It looks like we will be closing on the house this Tuesday (7/22). It’s not a firm date yet. It will depend on that last bit of paperwork to trickle thru. I feel like this will be the date though. Hopefully, I will know by Monday. If so, I will post an update.
Inventory is 2 weeks from tomorrow. I will be so glad when that’s all over. I hope that everything goes smoothly. Then, the week that follows inventory is another set of meetings for me again in Dallas. I will be so glad when it slows down just a bit so that I can catch my breath. I have had a lot of major things to get used to all at once. I seem to stay a bit overwhelmed….but I am managing OK I think.
I’m not sure when our last day here at the apartments will be yet. I need to find out when we will have to be in the new place so that we can give our notice here.
I am off work this weekend. I usually never have both weekend days off in a row. However, I have been out of town for most of the week and it was really the only time left for me to be off. I am not really doing anything today. Marcus should be home from work in another hour and a half or so. I think we might meet up for a bit in New Braunfels after he gets off work and go from there.
I will blog more later when I have a firm closing date.
I just got off of the phone with my mother a little over an hour ago. I caught her up on what all is going on with the house and with my promotion at work. She and my father had just returned from a vacation trip to Pigeon Forge with my younger brother and his family. I am sure that they had a good time. I wish I could have gone with them. I suppose that this is one of the hard things about living several states away from your family.
Despite being cut off several times during the course of the conversation, my mom and I had a good talk. I miss her so much. Ideally, things would be different and I could live nearby (like my younger brother and his family). However, try as I might, I guess that my life is what it is. I have to accept the fact that my life has taken me rather far from “home”. If anything, I am grateful that my parents gave me the strength to “stand on my own two feet” and deal with what all comes your way in life. I like to think that I gained my strength from my father….my huge heart from my mother….and my sense of humor from both of them. Put it all together….and I am one lucky person. The older that I get….the more I realize that they have both taught me…..the more of THEM that I see in MYSELF.
Before I moved to Texas, my mom filled out several recipe cards for me. Each card contained a recipe that my mom used to make as I grew up. I just sent my mom the titles of all of those recipes. With it, I asked her to start emailing me recipes each week or month or so. She has no idea how much I cherish those recipes from home.
I will blog more this week….especially if I find out when we are closing on the home here. More later…..
I have had so much on my plate lately…taking care of the tax lien…trying to get everything done regarding the house…inventory coming up at work…the list goes on and on. Then, out of nowhere, I find out that my store manager is transferring to another store and that I am being promoted to the store manager position at my current location!
I, of course, accepted the position. It’s a great opportunity for me and is the next logical step in my development. However, the timing has made it seem completely surreal to me. I am currently in the throws of coordinating the upcoming biannual inventory (which is a big deal at our store since we have TONS of merchandise and an enormous stock room). So, it really has not sunk in yet that I am now “the big boss”. It still seems like my former manager is simply on vacation or something….and that, at any time, I will come to work and find her back in her office again.
However, her office is now MY office and I still can’t get used to that. Most of her stuff has been removed from the walls and it looks so empty and bare in there. I have not yet had the time to “make it my own” ….since most of my time these next few weeks will be taken up with various tasks related to coordinating this inventory. To be honest, I don’t think that it will really sink in until after we finish inventory on August 3rd. After that, things should settle down a bit and get back to normal…as normal as retail gets I suppose.
Don’t get me wrong…
I am totally excited. It’s something that I have wanted for a while now. Even though I will be nervous about assuming the new role, I think that in time I will do fine. For now, it has been a bitter/sweet period for the staff (me included). I think that they will really miss the former manager and are dealing with her leaving our location and, at the same time, they are excited for me and my new role too. I only hope that I can be the great manager that they need and deserve. I will surely jump right in and give it “the old college try”.
So today is a day of rest for me…well….almost a day of rest. I DO have to work on a few inventory things at some point today. However, I also know that I have 3 fairly difficult weeks ahead of me and I also need the time to chill out…soak everything in….get supercharged….and get some R&R so that I can be the best that I can be.
