So, our last offer was flat out rejected. I guess the owner is in some sort of financial trouble (basically, we think they pulled all the equity out of their house, refinanced, and bought a way too big house in Ponte Vedra beach, and now they're paying for it). But, basically they wanted the asking price and that's it. Then, we find out that they're going to take it off the market all together, so, who knows what is going on with them. Sucks for us though.
Anyway, I think we're going to go look at a few more. We're going to check out some townhomes in southwood (a really ritzy community that has a ton of perks associated with it), and also maybe check out some new developments just outside of town to see what they are like. I'm starting to not care anymore about where we live because I'm so fed up with this stupid apartment.
On another note:
Last night we saw Transformers at the IMAX downtown. Granted, not a huge fan of transformers, but, the movie was action packed and it was fun to see it on a HUGE screen. But, I think we sat a little too close cuz it was really hard to make out stuff during the action scenes. Guess we know better to sit in the back next time! haha
Saturday, November 10
Thursday, November 1
I'm exhausted
Thursday, November 1
And its not just because its 6:35am, although, that is a contributing factor needless to say. Basically, I'm exhausted from house hunting! I thought it would be fun, getting to tour a bunch of houses, having our pick of the litter, but, in reality, its become a big pain in my rear!
First, while there are 57829578429758 houses for sale, only about 1% of them seem to be worth what the seller's are asking. And, of that 1%, about 90% don't have all the elements we want. Granted, people usually do have to weigh pros and cons about certain features, and, unless you build your own house NO house will be 100% exactly what you want if you get down to the details.
Second, our realtor has become slightly annoying. We've already written one contract, which, we were outbid on. Now, we have found a 2nd house we like, and, all he seems to do is keep asing us "So, when do you want to write up the contract?" I don't know what's up with the pushy salesman deal but, what difference does it make to him if we write it up today, tomorrow or the next day? His take is the same no matter what. Now, I understand the longer we wait the more change we have competing bids (since that's what happened last time) but seriously. We're signing our life away here, give us some breathing room!!
Anyway, so about this house. I really like it, but, am of course anxious about spending so much money at once. But, the good thing, is, that this house has the potential to be worth SO much more if we were to take care of a few things on our own. If we could but a few grand in the kitchen, we could see a huge return on our investment. And, of all the houses we've seen, this one has the most elements that we originally hoped to find when we started house hunting:
First, while there are 57829578429758 houses for sale, only about 1% of them seem to be worth what the seller's are asking. And, of that 1%, about 90% don't have all the elements we want. Granted, people usually do have to weigh pros and cons about certain features, and, unless you build your own house NO house will be 100% exactly what you want if you get down to the details.
Second, our realtor has become slightly annoying. We've already written one contract, which, we were outbid on. Now, we have found a 2nd house we like, and, all he seems to do is keep asing us "So, when do you want to write up the contract?" I don't know what's up with the pushy salesman deal but, what difference does it make to him if we write it up today, tomorrow or the next day? His take is the same no matter what. Now, I understand the longer we wait the more change we have competing bids (since that's what happened last time) but seriously. We're signing our life away here, give us some breathing room!!
Anyway, so about this house. I really like it, but, am of course anxious about spending so much money at once. But, the good thing, is, that this house has the potential to be worth SO much more if we were to take care of a few things on our own. If we could but a few grand in the kitchen, we could see a huge return on our investment. And, of all the houses we've seen, this one has the most elements that we originally hoped to find when we started house hunting:
- 2-story
- 2-car garage
- Large lot (1 acre)
- Large lot = large yard
- big kitchen
- separate dining room
- large master bedroom suite
- 2 full baths (bonus half bath downstairs)
- Laundry area away from main living area (hate listening to the dryer over movies)
So, needless to say, its pretty decent. You can check out the listing: http://www.tallyopenhouses.com/sshow/Realtor%20details.php?id_list=39
But, I think we are going to put in an offer. It needs a new roof, so, we're using that to justify our bid. We decided to put our own roof on if we get it, just cuz, then we'd be the ones working with the contractor when they did it, not the seller's.
Anyway, I had better get ready for work!
Monday, October 22
It was a success!
