It's so nice here

It is so nice here. Here is a view from one of my front windows. It is nice how the clouds hide the topmost part of the mountain.

Workin on the house

We've been working hard to settle-in. Moving boxes, unpacking boxes, forgetting where we are and how to get back home.... You know, the usual new place things. I'll post some more when I have something more interesting to blog about.

In the wind

Our close went really well. They gave us a bottle of wine, too! It was nice surprise since we were not expecting it. We didn't bring a bottle opener with us, so I punched in the cork with my 1/2" drive extension! I tried to drink it all, since it was the most expensive bottle of wine we have ever had (the price of the house), but I couldn't finish it all.

Now we are well into the moving process. It might be another week or so before I have internet access, but there is a lot for me to do to occupy my time. I'm going to start another blog of home improvement projects as I do things to the house. We've already got several projects lined up!

On one of our trips out there, we had to dodge tumbleweeds blowing across the interstate! One was so big, it was as tall as bottom of the door windows! I thought I nearly missed one, but the next day I found a piece of it in the front bumper!

Lock IT

I locked my rate today! Now all I need is a "closer" to take my stuff to the title co. It better happen by Thursday to keep my closing date. Next, I think I'll need some title insurance. Know any good places to get it? What to ask for when buying it? I don't want some fly-by-night company. I forgot to checkup on the builder today to make sure they are doing things to my house. I got a list of things that need to happen before I close. So far, they (the guys doing the constructing and fixing) have been attentive to details and agreeable to fix any little thing, so I don't feel too worried about it. I do believe that I will lose a lot of power to get stuff fixed once I close on the house, and I don't want to delay the closing because something isn't fixed, but I will if I have to!

I'm going to visit the grandparents for the next few days. I need to see my Grandad and Grandma before I move away. I got Christmas presents to deliver for my Grandad, too. One of them is big, so I've been reluctant to mail it. Well, it's not that big, but it is long and would require a big box. Oh, and tomorrow, I'm also dropping another present at my in-laws house. I guess you could say I'm a very late Santa!

Another Step

Another Step in the home building process. I looked at the property tax for the house I'm buying, and I found that it has not been paid, ever. Tax is due for 2006 with penalties, and 2007 payments are late! I was freaking about this because I'm about buy this house. The title company should have seen this as a problem, because if a lien is placed on the house, the lien holder has rights to the property over me. And the city is only going to auction the property for the lien amount! I called the county treasurer, they confirmed there is tax due on the property. I left a message with the county clerk to find out if a lien is placed against the property, or when a lien may be placed against the property; they have yet to respond. I emailed the title company, so I have a record in email of their response to this matter, they said that the seller/builder is allocating money towards paying the property tax for 2006 and 2007, in the complete amount due the county, and the title company will payoff the city. I guess that solves that problem... But I'm still going to followup with the county treasurer and clerk to make sure that it does get paid and there are no liens appearing!

Back in Town

It has been a long while since I posted. Since then I went to Texas for Christmas, then Tulsa, then back to Stillwater. I've moved forward with the home buying. I'm getting close to setting the closing date. I'm waiting on my bank to move itself.

We did our first walkthrough on the house this weekend. At the last minute we decided to get an inspector to look at the house. It was a $375 thing, but I think it was worth it!! I would definitely recommend to anyone to get an inspector to look at a house. The name of the company was HouseMaster in Albuquerque. The major things he noticed where: the house used-to have a window in the 4th bedroom, the tile under the dishwasher should be extended, and the garage door adjusted. I wish I had made an appointment with the inspector BEFORE our walkthrough. He made a report of every little thing (he was very detailed) that we could have passed along to the builder to fix. But, alas, we got the inspector AFTER we did the walkthrough. Luckily, the superintendent allowed us to add a few items to the list of to-do's. I'll follow up with him on Tuesday to see how it is going. I'd like to get in early on Sunday to evaluate the work before closing.