As an avid watcher of "House Hunters" on HGTV, the whole house buying process seemed quite simple to me. You go look at houses (I did realize that their 3 visits was totally unrealistic, though I got lucky and only looked at maybe 5 before I found my home), you make an offer, maybe you have to dicker a bit, and then you get your keys. WRONG!!! In the real world, there is the "30 day close" period. During this time, all sorts of stuff goes on...but the gist of it is...you don't get your house for 30 days. Suzanne Whang never ever mentions that you have to be *gasp* PATIENT!!! (this is not one of my virtues...as you will soon learn)
So I sit impatiently and wait for the 30 days to pass...seems like eons and then suddenly...I have my keys. Woohoo! Finally I can put in notice to my landlords (who turned out to be somewhat douchey and ended up being taken to small claims court over the deposit...not MY fault they had lost nearly $200,000 on their investment!) and get to packing (ew...hate packing).
First things first...the stark white walls have GOT to go! I chose a nice greyish-green in the living room and a greyish-blue for the dining room. Subtle colors but enough to make it more homey. I like it! A few yellow highlights in the kitchen to kind of test the waters and we are done painting! Phew! During the 2 days that I painted, I got to kind of watch how the neighborhood behaved. It was the weekend, so people were even home. Thankfully, things were nice and quiet and peaceful...I did good!
With the help of a few wonderful friends and my cousin and her boyfriend (who I think I broke during the move), I manage to get out of the old house and into the new...and I am at last a resident homeowner. Wonderful feeling...I highly recommend it to everyone (even with the tales that will unwind here).
During the month of closing, the house kind of cattywampus from me across the street has rented out...so now we only have one vacancy on the street and it has just sold. I'm pretty happy about this with all the foreclosures and crime that occurs at empty properties...no need for that in my life. As I get moved in, the new family seems ok...they seem to have their volume set only on loud, but I'm used to this as my old neighbors had the same issue. No problems, wish it were a wee bit quieter but oh well! :-)
I have noticed that the house across the street (not totally cattywampus but not directly across...in between the two) has gone from being a cute little craftsman to a cute little craftsman with a LOT of banana boxes on the front porch. Not sure what this is all about, but maybe the guy is moving or something. Looks icky, but I'm sure it's temporary. This sadly earns that house a nickname..."Sanford and Son"...due to the fact that it looks like a junkyard. But the guy there is pretty quiet and pretty nice so if he's a little messy I guess it's ok.
Meanwhile, back at the cattywampus house...I'm noticing a LOT of very short-term visitors. People are pulling up all the time and leaving within 1-15 minutes. Not a good sign...especially since that house has also garnered a nickname..."The White Trash"...due to the variety of occupants and/or visitors. Nothing against white trash mind you...I know some very nice white trash...but they are a breed unto their own and that's all there is to say about that! I'm concerned about the steady flow of visitors...often this signifies um...people picking "stuff" up. Not good, but nothing definitive yet!
At the same time, the house to the left of me (as you stand on my porch looking at the street) has what seem like very nice people in it. (these are the Raiders fans) They are pleasant and we smile and nod hello when we see each other. I like having neighbors I like and who like me.
The people on the other side of me are also quite nice...albeit um...unique. The man is a bit on the vocal side and we have some definite differences of opinion, but we seem to do ok with this and get along quite well. Oddly, I don't have a nickname for these folks.
The people directly across from me are very nice. They fly a Norwegian flag under the US flag on their pole, so they are heretofore known as the Norwegians...even though only he is from Norway. They are quiet and have a lovely house and yard...and a very sweet dog!
So, aside from a few banana boxes that are poorly placed...and some odd "traffic" at one house, things seem pretty good. I love my house, I'm doing stuff on it to make it more me...and my "Rent-A-Honey" (see the wonderful moving friends!) has used his amazingly huge array of talents to make some upgrades and make the house a little safer (let's just say the knob-and-tube wiring in the garage was a wee bit scary!) for me and Riva (my dog) to live in.
I like being a homeowner and the extra 20 minutes on my commute (only 60 miles each way *barf*) is worth coming home to my home and my neighborhood.
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