Monday, October 22
So, I made it out to San Antonio and back. And, the wedding was alot of fun. I gave a crappy speech, which, I had it all planned out in my head but then got up there and didn't think I made any sense but oh well what can you do. I blame her dad for starting my water works going, haha. Anyway, now I hate my BFF cuz she's sitting on a carnival cruise (probably sleeping in at the moment) and I'm stuck here having to go to class AND work! What kind of a friend is she anyway? ;) Nah, she deserves it, and I'm glad she finally has time to relax because, she was pretty stressed there for awhile.
As for me, I'm still recovering from Saturday night. I think I helped pack up stuff from the venue until about midnight, and then headed over to the hotel to pick up her brother, wedding dress & groom's tux. Her bro drove them to their hotel after the ceremony. So, by the time we got back to the house, unloaded everything (which felt like forever) I finally got to bed around 1am. And, I had to get up at 4am to get everything ready and packed to leave for the airport. Stupid FFA requiring you to be there 2 hours early. :P But, I got a nap yesterday, and tried to go to bed at a decent hour, but hopefully tomorrow I will be more caught up on sleep.
Anyway, I had better go pack my gym bag and see if there is anything around for me to eat for breakfast. Peace!
As for me, I'm still recovering from Saturday night. I think I helped pack up stuff from the venue until about midnight, and then headed over to the hotel to pick up her brother, wedding dress & groom's tux. Her bro drove them to their hotel after the ceremony. So, by the time we got back to the house, unloaded everything (which felt like forever) I finally got to bed around 1am. And, I had to get up at 4am to get everything ready and packed to leave for the airport. Stupid FFA requiring you to be there 2 hours early. :P But, I got a nap yesterday, and tried to go to bed at a decent hour, but hopefully tomorrow I will be more caught up on sleep.
Anyway, I had better go pack my gym bag and see if there is anything around for me to eat for breakfast. Peace!
Thursday, October 18
Let the Fun Begin!
Thursday, October 18
So, today I head out to San Antonio for my BFF's (http://hrbabe.blogspot.com/) wedding this weekend! Its going to be so exciting. I haven't seen her since my wedding, which, is kind of funny in a way. :) Hopefully someday we can visit each other and not have one of us running around all crazy and being pulled in every which direction. I just hope my flight doesn't get delayed, because, we have a 60% chance of thunderstorms today. It really sucks that the airlines have been providing really crappy service these days, because, do you really have a choice when you fly? I mean, I guess I *could* have drivin the 20 some hours out to the wedding, but, not worth it! Well, the wedding is worth it, but, not the time spent driving. So, I guess suffering an airline delay is still better than driving, but, at least when you're driving you're actually making progress in getting to your destination. Oh well. Anyway, I leave at 12:20pm! I'll be in Texas (hopefully) around 3:30! Going to be fun!
Tuesday, October 16
Fees, fees and MORE FEES!
Tuesday, October 16
Ok, so, we finally found a house we liked, and last night went to draw up our contract. First off, let me clarify that I haven't been 100% happy with my realtor. He just started out (which, isn't a strike against him necessarily) but, because of that, he is only doing real estate part time. Again, not a big deal, except, he also has a regular full time job. Which, has impeded his ability to put in any time to search for listings for us. I would say that 90% of the houses we've checked out are ones that I found using the plain old internet. The problem there, is, those websites are never updated. So, sometimes, we would see a great one, and, by the time he got around to sending the listing to us, it would already be under contract. :\ Second, we are also in the same social circle as our realtor. So, we've hung out on numerous occasions. We figured if we used him, we know we wouldn't get screwed buying a crappy house or getting left with a crappy deal. While this is true, because we are friends outside of this professional relationship, he has been presenting himself on his "friend" level vs. his "professional" level when we are working. For instance, he's been late on more than one occasion when we've been out to show houses. And, last night, we went to go over the contract we are presenting for the house we liked, and, he hadn't even begun to fill it out. Instead, we sat there for 2 hours pretty much watching him write and check boxes. In my opinion, this should have been filled out before he showed it to us, and we could have just confirmed the information and given him details later.
