studio*chaos

Home Sweet Home

It's official. We are moved in and I am currently drowning in a sea of boxes and stuff I never knew I owned. It's GLORIOUS!

The last day...

It's officially here. The last day of an hour long commute. The last day of purchasing insane amounts of gas just to get to work. The last day to live with Mom & Dad. The last day until we move into our new home.

Here are just a few photos of how we have been living these past few months.

The pups have been sleeping in my parents unfinished addition downstairs adjacent to the kitchen. Why the tarp you ask? All the stress plays havoc on the boys tummies so it's down there in case any accidents happen. And they did for the first month we were here. Oh, and yes we only have 4 dogs, the 5th cage is my parents dog Lily's crate.

The other side of the same room is full of misc boxes and things that needed to be kept inside(computer). It's actually organized in this photo! Most of the time it was all crammed into that right hand corner.

 

We have been sleeping on our own mattress upstairs in what was originally my bedroom, then my sisters and now the unfinished guest bedroom. Living out of a suitcase and some boxes is not quite and pleasant as it may sound.

 

We are poised and ready to GO. We spent last night picking up the trailer from a friends and loading it up with all the boxes that have been in storage since february! Tonight we will load it up with the remaining tidbits that we have left in the house and my parents storage area.

Tomorrow we will rise and SHINE early on what looks like is going to be a rainy day and drive ourselves up to Charlotte and close on our new home. I cannot wait.

Were getting a house, we're getting a house!

Closing scheduled for 10 AM on Friday Sept 18th!!! The end is near people, we can see the LIGHT!

09.09.09

What a great day 09.09.09 was indeed for us. We got the "Clear to Close" and should be closed on our home with keys in hand by Sept. 23rd. ::big sigh of relief::

Maybe that raincloud that was hanging over us for so long is about to move on and make way for some sunshine. Either way I celebrated by ordering some Purdy's Chocolates!

Update :: On having thoughts of strangling the underwriter

From: Financial Guy (Name withheld on purpose)

Sent: Tue 9/8/2009 4:24 PM

To: Rohrer,Jason
Subject: RE: Where We Stand on Mortgage

Hello I did have a good weekend, and I hope you did as well.  I have been in touch and nothing new, but they tell me at any time, I almost would guarantee knowing something by tomorrow.

Thank you,

Financial Guy

Mortgage Consultant

REALLY? REALLY? I sooo want this underwriters job. No rush, no time constraints, no worrying that the customer has now had to ask for 3 contract extensions. Does he worry? Nope. Taking his own FREAKIN time. Seriously, some heads are going to roll. Soon.

The crying game

As of Thursday Sept 3rd ::

Hello Mr. Rohrer, unfortunately I did not receive any documentation from
the lender, I did speak with them, and they stated I should have an
answer in 24 to 48 hours on your file.

24 hours = Friday Sept 4th

48 hours = Tuesday Sept 8th!!

I am now starting to bald from all the hair I have been pulling out of my head.

Technically we are homeless...

Not living in a house that is yours is a very strange sensation. I have been living on my own since that day after I graduated high school. I was not the type of kid who wanted to spend summers at home or visit on a regular basis for that matter. Jason has been living away from home even longer than I have because he spent his Junior and Senior years at NC School of Science & Math, an away boarding school. So needless to say we are going on over a month of living at my Parents house in Winnsboro, SC and it's starting to wear on us.

You see, it's not my parents that are the problem. My parents are fabulous, laid back and welcoming. It's just the plain fact that you have 4 people, 2 couples (both of which are under stress for various reasons) and 6 dogs and one terrorizing cat in one house. It's a bit, frustrating at times. Although it has helped that my Grandmother has left for a few months to visit family in Alaska. Having 5 people in the house was NOT working out.

Throw in the fact that J and I have very different schedules, an hour commute each way to our jobs in Charlotte and are living out of a suitcase in my old bedroom from high school. NOT FUN.

Not to mention our dogs think we LIVE here now and so they will be even more stressed when we move AGAIN to the house we are supposed to be living in. That's if we get the house, still no word. I'm not the praying type, but Buddha may get a call sometime soon from me.

Please, hurry up and wait.

I briefly described the problems we have been having with trying to move to Charlotte and buying a house. Last week we sent in the final paperwork and proof of down payment to the underwriters in hopes of having them approve our loan. And now, we are waiting.

We are told we should get word by the end of the week, which is a good thing because our contract extension on the house ends on friday the 4th. It's sink or swim. They will either come back with a denial or a clear to close letter. We are hoping for the latter. Please cross your fingers for us.

Can you pay me now?

I have been a Verizon Wireless customer for as long as I can remember. Even before cell phones were really big, I had a "car phone". Ya know, the big bag phones? Well I had one in high school. I still have the same phone number as that bag car phone. So when it came time for me to venture out on the wireless phone journey by myself years ago, I went with the service provider my family had been using for years. Verizon Wireless.

I have been pretty happy with Verizon up till these few past months. Maybe the last year. #1 they don't have the iPhone with I really want, but they do have a great selection of Blackberry's of which I have one. #2 (and this is my major beef) my phone bill is ridiculous. J and I share 700 minutes, of which we use like 400, but lose all of them at the end of the month. I can never predict my phone bill and it is usually in the $175-$250 range! That's absurd! For two phones, only one of which is a smart phone. Jason still has a crappy flip phone that barely takes pics.

Needless to say we are peeved and in want of a steady phone bill we can predict that is well under $200. So my first choice is AT&T. Reason? the iPhone. If i've done my research correctly, J and I can BOTH have an iPhone with the data plan, unlimited texting and somewhere around 400 minutes to share that roll over, all for around $160+tax. It's looking good for me right now. Only problem, Verizon with going to charge us $175 PER LINE to cancel our contract. PIRATES I TELL YOU!

So here's where I cam. Is paying the $350 to cancel Verizon and move to AT&T going to be a good decision? Is the savings from moving to AT&T going to outweigh they initial $350 to cancel verizon? Plus, how is AT&T's coverage? Verizon has great coverage. We get reception in CANADA & ALASKA. Will we get that with AT&T?

Please, does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Tottenham Hotspur

 

    Somewhere in all this madness that is being homeless, we adopted a kitten. A terror kitty or Tottenham as we try to call him....but it mostly comes out in the form of "you little sh*t!" But he's cute so he's got that going for him + he's fearless. I'll let you decide if thats a good trait or not.