Tomorrow is the big day. Tomorrow we all move into our new house. It will be a crazy, mixed-up day; but then so was today. The moving company sent over the packers today, and when I left about 7:45 this morning, they were well into creating boxes and boxes of our stuff. They were here for five hours packing away. I wish I could say I was here supervising them, but alas I had to go to work and the job of supervisor was left to Tracy. The packers did their jobs, and did them well; when I got home around 6:00 I found the house filled with boxes and displaced furniture. Actually, the movers packed pretty much everything, including items we really didn't want them to pack. Oh well, they did their jobs.

So much was packed up that sleeping in this house tonight would be less than comfortable, so it is off to the new house. Javier is bringing over a couple of air mattresses for us to sleep on tonight. We are actualy looking forward to it. We had originally planned on staying the night there, but the packers packed away our nice air mattress. Like i said, they packed everything. Tracy is very happy and will enjoy spending her first night at the new house, even if it isn't in the comfort she is accustomed to. Honestly, I am as well.

I have photos of the packing, and will post them when I get a chance.

Soon I am signing off the this network for the last time and sometime tomorrow afternoon I will be able to sign onto the new network. I've not built it yet, but I will. Until then, we are all moving, moving, moving!

Tags: New House

Today is the day. The day that my current house stops being "my" house and becomes someone else's house. Yes it is only a structure of wood and bricks, but it was the first house I ever bought. A house I bought on my own. I worked with the builder, made all the selections and signed all the paperwork. It was a great deal of fun, and not much stress. Of course back then I wasn't trying to sell a house to move into a house.

So, today at 10:00 this morning I will again be signing documents; only this time I will be saying good-bye to my home since January of 2003. It's hard to imagine how much has changed in my life since then. When I moved in, I was single and working for Fujitsu. By the time my first payment was due I was unemployed and looking for a new job, hoping I wouldn't lose the home I had just moved into. Here I am 4 1/2 years later, I'm married, have a step-daughter living with us, in my second job since buying the house; in short my life is radically different. Moving into a different house does seem to be the ulitmate end to all of the change I've experienced.

The change has been good to me though. I love my life. I will miss this house, but I've met the new couple moving in and I believe they will be good to her. It doesn't mean I won't shed a tear or two, and well, it's my house and I can cry if I want to. They will be more tears of joy and sweet memories, than anything else. Joy for the years I've spent here, single and married. Joy for the years yet to come, shared in a newer, larger home. A home that Tracy and I chose together. So tears I may shed, but a smile will still be on my face.

Tags: New House, Tracy

We finally have official notice that we will close on June 18th, on both houses. We have no idea of what time yet, but most likely we will close on our current house in the early morning and on the new house in the afternoon. It will make for a crazy, hectic and quite possibly stressful day; but when it is all over we will own a different house. Of course that only sets objects in motion, and a few days later we will move into that new house.

In the past I have hired movers, but done my own packing. This time around I decided it made more sense to hire someone to do the packing. Tracy and I are way too busy to spend every night for a few weeks packing up everything we own. The company I hired should be able to do it all in half a day. The day after they pack, we move. I've used them before and have been very satisfied with the results. If you ever need a moving company in the Dallas area, checkout Major-League Moving.

Thursday, June 21st will be my last full day in the house I built in 2003. The house we are moving too is bigger and nicer, but it won't ever be my first house. Of course, the new one is going to be the first house that Tracy and I purchased together. That in itself is very special.

UPDATE: We actually have a time for the closing now. Everything is now set in motion. A week from now I will be going home to a house full of boxes, and just a sunrise away from the actual move.

Tags: Moving, New House

For those that haven't purchased a house, or who haven't done so in a long time... THE PROCESS SEEMS TO TAKE FOR EVER. Thank the stars above that I have a large amount of patience, but unfortunetly my wife does not. She isn't enjoy the waiting, followed by the hurrying, followed by prolonged waiting. It just doesn't sit well with her at all.

