Hoo-ray! I'm a homeowner again!

Wow, the closing went well, I just had to wait around an hour to let the money from my lender transfer into the right account.

So yesterday I went to Home Depot to get stuff, and some keys (what a goofus nightmare that is) and today I am messing around with the garage door/security gate remotes. I got two of them, but one of them is not working, the gate button sticks in the "on" position.

I talked to 2 painters and yes, I got some sticker shock. But the second painter said something interesting. She said that she's a smoker, and the odor is more like a wood fire than cigarette smoke. You know, she's right, it smells like a campground, not like an ashtray. Either way it is a pretty powerful smell. I cut a bunch of rosemary and also put out some powerful air fresheners. I will see what it smells like when I go back later to test my universal remote control.

Security gates are a real pain in the @ss. Oh, and get this, I can't put a working set of extra keys together. Of the 4 keys I got yesterday, the doorknob keys don't work on the garage doorknownb, but the deadbolt keys work on the garage door. The doorknob keys work on the front door, but not on the garage doorknob. The doorknobs feel chinzy to me too.

Where to start? What to do first?

So, I close on my place next Friday, May 25th. That is the start of the Memorial Day Weekend. Before I can move into the place it needs to be painted, walls and ceiling. And the carpet in the 2 bedrooms need to be replaced.

The other major big project is the kitchen counters, backsplash and sink. I think I can have this done after I move in, if I need to. My lease on the apartment is up on July 25th, so I will pay that for June and July, but I would prefer not to have dual utilities to pay.

And speaking of utilities, I think I can get dual electric accounts, but what should I do about my phone? I need to have a hard-wired phone in the place in order to let people (workmen!) through the gates. Those gates are a pain in the tush. I don't want to put the phone over completely because then I'll be in my apartment without Internet access and Nina will use excessive minutes on her cell phone.

I am the luckiest woman there is to have such dilemmas. I mean really, just 11 months ago I came to the full realization of what a complete jerk I was married to, and now I am getting my own beautiful home and I am officially jerk-free.

Now the fun begins!

Well, they accepted my counter offer and I will be closing in late May. The owners may want some of this furniture, or they may have said so just because they didn't get the price they wanted for the house.

This was pretty funny, the joke was on me. I saw 4 large ducks on the lake, not swimming anywhere, just kind of hanging out there in the middle.

They were plastic floaters, put there to mark the end of the sprinkler intake pipes. Well, they weren't there the last time. Live and learn, city slicker.

Waiting on pins and needles

I offered a low (really low) price, they came back with a counter offer, and I came back just $5k above my original offer. Now I wait to see. This house has been for sale almost a year.

The location is wonderful, but it smells really bad. At the rate the people are going here in So. FL the lake will be tiny before we get any rain.

For those that asked in person, no it's not a natural lake. It's a storm water retention lake, complete with fountain. In nature, lakes aren't rectangular. LOL.

If they say no, I'll move on to the next house. There are lots of them out there.

This is more like it.

Isn't this pretty? I am absolutely in love with this house. It looks marvelous on the outside and inside. It has 2 bedrooms and a den, and a patio on the east side overlooking the lake. OOOO let's talk about that lake view. It is the thing that made me suck in my breath and go OH when I first walked in.

Of course I wished I hadn't sucked in my breath when I got a lung full of the smoky odor that lingers there. I know, I know, that can be fixed. More $ on that $ later.

Isn't it funny how much more you see each time you go back to a house you are interested in? My first impression of this place is that it's lovely and kind of dirty in the corners. Cobwebby dirty, dust on the textured ceiling dirty, not food in the sink dirty, KWIM?

So I took my particular friend with me, the one with construction experience, and she pointed out how much love this hou$e will need to suit her specs. My expectations have been systematically lowered over the years, but more on THAT issue later...

Among other things, it will need all new appliances, flooring in the bedrooms, tile cleaning/renovation in the master bath, an accordion shutter on the picture window, new kitchen counter/backsplash, painting throughout, and removal of some seriously wrong trimming.

My second choice house in the same development has a less spectacular view, but it won't need much work. (Just a little paint and replacement of the pink carpet.)

I'm so excited! And scared. Woah.

See, even the cars are white...

I hadn't even noticed that. Snort.

One of my snarky Internet buds saw these pictures and wondered if the cars started out as colors and turned white after living there. OMG.

Why does Leisureville hate trees?

In my house hunt, I am seriously considering a house in Leisureville. It's a 55+ community in Boynton Beach with homes built in the 70's, mostly. The houses are sturdy, and very economical. "They" take care of the lawns, and paint the houses every 3 years, and the monthly maintenence is kept low because of all the volunteer work and fundraising, BUT they have -0 curb appeal. 1800 homes squeezed into a small space and each and every one of them is WHITE. Seriously white.
Here's the view driving down the street. What street? Well it doesn't matter it pretty much looks like this on all the streets. Trees, if any are situated well away from the houses to cause the least amount of work, and therefore the least amount of shade.

This house actually was the roomiest and nicest on the inside. It seriously looks bad on the outside front. The back is built out as far as the property allows, and get this, there is no back door. No way out in the back! As a plus, the house behind has a lovely trellis with blooming bouganvilla on it. Complete with exotic butterflies.