Sunday, May 29, 2011

Going Against Protocol

Yesterday was a whirlwind, beautiful, sun-kissed day. It started with a call from our realtor, saying that the sellers want to move forward with the appraisal (without waiting for the aeration tank to be completed). The reason for this is because Ohio has had SO SO many rain days in a row and it could take another month or so for the septic/aeration tank people to catch up and complete our job. The existing tank is functional, so it wouldn't be like we'd be moving in without the ability to use the toilets/sinks and the owners have said the if the work isn't done prior to closing they will put the funds in an escrow account to complete the work after closing. We are making sure that this won't cause issues with our loan but if everything is fine, we agreed to do this. Which means we could be closing on the house in just a couple of weeks!!!!
Speaking of the house, since we were missing the house (it's been a little bit since we've even driven past - the house is an hour from where we live and it's hard to find the time to just drive an hour there, drive past the house and drive an hour back) we decided to drive out there and visit Hueston Woods State Park to see what it has to offer (answer: LOTS!)...a swimming pool, beach, boating, paintball, target practice, hiking, camping, a lodge, a beautiful restaurant (all within 10 minutes from our house). As we were driving past the house, we saw who we thought were the owners out front unloading chairs from a pick up truck, into the house. I forced Mark to stop (Mark is shy and although I'm shy as well, I'm also adventurous) - so I got out of the car and ask the woman if she was the home owner - she said yes(? - confused why I was asking) - and I said "I'm the buyer!" and she said - YOU MUST BE SHELBY!!!! We walked closer and shook hands. I told her we were probably breaking the rules by stopping by - but we couldn't resist. We spent around 1-1 1/2 hours there walking around the property, talking about how much we loved their home and they said they love our home...since soon, it will be ours. :-) They told us some stories about the house, including that there are some blocks out in our treeline where slaves used to hide, as part of the underground railroad. There also used to be a blacksmith shop where they would shoe horses out behind our house and when the farmer tills the field, sometimes you can horseshoes and other treasures (I think we need a metal detector). We ended our visit with a hug and an open invitation that they could come visit THEIR home whenever they were in the area.
We went to Hueston Woods and walked around the lodge a bit, played some games in the game room, stared at the HUGE lake and hiked. Then we drove to my parents' camp - which is about an hour and 1/2 from our house. We grilled hot dogs, the kids went swimming in the pool (WAY TOO COLD FOR ME), saw two deer and a snake, made s'mores, sat by the camp fire and then drove home with three very sleepy children.
After a short game of SkipBo, Mark and I slipped off to sleep and slept until nearly 10:00 AM (unheard of for us...especially in this house) - but everyone was quiet, we apparently were tired and snuggly...this is just a great weekend...and there is still today and tomorrow to go!

2 comments:

  1. I love that things are going so well, but would definitely recommend waiting and doing the appraisal after the work is done - I know you are excited but now's not the time to rush, make sure everything is done and appraised before you move in. There will be enough surprises as it is after everything is said and done :)

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  2. Thanks for the recommendation - but we are working with the realtor and lendor, under their suggestions. We aren't necessarily "rushing" but our loan rate was only locked in until June 7th and we are already having to extend that. It could be months before the aeration tank is installed - they need five days straight of no rain, before they can begin work and it will take them a couple extra days to actually do the work. Unfortunately, we aren't first on the list either...we're like fourth - so we'd need a month of no rain (not likely). If we rush the aeration tank installation, the company won't guarantee their work. I'd rather keep the home buying process moving along, knowing that we've all agreed that the septic issue is fixed by the sellers and they are going to provide us with the estimates, so we know what type of money needs to be escrowed. I'm completely comfortable with this process.
    ...and hopefully with a new hot water heater, new furnace, new roof, new windows, new aeration tank, siding that is in great shape, updated kitchen, perfect well water (no nitrates, ecoli or coliform present), two wells dug (one newer than the other) there aren't TOO many surprises.

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