Now we are waiting becuase the agents came up for a solution to the "problems" the buyers were having with the price and the closing costs. My agent presented to me, and I can't say I was pleased with the solution. Basically, without going into detail, the solution involves Tracy and I lowering our price so that the house will appraise and the owners can buy the house with 100% financing. We countered with a few things that we wanted originally, but were denied and are just waiting to see if they stick this time around.

It is nearly 10:30 so I doubt we will hear back tonight, and because of that Tracy probably won't sleep. Remember, she doesn't take well to waiting for answers. The answers will come, and probably the answers she wants; just not in the timeframe she expects or desires. Alas, we are at the whim of the buyers and unfortuntely for us, at the same time we are equally at the whim of the seller's of the house we are buying. So to us, it looks like we are in a lose/lose situation; but then we are going to buy a wonderful house with pretty much everything we wanted.

That has to count for something, right?

Tags: New House

Yesterday I received an e-mail informing me that we have experienced a pretty significant hiccup in the sale of our home. The appraiser informed the buyer's agent that he didn't feel he needed to do the appraisal as the comps for the area don't justify the price we are selling the house to the buyers. The item to note is that the buyers are wrapping their closing costs into the deal, raising the price they are paying for the house. Had they not done that, the appraisal probably would have been fine.

Our agent is working the problem and has a few ideas. We aren't dead in the water, this type of problem isn't unusual. Appraising is all based on opinion, not fact. As someone told me, a house is worth what someone is willing to pay for it; yet to the bank it is worth what they can sell it for should the owner default.

It's just another reason to really not enjoy the moving process.

Tags: New House

We don't know what day we will be moving, but we do know it will be prior to June 23rd. That's right, we have only a few short weeks left in my first house. I started construction on this house back in October of 2002 and moved in on January 3rd of 2003. This was my first house and while not a complicated project for me personally, was still a major milestone in my life. While I will move on to other houses, other homes, this 1600 sq. foot structure will always hold a special place in my life. Not just because it was my first house, it was also the first house that Tracy, Courtney and I shared together; and together we are moving on to our next house, our next home.

I don't know for how long I will wax nostalgic about this house, and I am not the only one. All three of us do love this house; we have just outgrown what it can provide. The next house is bigger and yes, even a little nicer. There is a little work that we need to do and it won't be the same no matter what we do. As always, life is fully about change. One could say that this is just the final result of my new life with Tracy, and one might be right. That isn't to say that I don't fully enjoy each and every change that I've experience since meeting Tracy, in point of fact, I have fully enjoyed them all.

So while I say good bye to this house and the few years I lived here, I say hello to a new one and all the new experiences that come with that home. I also know that a new couple will become the caretaker of the home I had built. I believe they will take good care of her and she will in turn take good care of them.

Tags: New House

We put our house on the market back in March, and since then have been looking and waiting, waiting and looking. After over three months, we have accepted an offer on house and the offer we made on the house we want has been accepted. Now, to say the deal is done doesn't mean it is all said and done, but the hard part is finally over.

I would love to say that the stress of the house hunt was over, but alas it isn't quite yet. We still have to close, and the appraisal hasn't yet been done on this house yet. I still have a few repairs to have done on this house, and we will need to review the house we are buying to insure nothing needs to be done there before we move in to the house. Of course, there is the move itself, along with getting all the various services switched over or turned on. For example, I don't know what rooms have coaxial connections already for TV and I will have to create a wireless network that will cover 3000 sq. feet of house.

With all that being said, Tracy, Courtney and myself are all very excited about the new house. It will give us all the space we need, and then some; as well as being a great place for Tracy and I to entertain family and friends. Tracy gets the space she needs for her stamping business and Courtney will have plenty of space to hide from us as teenagers like to do. Yes, even I get my own little space in the house.