I will be out of town this next Wednesday and Thursday. I have to attend two meetings for work. Also, there is a possibility that I may be closing on my home this coming Tuesday or Friday (after I get back from my meetings). All of that depends on the last little bit of the paperwork to trickle thru. I will post any updates that happen between now and Tuesday. I won’t be able to post while I am out of town. I don’t want drag my laptop with me.
Hopefully, I will be a homeowner soon. Keep those fingers crossed. Im off now for some R&R…
Just sending out a quick “home” update. It looks like we are almost ready to close on our home!!! It’s been a long road, but I think that we are almost there. The lien has now officially been removed….thank goodness.
All that the lender is waiting on is the title to clear and the survey to be done. After that, we will simply have to go to the closing and sign the paperwork. If everything else is done on time, then we could be closing as early as this next Tuesday or Friday.
Once we close on the house, then it will be another 45 - 60 days until we actually move (or so I am told). They can’t do any of the work to make the land ready for move-in until I actually own the land…duh! All of this work takes time. They will have to dig underground lines for the electricity, water, and septic. They will have to make sure the ground is level for the home and remove 3 small trees so that the home can be placed on the spot. Once the home arrives, they will have to level the home, put skirting around the home, do any touch-up work on the inside and outside, hook up the electricity, water, and sewage, etc….
We won’t start actually making the mortgage payments until after all of the above work is complete and the house is 100% move-in ready.
This all should work out fine. We have to give a 60 day notice here at the apartments anyway. So that stuff will allow us the time that we will need in order to give our notice and pack up all of our stuff. There is also plenty of cleaning to do here at the apartment as well.
We are very excited. It sure has been one hell of a road (and it’s not over just yet). I will be able to breathe a little easier once the house is ours and then once inventory is over at my job.
I am off work today and tomorrow. Marcus had to go in this morning for a bit…but should be home soon. We don’t have big plans for tonight. I’m hoping that they will have the usual fireworks here in San Marcos. I need to look on the Chamber of Commerce website and check. I know that several areas are so dry that they are under burn bans. I’m not sure if this will effect the festivities tonight or not. I think that we’ll probably do the traditional hot dogs, baked beans, and chips. I think I will make brownies for dessert.
Hopefully, we will know something on Monday about the house. I think that lien thing should have been resolved yesterday (7/3). However, so many places (like the lender and the Georgia Department of Revenue) closed early for the holiday. None of them will re-open until Monday. I guess that a couple of more days of waiting won’t kill me huh? As always, I will keep everyone posted.
Best wishes to all of our family, friends, and readers. Enjoy your weekend!!!
So I got a call today from the lender. Apparently, he made contact with the guy from the Georgia Department of Revenue. Supposedly, the revenue guy is going to have our stuff fixed no later than tomorrow (July 3rd). If so, I should get a call back from my lender tomorrow. Funny how a call from a lender can get the department of revenue to move on things huh?
If all of this works out, then I guess I could potentially be closing within another week or so. Again, I will have to find out from the lender. I’m still trying not to get excited yet, but it’s hard at this point.
My day off has been restful. I haven’t really done anything much at all. At these gas prices, I can’t afford to really go anywhere anyway. Marcus was home a little early. I had dinner ready when he got home (I know….how Donna Reed). It was really good though. We had baked chicken breasts with a yummy smoked peppercorn rub and green beans.
I think we’re about to make some coffee since it’s still early. I’ll be glad when tomorrow gets here so that I can see what the lender finds out. I’ll post as soon as I know more.
I actually DID get the call from the lender today that I was supposed to get. He actually seemed to be a pretty nice guy. He asked me to get the name and number for the Georgia Department of Revenue representative for him so that he could help us obtain the the info. that we need in order to close on the house. I was very reassured by this. Hopefully, this will all work out after all.
Money is going to be very very tight over these next two weeks. So we really have to try not to spend anymore than we have to. It’s just a temporary thing…but it sure sucks nonetheless.
