted the furnace to work. A couple hours went by and I called my realtor. Bad news. The transformer did not help because there were too many other things wrong with it and the repairman said he couldn't get parts for a 35 year old furnace. He wrote up a quote for a $1,500 furnace replacement and moved on the the cooler.

Good news for the cooler. He said that it only needs a $50 replacement valve and it should be fine. Total bill today was $105. Not bad but not what I wanted to hear. I was hoping that he would get the furnace going and then I would buy a home warranty and if the furnace quit then the warranty would pay for it. Oh well. I knew it was a long shot.

Luckily I own 4 space heaters and am accustomed to using them. The listing agent said that he has a verbal agreement from the other 2 banks to make the closing date February 15th. After that I want to get someone to cut down the 2 chinaberry trees before I move in with the dogs since chinaberrys are toxic. By the time I actually move in, there will only be a few more weeks of winter here in AZ. I don't think I will have a problem staying warm. There is also a fireplace although I need to have a chimney sweep come out and clean the chimney. I wonder if that branch that fell in the backyard is dry enough to burn. With all of this tree chopping I have planned I will have plenty of firewood for next year that's for sure.

Another Week Begins

I suppose the banks have tomorrow off so I won't hear any updates on my mortgage progress. I don't have tomorrow off so I will be staring at my computer all day. The HVAC guy will be out to the house to try and diagnose the furnace and cooler. Hopefully it is nothing serious.

None of my dogs got adopted this weekend. I did find out that my foster terrier does not like hats that look like animals. A little girl was wearing a hat that had panda ears and a face and my dog growled. Later when I was delivering donated pet food, one of the people's daughters was wearing a similar hat so she went up to the truck and my dog barked and growled again. Silly dog.

I am dog sitting a small batch of 4 puppies and I wanted to get them a better quality puppy food so someone suggested that I stop by the pet store where others have picked up donations before. It was on my way to the vet so I stopped and asked and expected to get one or two bags. They filled up the back of my pickup with dog and cat food as well as cat litter and dog treats. I was amazed. All of the items were either damaged or out of date food. I kept a few bags and gave the rest to the other foster people in our group. The food is high quality grain-free varieties so I mixed it with my current puppy food so that the change wouldn't be too sudden and cause digestive problems.

This week is starting off with a light rain, just enough to make my dogs have muddy paws. By the end of the week it should be very nice in the 60's. I love this weather. Too bad I am stuck in the office most of the week.

Moving Around

My coworker stopped by my office today and told me she had just had a full price offer on her house. I didn't even know she had listed it yet. Last week she was fretting over repainting the trim and staging it to look pretty. I tried to tell her that her house was very pretty already especially compared to what I have seen out there but she didn't believe me. She priced her house comparable to other short sales in her neighborhood but she plans to pay off the difference at closing from the proceeds of some investments. She said that she didn't want to do a short sale since she was able to pay and felt that it was unethical to not pay. That is very admirable.

Anyway, she listed it on Monday and now she has a full price offer and she has no house to move to so she is freaking out a little. She thought that she would be waiting months for a buyer. The good homes really do go quickly. I hope she finds a home to move to or at least to rent. Sounds like they will be moving soon. I mentioned that they could stay in the boss's house since he is out of town most of the time but turns out he is going to sell his house too. There must be something in the water. Three of us in the office are either selling or buying or both.

I still don't know when my closing date is. My realtor was going to ask for Feb. 15th. That is later than I hoped for but if that is what it takes to get my mortgage paperwork together then I guess it will have to be. We have to see if the buyer and other banks will agree to that. I hope they do because I am tired of worrying about it.

Reality Time

I went to the house for the home inspection and was greeted by a broken window and a downed tree limb in the yard. The window was on the side of the house that faces the neighbor. We all assumed the rocks came from them. I hope that doesn't happen often. I would like to be on friendly terms with my neighbors.

The yard will require some clean up before it is ready for dogs. I would also like to take out the 2 China Berry trees. I have read that they are poisonous to dogs and they sure are messy. It will be expensive though.

The house didn't have any major issues except that the inspector couldn't get the heater and cooler to come on. I will have to call an HVAC company to send someone out as soon as possible. Hopefully it is nothing too complicated to get them working. The inspector did say that the furnace is very old and won't last much longer. I might be back to space heaters sooner than I expected. I do plan to upgrade to a combination heat/AC heat pump but I hear they cost $4k-$5k and I don't have that yet.

Other than that, the other items were minor ranging from an oven light that didn't turn on (probably the bulb) to a recommendation that I upgrade the breaker panel which would cost around $800. The inspector did a great job and I can use the list to fix things as I get the money. I'm just a little disappointed that remodeling the kitchen is going to have to take a back seat for a long time and I will have to prioritize my goals. Do I want to save money to build a house on my property or do I want to remodel the kitchen? I think that will depend on how well I like living there. If I don't like it there I certainly won't care about the kitchen.

I did find more storage spaces than I thought so that was fun.

I found a small pantry in the nook area, two closets in the hall, and a little workshop outside with a bench and shelves. I'm still excited about the house but the reality of the cost of home ownership is sinking in. I mean, my last house was brand new so it didn't need anything. This house was built in 1975 and there have been a few unprofessional alterations, nothing major, just additional lights and things that aren't quite up to code.

Next step...more inspections and the appraisal. Things are finally moving forward.

Inspection Time

Tomorrow is the home inspection. I am taking my new Rottweiler to work with me and then leaving at noon to drop her off at the vet and then off to meet the home inspector at 1. I'm having the termite inspector out at the same time. Hopefully my block house won't have termites.

The roof and the fireplace are two things that could be problems. They looked fine when I was there but that was 3 1/2 months ago. Also, water leaks are a big issue. I saw lots of houses with water damage. I'm hoping all goes well. I'm sure the inspector will find something, I mean, he won't be doing his job right if he can't find anything wrong with a house built in 1975. It certainly isn't in pristine condition. I will settle for functional and livable.

Yay! House News!

Guess what??? The second bank finally signed off on the short sale so the house is mine! I heard the news at lunch today and I immediately scheduled my home inspection and termite inspection for Wednesday. I'm taking half a day off, the first of many half days, I am thinking.

So, this is the timeline for my short sale. House is listed with no pictures. I see the listing and go see it along with others with no expectations because no pictures often means it is trashed inside. I see house and oh my gosh, it is clean and not a fixer-upper. I wonder if the listing price is correct since it is so pretty and it has 1700 sqft. compared to the usual houses in this price range which have 1100 sqft. I quickly make an offer but have to wait the customary 5 days for other people to get a chance. My offer is submitted and the sellers accept.

Then the waiting begins as the offer goes to the banks who hold the first and second mortgages. This house sold for $200,000 in 2006. I offered $90,000. After 3 months of waiting the first bank says YES and the second bank loses some paperwork. More waiting and finally the second bank says YES!

Now it's 30 days of more waiting and hopefully the home inspection and appraisal go through without a hitch. I am really looking forward to long hot showers, lots of water, indoor laundry, dog baths, doggy splash pool in the Summer, central heating, a real kitchen with a real oven, sidewalks, pavement, a secure block wall yard with NO snakes! I could go on and on. Yay!