Man...busy day! I must have received 7 calls from the loan officer having me sign this, approve that, fax this, explain that...seems this is good though--loan guy says docs will be ordered on Monday.

9 days left...

Stupid WF loan officer failed to mention that the gift money for the downpayment actually had to pass through my accounts (we thought mom and gramps woudl just write checks to escrow). So I had to scramble this weekend to get all the checks in order and guess what...they are all on hold in my accounts and won't be availabel until the day I am supposed to close or later!!! I explained thsi to my bank so they will call on the checks to see if they clear and remove the holds.

How frustrating!! ::fingers crossed for you::

Any update dip? were you able to work out the gift funds issue?

You shoulda just had them issue you cashier's checks.

My mom got a cashier's check btu it was still put on an exception hold. Anyway, holds are all cleared now (verified funds cleared and removed holds).

Just waiting to hear from escrow that loan docs were received and to set up an appointment with mobile notary to sign. As far as I know, thigns are still on schedule to record and take ownership on Wednesday... It's just that I've heard stories of people who fell out at the last minute, so I'm still a little anxious.

It's normal to be anxious until it's all over. You'll have to post next Wednesday after you have closed and have your keys. Then I'll buy the first round at the virtual bar!

Dip, if it makes you feel any better I didn't sleep at ALL the night before our closing. I felt like a combination of "little kid on Christmas Eve" excitement mixed with that special sense of dread that accompanies things like exams, the SAT, and dental procedures. We both took the whole day off work and went straight from the closing to Lowe's and the liquor store and then spent the rest of the day working in OUR HOUSE and drinking beer.

Being in escrow is the worst....

Hope your closing date gets here soon dip!!

Becca, house project day is next friday! I'm stoked! It'll be a couple weeks before I move in though...

Need to take carpet out of bedrooms and replace flooring (carpet? laminate?)

Need to replace all locks.

Need to install doggie door in the wall and close off a dog run (coyote protection)

Need to fix front gate so it closes.

Need to get chimney swept.

Want to paint.

There are plenty other little projects, btu this stuff really needs to be done before I move in...and nto the easiest thing to accomplish with work full time and school EVERY weeknight until 9:45.

Personal preferences differ, but laminate will look better way longer than carpet. Match it with some nice area rugs. The guys who installed carpet in our living room last month commented on the laminate floor one of our bed rooms and said that this is what they would install in every room in their homes.

We have hardwood in the living room, dining room, hall, and master bedroom - only the two spare bedrooms (one is a makeshift office) are carpet. We replaced the carpet in both before moving in. Having both types of floors and animals in the house, I'll tell you that the hard floors are cleaner but we sweep or vaccuum nearly every day to keep the fur and dust up. The addition of Alice the Roomba to our household has helped immensely.

Locks are easy - get a package deal on however many you need from a local builder supply place that caters to contractors (not a big box like Lowe's or Home Depot) and swap them out yourself. It's really not difficult.

Doggie door is easy, too. Dog run - do you have anywhere that sells the boxed kits? I know they can be mail ordered, but the shipping is a killer. Much cheaper to buy local.

What's wrong with the gate? Most things are a simple fix (tighten a hinge, adjust the catch, etc.) but sometimes it's best to toss the whole thing and start over depending on what kind of gate it is. We scrapped a very-pretty-but-was-going-to-be-really-d@mn-difficult-to-save wooden gate in favor of a $50 chain links pre-made one for our back yard. It keeps the dogs in (the whole purpose of having it) and is behind the house to I don't care that it's not the loveliest thing ever.

We just burned one of those "chimney sweep" treated logs in ours after making sure there were no clogs or bird nests. It's been fine.

Paint - order lots of pizza, buy lots of beer, invite friends over in their oldest clothes and supply paint, brushes, rollers, etc. Presto, it's a painting party!

Nearly the entire house is laminate. The kitchen and hall bath are tile and the bedrooms are carpet (and dog pee all over, prompting immediate attention).

I think I will try to match the lamiate. I saw there is leftover pieces in the garage so hopefully I mgiht be able to find the exact stuff at Home Depot or Lowes. I just knwo my dog likes carpet and when her and the cat are ripping around the house and she is skidding every which way, I jsut feel liek it is harmful to her joints. But I do liek knowing anythgin that spills is easily cleaned.

Locks will be easy, btu the front door is one of those fancy ones (the long handle style with a thumb-push thing and a dead bolt--no idea what it's called). I saw at Lowes it was $130 to replace! But the others will be cheap and if I get them all at Lowes or Home Depot, they will key them all the same for free.

Dog door wil be easy, and I did find doggie doors specifically for walls, which is cool. The dog run will be on the side of the house so it already is enclosed on three sides. Adding a gate at the open end won't be hard, but I'm not sure how to close off the top. I might post pics later and ask you guys for ideas The gate in the front is tweaked and was originally built to bend I think? the wood is good, so I will probably just rebuild the frame and make sure it latches.

Goign to get a professional sweep for the added benefit that they will look at the chimney inside and detect any damage or needed repairs. Summer means the price will be cheaper ($110 I think). My mom's excited because I'm goign to use thsi old friend of hers she hasn't seen since I was a toddler. Not telling him who I am until he gets to the house and sees my mom, lol

I think I'm too anal to have people help in a mass paint job. The walls will be colored, the ceiling white, and there are baseboards and crown molding and the vents need repainting too...

Lowes website has special moving section where they will send you a 10% off coupon.

Also, the post office, in their addy change area, has a ton of Lowe's 10% off coupons as well... worth going there and grabbing a handful.

Home Depot will accept them as well.

Most people around here just stretch chainlink or 2x4 no-climb across the top. I've seen some who then put shade cloth over top of the wire.

Really? Thanks for the tip! I have a running shopping list of items I need, that 10% will help!

I thougth about using light duty wire (chicken wire maybe) or landscape netting and runnign it from the overhang/eaves to the fence. Won't be pretty, but it's on the part of the hosue that isn't visible most of the time.

I forget that your dog is tiny. Either of those would probably work just fine. Can you change the fencing to 6' height and just run your wire of choice across the top of that? Then you wouldn't have to hang it from the house and could still walk inside it.

Woo! Just got a call from loan guy--underwriters approved all the approval and funding conditions (including the gift transfer) and the stuff was sent to the document people to write it all up. He says at thsi point, it's just a matter of puttign stuff together--no more questions to answer to. Hoping to have the docs to escrow on Monday for me to sign (which I guess gives the lender a little time buffer). What a relief!!!

Loan guy just called again to tell me the underwriter knocked off 1/4 point, so nwo I'm only paying 1 pt to get my interest rate versus 1.25.

YEAH!!!

Signing loan docs and kissing my money good-bye at 2:45 Cali time. Good stuff :-P

welcome to the world of home ownership and non stop repairs

a second job may help, perhaps working carnival rides

Great news dip! Making the last turn and heading for the finish line! Don't be afraid to thoroughly review the docs and make sure all the numbers make sense and are what they said they would be.

Don't be afraid to read your docs! When we went to sign our loan docs they were shocked that we actually wanted to read the docs before we signed them.

They actually had to put us in a room so we could take the time to read the docs on our own instead of hearing "This document says this...sign here".