Anyway, we will be signing the contract tonight. Something else about house buying that no one ever tells you, is, you need more than a down payment amount. Even if seller's are paying closing costs. For instance, we need $385 for an appraisal fee that goes to the lender, then, we need to pay another $300-400 for a home inspection, then, something else our realtor sprung on us last night, a $395 "transaction fee." WTF? I thought transaction fees were only crap you saw when you paid bills online. I guess what I'm confused about is, the "transaction" fee and then the appraisal fee...aren't they considered part of "closing costs" and, with our loan, (FHA loan) the seller is required to pay all closing costs. The home inspection I can live with, because we knew that going into the deal. We're just a little taken aback by the last minute fee our realtor sprung on us. Supposedly it goes to his "company" but, its his company who pays him. So, not very excited about that considering he's our friend. But, oh well. I guess we can't do anything about it, and I have no idea if this is typical or what. But, right now I just hope the seller accepts our offer, because I'm tired of house hunting!
Anyway, we will be signing the contract tonight. Something else about house buying that no one ever tells you, is, you need more than a down payment amount. Even if seller's are paying closing costs. For instance, we need $385 for an appraisal fee that goes to the lender, then, we need to pay another $300-400 for a home inspection, then, something else our realtor sprung on us last night, a $395 "transaction fee." WTF? I thought transaction fees were only crap you saw when you paid bills online. I guess what I'm confused about is, the "transaction" fee and then the appraisal fee...aren't they considered part of "closing costs" and, with our loan, (FHA loan) the seller is required to pay all closing costs. The home inspection I can live with, because we knew that going into the deal. We're just a little taken aback by the last minute fee our realtor sprung on us. Supposedly it goes to his "company" but, its his company who pays him. So, not very excited about that considering he's our friend. But, oh well. I guess we can't do anything about it, and I have no idea if this is typical or what. But, right now I just hope the seller accepts our offer, because I'm tired of house hunting!
Monday, September 24
14 min till I gotta take off...
Monday, September 24
Thought I would try to get in a quick update before I leave for class. Here it goes:
As far as the house hunting goes....we've probably toured about 10 houses. We have 3 "tentatively" on our list. But, we'll be looking at 4 more this week (hopefully). Figures the ones that we wanted to tour most are the one's under contract. Guess that just means we gotta get the ball rolling fast if we see something we fall in love with. Its a hard process, because we're so anxious to get out of our crappy apartment, but, at the same time, it is a HUGE investment. And both Steve and I have decided we're not going to settle for anything. We're going to hold out until our "dream house" plops in front of us. Well, dream house within our price range that is. We've seen several "dream houses" all the way upward of a cool million. Yeah, don't think we'll be checking those out, though, it is fun to pretend! And something to strive for!
As far as school goes, I think I'm doing ok. Only 3 more weeks before my first exam. Which, they are both *right* before HRBabe's wedding. But, that is a good thing because they I don't have to bother with trying to study for an exam when I should be playing Maid of Honor. I will probably do some chapter readings on the plane, but, otherwise, should be a relaxing time....in the sense of a wedding day! haha
Anyway, that's pretty much it so far. About to head out the door. OH, so, I'm out of oatmeal, and, we got a free "weight loss proten powder" deal from Steve's coworker (we like whey protein). Anyway, it was "Tropical Fruit" flavored, and, I was skeptical about it from the start. Well, I had every reason to be! That crap tastes like that so called *bubble-gum* flavor they used to put in the liquid pennicillin when you were a kid. Its NASTY. And, I even made a smoothie out of it with milk, rasperries and a little bit of the tropical fruit V8. I think I will stick to vanilla thank you!
oh, one last thing....Only made it to the gym 4 times last week. I was striving for 6. But, I guess considering that I haven't really been going at ALL lately, that's not too bad. I want to make it at least all 5 weekdays this week, and if I can get some extra cardio in on Saturday, that would be great. But, we do play softball on Friday night, so I might not need to worry about cardio so much over the weekend. We'll see. Certainly won't hurt me! Only about 4 weeks till MOH day!