The fine step before moving... THE CLOSING! Just the words alone can put fear in the hearts of home buyers. STAY TUNED, THE EXCITING SAGA IS FAR FROM OVER.

See Photos of the House

Tags: New House

We chose the house we loved.
We decided what we wanted to offer.
We made that offer.
They home seller made a counter offer.
We discussed the counter offer.
We countered their counter.
They came back with the same counter offer as before.
Now we working the numbers and asking for a little more detail on a few items.

All the while the clock ticks, ticks, ticks... doing what it does best. Moving through time without a care in the world; while we wait to find out what our next step will be. I'm not sure what is more nerve racking, trying to figure out how much house we can afford; or the endless waiting that seems to be involved in with both selling and buying a house.

They call this the American Dream!!! Seems more like a NIGHTMARE!

Tags: New House

Well, it is Friday morning, very early, and I am off to Oklahoma City. My company has an office there and I have a couple of unexpected meetings to attend. It's an easy drive, but I will still spent nearly 7 hours on the road today. YUCK!!!! I will get to spend some quality time with my iPod though as I'm wheeling down the road.

Speaking of wheeling, we are trying to wheel and deal on the house we want to buy. We may know by tonight if we have one the day or not. It's a very nice house, nearly 3000 sq ft in size. Tracy loves the kitchen and it even has a 3 car garage. This house has plenty of room for all of our STUFF! It is lacking in the back yard, with only a 2x2 patio. I know, you read 2x2 and you are thinking that's a mistake... nope, it's not. The house does have a gorgeous front yard with a covered front porch. Which is nice, it gives me a place to smoke a cigar after a long drive to say, Oklahoma City.

The contract on our house is fully signed, sealed and delivered. We are just waiting on the appraisal and closing. This weekend the process of packing will begin, although we are using movers to do most of the major packing; Tracy wants to pack her stamping collection and some of the ultra-breakable items. If all goes well, we will close on or before the 22nd of June on both houses and be fully moved by the 24th. Stay tuned!

Oh well, time to drive to Oklahoma City. it's only 5 am. What else would I be doing at this time of the day.

Tags: New House, Travel

Well, it looks as though I have sold my house and for nearly what we were asking. That's always nice! It ain't over till it's over, but we are close. The buyer may sign the paperwork tonight, may be over the weekend. Tracy, Courtney and I must now finish the process of selecting the homes we want to put offers on and seeing what comes of it. Tomorrow we get with our agent and begin looking at houses in a new light.... the light of knowing we have to buy a new house by June 22nd.

It's very exciting!

Tags: New House

Well, we have an offer on the house. It isn't a perfect offer and we have to counter. We don't have to sell the house, so I like the feeling of not "having to accept any offer." We can afford to get the offer we want. The house has had many viewings since we put it on the market and we haven't had a single negative comment about the house. Again, that allows us to really be picky about who we sell the house to and how much we are willing to accept to do so.

We have to buy our next house and know the number we need to be at to make that happen.

No matter though, I can honestly say..... I hate this process; at least the selling part. The buying is frustrating to because much of what we really like is out of our price range; in some cases not by a huge margin either. We have set our upper limit though and won't go over it. Just not smart to do so.

In a few days the house may have a contract on it fully signed, or it may not. It's like a soap opera!

Tags: New House

We didn't see any action this past week on the house, and the weather for the weekend isn't look all that good; so it could be a slow weekend. We knew there would be good weeks and slow weeks, and this past one was just slow.

Tags: New House

For the past two weekends Tracy, Courtney and I have gone out house hunting with our agent. While we only spend 3 or 4 hours looking at actual homes, we spend hours each day throughout the week looking at homes on the net, deciding which we wan to see, which we don't like at all and those that we might want to look at because we like the description, but there are no photos or we can't really tell what the interior looks like with the photos provided. We have gotten very good at the internet research too.