I will be anxious to see when I hear back from the lender. I want to see if HE can get anywhere with this whole process. In the meantime, we are still going to call ourselves and apply the pressure. Why oh why does it always have to be so difficult. Still, at least I have made some progress. More later.
So my day off is almost at a close. I always hate to see them end. You spend so much time looking forward to your days off that, to me, it’s kinda depressing how fast they actually go by.
Marcus and I did have a good day though. We ran our errands and bought some groceries for this next week. We came home and made homemade chicken salad and created sandwiches with that. They were great!!! After that, we took the dogs on a long stroll, came back, and then went on a short stroll (just the two of us).
Now we are back. Marcus is upstairs reading his online blogs that he subscribes to and I am downstairs working on this one.
I have so much to get started on tomorrow that I don’t even know where to begin. Added to that is the fact that this week is a short week for me. I will be off on Wednesday, Friday (for the July 4 holiday) and Saturday. So, this coming week already feels like it’s shot before it even begins.
I am hoping that I can get in touch with some of my friends from Atlanta this week while I have a little extra time off. I am behind on that stuff.
I’m going to go check and see what Marcus is up to. I will be heading to bed in a little while.
I’ll keep everyone posted on how the lien stuff goes this week. Until tomorrow…
Marcus and I actually have the day off together. He had to go in to work for a few hours this morning and get things up and running but he was home by the time that I woke up. We had breakfast together and have been watching TV while the clothes finish drying. We have a few errands to run this afternoon and then, maybe we will have some time to hang out a little…maybe do a little window shopping or something.
It’s not often that we get to spend an entire day together, so this is a real treat!
Tomorrow, we start with our ritual of hounding the guy at the Georgia Department Of Revenue so that we can get this lien released. I have to get going with inventory preparation (which is now only a month away). But for now…I am going not going to think about any of that. Instead, I am going to focus on my day with Marcus and having fun.
I just added an RSS feed to my website so that readers can automatically receive updates when I change or add to my blog. To subscribe…make sure that you click on the ORANGE SQUARE in the right column (NOT THE WORDS). Then, follow the directions that you see.
I was waiting on my clothes to finish washing (before I go to work), when I found this video on YouTube. Apparently, it’s a dealer that’s walking you thru a Palm Harbor home that he has for sale. What I thought was interesting is that this home is “almost” just like the one that we are trying to purchase. So, if you want to get a general idea of what it looks like on the inside, you can watch.
A few of the differences that I have noticed are…
The kitchen is the same as ours, except it is located on the opposite side of the home. So, the kitchen and dining areas on ours would be “flip-flopped”.
Ours does not have the nice rock thing going on above the stove that the dealer points out
Ours also does not have a pantry. I wish it did. Although, this just creates a bit more room.
Ours DOES have the same separate laundry room that comes off of the kitchen. Again, like the kitchen, it’s on the opposite side. The back door of our unit leads out from this laundry room.
Anyway, it DOES give you a general idea and I thought you might like to see…
I just got off of the phone with the dealership for our home. He said that we should not be concerned about the 2 week period for securing financing (as mentioned in my previous post), because we are already pre-approved for the loan. So, we have ALREADY secured financing….whew!
We still have to work on getting the lien removed. As far as I understand, that is the very last hurdle that we have to cross before we can actually close on the home. The dealer even said that he would see if we could close on the loan BEFORE the lien was removed (I doubt it….but here’s to hoping).
So I feel better. Perhaps….just perhaps there is a little glimmer of light at the end of this hellish tunnel.
Here’s to hoping that the rest of my day goes smoothly. The boss lady is supposed to be back to work tomorrow, so I can relinquish my term in the driver’s seat. I hope that everyone enjoys their Saturday. I will try to post again tonight if I can. If not, I will definitely post tomorrow.
