Monday, August 27, 2018

Closing and Keys


We finally signed the closing documents on our new home Friday, and we are expecting to receive the keys today, Monday.

Simple. Right? Not.

We both wanted to walk away from the whole deal. I don't know how realtors, title company brokers, and loan managers deal with this stress everyday.

Cue dream sequence....

I long for the good old days where you walk into the bank, everyone knows you because you've been with them for years, and you chat with the bank manager to discuss a new home purchase.

You meet with a realtor who finds homes to show you based on what you are looking for and want in a new home. She shows you a half dozen homes over a period of a couple of weeks, you decide on one you like, make an offer, the seller counter-offers, everyone is having fun, laughing and all come to mutual agreement. Then you list your house, an offer is made, accepted, and skip to my Lou you've switched houses.

Then comes appraisals, inspections, and loan applications. Look at all the new friends you're making, what fun! So excited to move in to a new home.

Ha! Wake up, the good old days are gone, and everything is done online now. I have yet to meet our loan manager, and it is best that I don't, nor does she want me to. I won't go into details. Evidently, losing documents, miscommunication, and scrambling to finalize very important paperwork is the norm in real estate and banking transactions. We did everything we needed to do well in advance, we got all the paperwork and information together that they needed well in advance.
Why do they do this to us, let alone to themselves? This was not a fun process at all.

I finally received the call from our realtor about 4:00 Friday afternoon that all the paperwork went through, funding went through, and we now own a house. Technically two, our realtor laughed and called us land barons. We'll close on our old house in a couple weeks.

There were no whoops of joy, nor cheers of congratulations, simply a big collective sigh of relief.

Now we wait for keys. There's no final walk through, we get to walk in and discover what surprises await. I was able to wander through the house during the inspection, making mental note of the overall condition of the house, and what immediate repairs are needed. Brandy has only seen the house during the brief half hour initial viewing and offer. We've taken more time test driving and looking at cars than we have putting an offer on a house. If we don't like a car, or someone buys it before us we just order another car. Not so with a house, especially when you're competing with multiple offers. Nor can you simply sell your house because there's a rattle in the dash, because we're not going through this whole rigamarole again anytime soon. I have a poor memory, but this emotional nightmare is burned into my psyche for years.


We'll go in with mop and bucket in hand expecting nothing to be cleaned, blinds hanging haphazardly from the window, grubby paw prints on the fridge from the snot nosed, sammich grabber that lived there before, and we'll clean, scrub, paint and repair while we move in and nest.

Trobairitz is awesome, and such a positive influence in my life, I know that she'll make this new house a home and I love her for that. She'll smile at me and I'll know everything will be alright.


Our old home was a rental when we bought it, intending it to be a two year flip it became our home for twelve years. We renovated, remodeled, landscaped and grew to love this house. We learned a lot, sweat a lot, bled some and even cried some; and I'll miss it dearly, but we'll take those memories with us and we'll create new memories in our new home and I'll think back fondly... while standing in my new double garage!


~ “Some people look for a beautiful place. Others make a place beautiful.” — Hazrat Inayat Khan





21 comments:

  1. My condolences. Not a very fun experience at all. But, it has a double car garage! What more do you need?

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    1. A finished two car garage that's already painted.

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  2. To answer RichardM's question...a three car garage of course! ;)

    Sorry the ordeal was such a PITA, I don't recall the last time I bought a house but I do remember my signing hand being cramped after signing all the damn paperwork.

    We found a big gash in the paint of the front door upon moving in, thanks to the movers used by the previous owner no doubt. Such is life, now you and Brandy get to make the new to you house a home.....life continues.

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    1. Thanks Dom. Life continues indeed, we have a lot of cleaning and repairs to do.

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  4. Commiserations but above all else, congrats on settling and starting to reclaim your life! Buying a house in the "old way" you describe still exists in our village but in bigger centres, it must be the same the whole world over. Two of our kids went through the same process as you and Brandy, with the same stuff-ups and lack of professionalism by just about everyone in the chain. All the best for settling in and don't forget some social motorcycle riding for the best form of stress relief!

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    1. Thank you Geoff, I can't believe brokers, lenders and professionals go into work everyday with this level of incompetence. Why would they do this to themselves, are they not aware of their incompetence? Maybe they're like new motorcyclists, they only know what they only know, and practice makes permanent.
      We'll get some riding in soon, it's starting to cool off now and they'll let us back into the woods once the fire danger drops.

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  5. What a grubby indutry real estate is - worldwide by the looks of it. Enjoy the new place. I hope you guys can get it ship shape quicky as the internet is a quieter place without Trobairitz around!

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    1. She appreciated your comment. The new house should free up some time by cutting her commute in half. Unfortunately, working for the state doesn't afford her the flexibility of blogging during breaks on her work computer like she used to.

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  6. Glad to hear you’ve finally made it, despite all the problems. You’ll enjoy making it your own place together, making some new good memories. And a two- car garage, that probably means some more bikes in your future!!

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    1. I'm hoping I can get our bikes and Brandy's car in the garage, more bikes could be a possibility.

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  7. Congrats on finally sealing the deal. My wife is looking to move but I've been resisting for all the reason you mention above. I don't need that stress. Looking forward to seeing the new bungalow. Say hi to Brandy for me.

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    1. Thanks Steve, now the physical work begins. Resistance is futile, if the Mrs. wants to move... you're moving.
      Hey Brandy - Chiller tek says "hi"!
      Brandy says "hi" back.

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  8. Amazing that the more money you are trying to spend the more difficult it appears to be.

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  9. Congratulations on your new digs (PITA though it was.) The ordeal will soon be a distant memory as you both make this house your new home. And I'm sure there'll be a blog post or two about the process.

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    1. Thanks! It's already starting to feel like home, I enjoyed the peace and quiet of the neighborhood all day today, and I met the nice neighbor lady already.

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  10. Damn, I'm thinking of making a move next year...and yeah, the business is the same over here.

    A minimum of a 2 car garage is top of my wish list...

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    1. When it comes to buying a house, Mmay the odds be ever in your favour.

      I just spent two and a half days painting the garage, wish I would've taken before and after photos, well worth it. I can't wait to settle in and make it my shop.

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  11. Congrats you two; I’ll leave it there.

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  12. You had me at the double garage. But I did chuckle iver the snot nosed sammich grabber remark. We were in multiple offers when we bought our house 20 years ago. When we finally got the keys and walked in it was in ok condotion, but they decided to do some gardening and took a large portion of plants out of the garden.

    Buying and selling is never easy, but it will ge your home soon enough. As they say home is where the heart is.

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