I have to admit that I think we have found the best sites, for Texas anyway, that give us all the photos and all the data so we can make some pretty solid decisions. Some information we are not privy to, like "Days on Market" and the "Seller," but our agent is of course and that is what counts. We are just looking for homes that will work for us and mostly to get a feeling for the market. Our house might not sell for a month or more and the homes we look at today, could be gone tomorrow. The aim for the past two weekends was to get a feeling for the market and what we can buy for what we are willing to spend. (UPDATE: NOT ALL PHOTOS ARE LISTED AT THE MOMENT DUE TO A TECHNICAL PROBLEM - THEY WILL BE SHORTLY)

Click Here to Read More...

Tags: New House

It seems that man's best friend, can be his worst enemy when he is trying to sell a home. We have two dogs, Morgan and Gracy and while we love them dearly; they do their jobs of protecting our home from invaders a little too well. I can't blame them, they are genetically wired to protect their den at all costs from those they either don't know or don't trust. I don't think we can teach them that the agent entering the house is there to help us, not hurt us.

That leaves Tracy and I in a quandary, what do we do about our two best friends? We can lock them in the garage, but that just seems cruel; and I know that Gracy will not appreciate it at all! We could lock them in the so called "Media Room," but while they may like that better, it would keep potential buyers from seeing one of the rooms in the house.

Not sure what we do, but we will have to think of something quick. Two agents have nearly turned away due to the dogs and only didn't because the first time Courtney was at home and the second time our agent was at the house taking photos. So we were lucky, but unless one of those agents has someone that is going to buy the house now, our luck may be running out.

Tags: New House, Pets

Yesterday, Tracy, Courtney and I visited several more homes in our search to find the perfect replacement to our existing home. The search helped us to narrow down our list of choices and proved that we have done a very good job in preparing our home for sale. After some of the homes we saw, it is scary what some people don't do to sell their home; and ever scarier what people do to their beautiful homes when they own them.

The search though isn't an easy one. We looked at 6 homes yesterday and four of them were far from acceptable. One of them had been so mistreated that after just a few years of life, it looked like a 10 year old home. One of them we looked at yesterday looked pretty good, bringing the sum total of all the homes we have looked at that we liked, to two!

Of course, we can't consider buying a home until we sell ours. So we just sit back now and see what happens.

Tags: New House

A picture from a magazine! Shows like a model home! Fancy formal dining room with custom drapery & opulent chandelier. Grand Living room with cozy fireplace, ceiling fan, and surround-sound wiring. Open kitchen with built-in appliances:microwave, electric range,dishwasher, breakfast bar & separate dining area. Split master suite has sitting area and bathroom with double vanity, garden tub, shower, & walk-in closet. House completely wired for network & cable(includes router).

That's the description you will find in the MLS database describing my home for the past 4 years. I have to admit it is a little strange seeing my house listed, my very first house; but it's exciting as well. If you know anyone looking to buy a quaint little home in Wylie, have them call our agent. We would be happy to show them the house.

If you are interested in seeing the listing, as seen on Realtor.com, Click HERE.

Tags: New House

After much debate and discussion, Tracy and I have begun the process of looking for a new place to live. No, we aren't getting evicted and we aren't looking for something smaller; we are in fact looking for something some what bigger, like say 2500 square feet. Our current house, which we do love, is just squeezing us a little bit. Tracy enjoys to entertain, not always fancy, but guests over. This house makes it possible, but not always comfortable.

The process has only just begun, we haven't even chosen a realtor, much less listed the house. Mainly we have been looking around at what Wylie has to offer in the square footage we are interested in seeing. We started on the high end to see what we like, even that which we knew was out of our price range, and worked our way down to homes we could pretty easily afford. This way we got a good idea of what the market is currently offering, which in turn is giving me an idea of what my house might be worth. We have finally settled on a price range and an upper limit; I've even gotten pre-approval for a loan to insure that we can move forward if we desire to do so. Click Here to Read More...

Tags: New House, Tracy