As far as the house hunting goes....we've probably toured about 10 houses. We have 3 "tentatively" on our list. But, we'll be looking at 4 more this week (hopefully). Figures the ones that we wanted to tour most are the one's under contract. Guess that just means we gotta get the ball rolling fast if we see something we fall in love with. Its a hard process, because we're so anxious to get out of our crappy apartment, but, at the same time, it is a HUGE investment. And both Steve and I have decided we're not going to settle for anything. We're going to hold out until our "dream house" plops in front of us. Well, dream house within our price range that is. We've seen several "dream houses" all the way upward of a cool million. Yeah, don't think we'll be checking those out, though, it is fun to pretend! And something to strive for!
As far as school goes, I think I'm doing ok. Only 3 more weeks before my first exam. Which, they are both *right* before HRBabe's wedding. But, that is a good thing because they I don't have to bother with trying to study for an exam when I should be playing Maid of Honor. I will probably do some chapter readings on the plane, but, otherwise, should be a relaxing time....in the sense of a wedding day! haha
Anyway, that's pretty much it so far. About to head out the door. OH, so, I'm out of oatmeal, and, we got a free "weight loss proten powder" deal from Steve's coworker (we like whey protein). Anyway, it was "Tropical Fruit" flavored, and, I was skeptical about it from the start. Well, I had every reason to be! That crap tastes like that so called *bubble-gum* flavor they used to put in the liquid pennicillin when you were a kid. Its NASTY. And, I even made a smoothie out of it with milk, rasperries and a little bit of the tropical fruit V8. I think I will stick to vanilla thank you!
oh, one last thing....Only made it to the gym 4 times last week. I was striving for 6. But, I guess considering that I haven't really been going at ALL lately, that's not too bad. I want to make it at least all 5 weekdays this week, and if I can get some extra cardio in on Saturday, that would be great. But, we do play softball on Friday night, so I might not need to worry about cardio so much over the weekend. We'll see. Certainly won't hurt me! Only about 4 weeks till MOH day!
Saturday, September 8
Weekend Plans.....Anyone??
Saturday, September 8
Well, for short update on the allergies, they are still annoying the crap out of me. But, thankfully, they aren't making me lethargic anymore. But, I still can't breathe, and it sucks!
So, last night was our season opener for fall softball season. I was semi-nervous, mosly cuz, I really sucked it up in batting practice last time. I couldn't get a hit to save my life. But, last night I got 3 base hits and even managed to score a run. I had one grounder come to me in left center and I managed to toss it in, but, I don't think we got anyone out with it. But, still, we could have if we had the chance. haha. Unfortunetly, we lost 10-7. But, still not bad for a first game. And, the funny thing, is the pitcher on the other team was our mortgage broker! Steve was the pitcher on our team, and I kept telling him to say "I'll throw you a good one if you give us a good interest rate!" when she came up to bat. hahahaha.
After the game I continuted to be a fatty by drinking several Bud Lights, and then when we got home, we ordered Barnaby's pizza. The game was at 7:46, and we hadn't had time to eat beforehand, so, we semi-drank our dinner. We weren't wasted necessarily, but we had a decent buzz, and, for whatever reason didn't stop on the way home for anything. I didn't want to go back out, and steve wouldn't let me order anything for delivery (becasue of the whole $1.50 delivery charge most places have down here). So, instead we get Barnaby's Pizza, which, is good pizza, but its like, $17 for a large. I'm like, "Umm....ordering dominoes & paying the delivery fee would be cheaper!!" But sometimes there is no arguing with a semi-drunk Steve (or a semi-drunk Jessica for that matter). So, we get it, bring it home, engourge ourselves, then go to bed.