Today, I have to work the closing shift. I don’t go in until 1:00 this afternoon. I always think that working a closing shift is kinda weird. I never quite know what to do with the first part of my day. By the time that I get up and get going, I don’t seem to really have time to do much of anything productive. So, I usually find myself doing little things…..like blogging, emailing, surfing the internet, or watching television…all done with my cup of coffee well within reach!
Marcus has to work today too. He is going to try to get in touch with the guy at the Georgia Revenue Department again. We learned yesterday that we have two weeks in order to get our financing completely secured…with a firm commitment to lend by the lender. If we can’t do that, then the seller of the land can back out of the deal and retain our earnest money. I don’t know if the lender will commit unless the lien is removed…or at least until the lender can verify that it WILL be removed. So….for us, that means that we have to bug the living snot out of the guy at the department of revenue that’s working on our file. Marcus said that we need to call him everyday and every hour and literally flood his voice mail with messages until he gets so tired of hearing from us that he finishes our file just to get rid of us. That works for me. I’m not sure how successful we will be….or even if that is realistic for us to call that much. But, anything is worth a try at this point.
I will continue to keep you all updated on how things are going. Wish us luck. We sure could use a stroke of good fortune at the moment.
So I am trying to stay positive here. Therefore, I will NOT fill you in on all of the things that caused me great stress during the day today (most of which relate to…….you guessed it…..trying to get this lien removed and the whole house buying process).
Instead, I will attempt to focus on the positive things in my life at the moment……oh yes…..they ARE out there!
I am really glad that Marcus (my partner…for those of you that don’t know) now has a job where he is home at a decent hour (often before me). I can’t tell you how much I have missed him being home more. He still works full-time, but he works mostly “normal” hours now….which is great. I enjoy talking to him so much. Even when we argue, we always end up laughing. We can never stay mad at each other. He works so hard and is such a terrific guy. I am so lucky.
And then there are my boys………..Leo & Charlie.
Honestly, I don’t know what on earth I would do without them. Perhaps the thing that I love the most is the fact that they really NEED me. I won’t lie. That’s a good feeling. We all need to feel needed and wanted. We all need to feel like we are the best part about someone’s day. There is no doubt that this is the case with these two pugs. I always know by the wags in their tails and the way that they trample each other in order to be the pug that gets the next loving pat from “pop” <<— yea that’s me.
So now it’s time for me to simply STOP….slow down…..take a breather…..and know that everything will be fine and work out just the way that God has planned for it to work out. Sometimes I think I need that little reminder in a world full of stress.
This episode of The Reba Show was on tonight. It features Kelly Clarkson and is one of my favorite episodes from this series. Kelly really is quite funny. There were many references to American Idol. Marcus and I usually watch this show every evening after we get off of work.
Today was an OK day. I just finished a post about my tax lien. I am hoping that someone, that’s been thru it, will respond and can offer up some advice. It’s really frustrating knowing that something as stupid as a lien, that was filed by mistake, is the only thing keeping me from closing on the loan.
Marcus tried calling the Georgia Revenue department today without any success. We can never reach who we NEED to reach WHEN we need to reach them.
Tonight was taco night. We’re trying to eat cheaply for the next month or so. This will help us save up as much as possible to move with.
I’m posting this in the hopes that someone has been thru something similar and can give me some advice. Here’s the story…
The state of Georgia filed a tax lien against me last year (without me knowing about it) from the tax year 2004. I now live out of state. After making the appropriate phone calls and securing the appropriate records, I learned that the lien was filed in error.
To correct THEIR mistake, I had to get a copy of the transcripts of my tax returns for the tax year in question (2004) from the Federal Government and send it in to the State of Georgia. Basically, the State of Georgia didn’t see where I sent in my “Schedule A” to claim my deductions (primarily the interest paid on my home). So, they assumed that I “owed” money for that year, when in fact, I should have received a refund.
This brings me to where I am now. I sent everything in 2 - 3 weeks ago. I have verified that the State of Georgia (Revenue division) have received my paperwork and have started, if not finished with the corrections. I have tried several times to follow up with the man from the state to no avail. We keep playing phone tag.
