So How Are Things Going With The House?

The quick version is that things are going well.  The long version is that this has been an epic ordeal.  We've had three inspections, two contracts, four offers and too many open houses to count.  We saw the market go from being quiet and simple to absolutely crazy, with houses that had been sitting on the market for weeks suddenly get multiple offers.  Things got so hectic that in one day, we saw three houses and had to decide on which we wanted to make an offer. It was like living an episode of House Hunters.  We made an offer on a house for $22,000 over asking price and we still didn't get it, and we weren't even surprised.

The process showed us what we actually want in a house and want we don't want. For example, we saw one house that we really liked and almost had a deal, until we learned how much of a pain oil heat is, as opposed to gas.  We learned all about the school districts in Westchester and why, to Nilda's dismay, the beautiful old Victorian in Park Hill was not going to work for us.  We learned that we might actually be very happy in an early 1960s split level.

Where we are now is that we have a contract and are on the verge of closing on the house that was far and away my first choice.  We actually came very close to this house once before, after we cut bait with the first house with oil heat, only to lose it to someone offering 50% cash.  I didn't understand why this was a big deal six months ago, but now I realize that putting down 50% cash means the buyer getting the mortgage is not as important or difficult and makes life much easier for the seller. We found another house around the corner that was not as nice and were hours away from signing the contract on that house when we learned that my first choice came back on the market.  

Days later, we were ready to sign the contract on the house when the sale of our apartment became an issue.  We needed to make sure that our apartment would actually sell, since the contract on the house was not contingent on the sale of our apartment (NY is weird).  We had a very tense weekend, but the sellers gave us a week and our buyers were approved by the coop Board.  Everything worked out well, but man that was rough.  Whatever else happens, I have learned that getting and having a house is not as easy as it looks when you're a kid. 

The new issue, because there always is one, is that we don't know when we'll be able to move into the house.  We were supposed to close on August 1, but that's not working for the sellers now and we can't get a date from them.   We closed on the apartment in late June and are able to stay in the apartment until very early August pursuant to a post-occupancy agreement, but we'll be homeless after that.  We have some plans, but the lack of a definite plan is killing Nilda annoying.    

 

We've been packing and thank God we started early because this is going to take forever.  You just don't realize how much stuff you accumulate.  Here's most, but not all of the boxes we've packed so far, and how knows how many more we'll need. 

I'll try to keep blogging through this, but you can already see how much of a toll Charlie switching his bedtime from 8:30 pm to 9:00 pm has taken on the blog, so don't hold your breath.  In the meantime, Charlie has been doing great.  

• He is getting bigger and bigger and smarter and smarter.  He has already learned how to give attitude. 
• Charlie luuvs his naps.  He may fight going to sleep, but he loves lying down in the middle of the day.  And what's not to love?  Enjoy it while you can, Charlie.  
• I've started reading Charlie "Caps For Sale," which is a book I remember reading when I was a kid.  The book says that there are gray, red, blue and brown caps. I don't see a brown cap, but I'm pretty sure there are plenty of orange caps.
• Charlie is very sensitive with his feet.  He does not like to walk outside barefoot and hates dirt.  Nilda said that he started limping the other day and wouldn't put his foot down.  When she looked at it, the problem was that he had a sesame seed on his foot.  A sesame seed.

Like his father and uncle before him, Charlie has wild time after dinner.  Thank God we're moving to a home without downstairs neighbors. 

He's starting to use more words. Nilda told me that one day, he said to her, "Outshide?  Mommy?  Peash?  Outshide?"  And when it's hot, you KNOW Nilda wants to go outside!  And check him out saying "pizza." 

Nilda loves to play with his hair.  Here is a blurry picture of Charlie with a Steven Segal ponytail. We have just learned that using conditioner is way easier than spraying on detangler and combing his hair. I never realized that my 19-month old needing conditioner was a consequence of marrying Nilda.  She said today that maybe he needs a haircut, but we both know she'll never do it.  She, along with everyone else, just loves those little blond curls too much.

Charlie still likes to have things his way.  Here he is chilling at a party.  He stopped wanting to leave when everyone started paying attention to him. 

Charlie's new thing is to find a cute girl the playground, smile and stare at her until she plays with him.  Charlie's got game.  And then he runs like a track star, with that one arm flopping around just like Lilah used to run.  Until he falls down. Which is quite often. 

He can even go down the slide by himself now.

Here's hoping Charlie likes the suburbs.  He'll miss the street and the park and the Saturday morning chocolate croissants, but he'll have multiple rooms, a back yard and the ability to run as much as he wants.  Plus, there's a playground right near the house and a ton of kids.  I think this will work out well.  I mean, no one's ever made any movies, tv shows or books about people being unhappy living in the suburbs, right?