Not sure what we are doing today. I would like to drive around neighborhoods and maybe take a look at some houses, but, for one, I'm not really sure if our realtor has been looking at stuff for us or not yet (he just got our preapproval stuff last Friday, which, he was in Tampa then anyway for Labor Day). But, at the same time, I'm sure if we called him up this morning and told him we wanted to take a look at stuff, he could pull up a few places for us to check out this afternoon. I might go to http://www.zillow.com to take a look at average neighborhood pricings, and then also our City/County's GIS website has a listing of all the school zones, neighborhood flood zones, and property tax info online as well. Might not hurt to do a little research. Mostly, I think we want to stay on the east side of town. No real ties to north or south, though north does have the better school districts, but, central/south is where more of our *social* network lives." But, I'm certainly not going to pass up a good deal just to be closer to friends. I'm sure we'll still hang out, just might not be as many house parties. :)
Well, I should probably start cleaning the house up (er, apartment) a little. And I have to read about a chapter and a half still for my class on Monday. I'd like to get it out of the way with this morning so I can just relax ther est of the weekend. We might play golf tomorrow morning (which, I'm still not sure about cuz we need to go to church). My friend recently got a part time job as "beer wench" as we call her. She drives the beer cart around the course basically. But, becasue she works there, her and her husband get to golf for free, then, any of her friends (up to a certain limit, because, you don't want 10 people golfing one round together, it would take forever) get to play for $25. This particular course costs $70 on the weekends for a round for non-members. So, yes, its a great deal!!! But, Sunday afternoon, we are for sure watching the Buffalo Bill's game. It will be that way every Sunday till after Christmas. Yay for football season. :)
Peace out!
So, last night was our season opener for fall softball season. I was semi-nervous, mosly cuz, I really sucked it up in batting practice last time. I couldn't get a hit to save my life. But, last night I got 3 base hits and even managed to score a run. I had one grounder come to me in left center and I managed to toss it in, but, I don't think we got anyone out with it. But, still, we could have if we had the chance. haha. Unfortunetly, we lost 10-7. But, still not bad for a first game. And, the funny thing, is the pitcher on the other team was our mortgage broker! Steve was the pitcher on our team, and I kept telling him to say "I'll throw you a good one if you give us a good interest rate!" when she came up to bat. hahahaha.
After the game I continuted to be a fatty by drinking several Bud Lights, and then when we got home, we ordered Barnaby's pizza. The game was at 7:46, and we hadn't had time to eat beforehand, so, we semi-drank our dinner. We weren't wasted necessarily, but we had a decent buzz, and, for whatever reason didn't stop on the way home for anything. I didn't want to go back out, and steve wouldn't let me order anything for delivery (becasue of the whole $1.50 delivery charge most places have down here). So, instead we get Barnaby's Pizza, which, is good pizza, but its like, $17 for a large. I'm like, "Umm....ordering dominoes & paying the delivery fee would be cheaper!!" But sometimes there is no arguing with a semi-drunk Steve (or a semi-drunk Jessica for that matter). So, we get it, bring it home, engourge ourselves, then go to bed.
Not sure what we are doing today. I would like to drive around neighborhoods and maybe take a look at some houses, but, for one, I'm not really sure if our realtor has been looking at stuff for us or not yet (he just got our preapproval stuff last Friday, which, he was in Tampa then anyway for Labor Day). But, at the same time, I'm sure if we called him up this morning and told him we wanted to take a look at stuff, he could pull up a few places for us to check out this afternoon. I might go to http://www.zillow.com to take a look at average neighborhood pricings, and then also our City/County's GIS website has a listing of all the school zones, neighborhood flood zones, and property tax info online as well. Might not hurt to do a little research. Mostly, I think we want to stay on the east side of town. No real ties to north or south, though north does have the better school districts, but, central/south is where more of our *social* network lives." But, I'm certainly not going to pass up a good deal just to be closer to friends. I'm sure we'll still hang out, just might not be as many house parties. :)
Well, I should probably start cleaning the house up (er, apartment) a little. And I have to read about a chapter and a half still for my class on Monday. I'd like to get it out of the way with this morning so I can just relax ther est of the weekend. We might play golf tomorrow morning (which, I'm still not sure about cuz we need to go to church). My friend recently got a part time job as "beer wench" as we call her. She drives the beer cart around the course basically. But, becasue she works there, her and her husband get to golf for free, then, any of her friends (up to a certain limit, because, you don't want 10 people golfing one round together, it would take forever) get to play for $25. This particular course costs $70 on the weekends for a round for non-members. So, yes, its a great deal!!! But, Sunday afternoon, we are for sure watching the Buffalo Bill's game. It will be that way every Sunday till after Christmas. Yay for football season. :)
Peace out!
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