My main concern is this…
I am in the process of trying to close on a home and I know that this cannot happen until I can show proof (via some sort of letter) that the lien has been removed or satisfied. I’m just wondering how long this takes. I have until the end of July before I have to close, without doing an extension. I just wondered if anyone out there had been thru a similar situation. I have heard that it takes up to 30 days. I just wasn’t sure if this was the amount of time to get everything processed or if that was how long it took to get such a letter of proof. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
As you know…I LOVE Morrissey. I found this video on YouTube today. It’s his newest single from his last album. It’s a great song. I’ve been a Morrissey fan for years and years and attended countless concerts. He still looks and sounds great after all of these years. He’ll always be my hero.
I have spent a good portion of the day working on this blog (reconstructing it after deleting so much of it by mistake….oops!) and also working on my family website ( http://www.ourpughouse.homestead.com ). I had to redo the family website since so much of it was linked directly to this blog. I changed a few things on both the website and the blog. I tried to make it more simple. I think that will help me to stay motivated about keeping up with it.
Honestly, it had become so complex (with so many links and sections and categories) that, at times, it was somewhat overwhelming. I would find myself wondering where in the world I was going to start. I suppose that was a very important lesson learned about website development/management. I will be content to chalk that up to experience.
So, here’s to hoping that I will do a better job this “go around” and that more people will read the blog and the website.
The boys are now napping after having just gone out for a long walk. It’s just over 100 degrees here in Texas today and they are worn out. For that matter, I am tired myself. I think I will go relax with them.
Nothing too big going on today.
Marcus is at work. I am hoping that he might get off work early so that we can have to some to hang out a bit. The broker for the land left me a message today saying that he DID get my official offer on his fax machine today for the land that we are hoping to buy. He also told me that they wanted less earnest money than what I was previously told. That was good news. The broker said that he had spoken to the dealer at Palm Harbor yesterday (probably after I talked to the dealer myself). I told the dealer what my hesitations were about forking over any earnest money for the land too soon and the chance of losing it. I’m quite sure that this is why the price suddenly went down. To be honest, I really don’t care what the reason is. It went down right?
I think that I will wait until Marcus gets home before I call the broker back. Marcus has talked to him more than me anyway. I’m about to call Marcus and leave him a message to tell him about everything.
As I have said before…If I ever get into this house, then I will NEVER EVER buy…sell…or move again! This whole process is such a hassle and makes me a nervous wreck.
I have been quite lazy so far today. It’s a little after noon and I have done nothing but watch re-runs of Mama’s Family on AOL Television.
I have to get some laundry going and take a stab at some housework. I will blog more later.
So there’s a reason that I am not the head of IBM…
In an attempt to simplify my blog, I accidently deleted my entire journal. I suppose this means that I will have to start over again.
As much as I get annoyed with computers, I can’t imagine for a single second what we would ever do without them. We are so overly attached to them in this day and age. Life, as we know it, would literally come to a grinding halt without the computer. It’s sort of mind boggling if you really sit down and think about it.
I’ve been so very stressed out lately about trying to get into this house. My foot is continuing to heal…although it’s still giving me some problems. I went to the doctor this last week and could not get a real specific answer as to what exactly it was. The best that they could do was call it a “sprain”. How vague is that?
Although it was still in the acceptable range, my blood pressure was a little higher than normal when they tested it at the doctor’s office. I’m sure that part of it is all of this stress.
Back to the house thing for a moment…
We made the initial formal offer for the land today. All we can do now is wait and see if the seller accepts the offer “as is” or if he counters the offer. We will also have to get the earnest money to the title company. After that…all we will have left to do is finish getting the tax lien removed and then actually close on the property.
I will try to keep everyone updated as to how things continue to progress.
I’ve had a long day at work. My manager is out on vacation, which puts me in the driver’s seat for the rest of this week. So far, things are going pretty well. Tomorrow (Wednesday) is my day off.
I’ve been watching Mama’s Family since I got home tonight. I found a YouTube clip of the series that I will post below.
