A good day

 Yeah, the foundation repair work on the house being sold is done! Car insurance where we are moving will be $117 less each six months -a pleasant surprise. It has been sunny and fairly warm! 

Week 12: One week until move & the pup's to do list

The pup's to do list is getting shorter as I picked up a copy of his vet records and a new address tag. Still have to change his microchip online info and pack his stuff lol. As you can see, he is not at all stressed by his to do list.

Selling the house is moving forward quickly now that it is in escrow. We countered the buyers' contingency amendment more with language clarification about deadlines than content. The termite/dry rot repairs are done and the foundation repairs we had to make are almost done. One repair is still up in the air as it is the HOA's responsibility unless they find termite damage when they start working and then it is our problem.

Decluttering Progress

3 more items gone. Total YTD = 120 items + lots of photos & paperwork

Week 12: Mid-week check in

New House: 

Comcast delivered the equipment that hopefully Hubby can set up by himself. The utilities are all on and first bills paid. Our son keeps checking the mail for us which has been very helpful. 

Monday I used 4 hours of my life to go through the new house's home inspection & pest reports plus work documentation and darn if we didn't miss that they didn't take care of anything that was in the pest report.  A second opinion is in our near future. Some of the things noted will probably be fixed in the process of doing the earthquake retrofit to current standards so we also need to get the structural engineering firms out soon to give options and bids for the retrofit and drainage problem solutions. Sigh.

The good news is that I now have a clear picture of what was repaired/updated and what needs to be done plus service provider names/recommendations. 

Current House Sale: 

The buyer has asked for some things based on the inspection report and we are deciding how to respond.

Moving: 

We emptied two planters to take with us & packed all the art work plus more. Found someone who wants two chairs we aren't taking. Donated a few small items. 

Decluttering Progress

12 more items + large box of photos gone. Total YTD = 117 items + lots of photos & paperwork

Week 11: A bit of a breather + tracking the true cost of moving

Two weeks to go before we move!  Just a little packing this week plus bringing the saved specialty boxes out of the attic. Found boxes for packing all of our art pieces, tv, computer stuff, and Hubby’s drum set. 

I started notifying friends, family, the DMV, financial orgs, post office, etc. of our new address, etc. Lots of catching up on non-house things like dog grooming and car smog certificate, scheduling move related things, planning how to use our furnishings in the new house, and so on. We also had to leave on Saturday afternoon for the buyer’s inspection to get done. Everything that gets checked off is something we are done with!

I'm tracking what this move is costing beyond the purchase price of our new home. As I mentioned last week, there were some surprise repair expenses already and then there is what we know about - sewer lateral upgrade (required by water district & scheduled for after we move in), electrical work, plumbing work, earthquake retrofit, water drainage improvement, more insulation, etc. 

At least once all those are done we should be done for quite a few years on the house systems and infrastructure upgrades/repairs. Then there is everything that falls into the category of wants (furniture, landscaping and such). As expected we are finding it challenging to throw out things given our small trash can and to dispose of usable furniture we are not taking. We are working on both in hopes of not having to pay for hauling. 

I am very grateful that there has so far that the place we are selling only requires some wood replacement due to termite damage/dry rot, a bit of foundation repair and getting the ice maker working again. I'm suspect the buyers will have something they want fixed or a credit for fixing themselves. Their inspection was yesterday so we will know soon. All the little costs add up to like have to pay to notarize some escrow documents.

There is also small extra bits of money coming in. Medicare refunded Hubby's overpayment from last Fall due to the overlap of his quarterly Medicare payments prior to taking Social Security and when it started being deducted from his SS. We also got a very small refund on an umbrella insurance policy when we had to switch to a different one to cover the new house and our state tax refund. There is a small check sitting at the new house for escrow overpayment.

Once the house sale is finalized we will get homeowner's and earthquake insurance refunds too. However our car insurance will probably go up. So much more $$$ going out than is being refunded but we knew that when we started this journey!

Summoning energy for the final push

We both are tired but keep checking things off our list for repairs on both houses, utility & computer  transitions, moving planning & packing, address changes, starting daily training with the 13 month old pup to help him have more self control (he's very sweet and friendly but high energy and can be demanding of attention) - the list goes on while daily life also goes on.

One thing that has surprised me is how far in advance the post office needs your address change - 2 weeks at least! The IRS and state tax board say it takes up to a month to change your address. Then there are all the ones you need to do at the last minute online. 

One nice thing so far about having the house near our son is that they were able to anticipate using it the night their power went out and they were concerned about keeping the newborn warm enough. In the end their power came back on before they went over for the night but this kind of mutual help is part of why we are moving. The rest is the joy of having lots of family time. 

The hard work phase of this move will be over with soon then comes the settling in, finding healthcare, activities and friends and so on.

We accepted an offer!

 Cross your fingers that the inspection is ok from the buyer’s perspective. We are thrilled.

Week 10: Speeding towards our move

So what happened this week as we speed toward moving on April 2nd?

On the home selling front: We got the results of the termite and HOA inspections which weren't too bad. All the work is scheduled. Now we just have to wait for a buyer inspection and negotiation. 

Sunday 3 more potential buyers and one taking a second look toured our home.  Wednesday, Thursday and Friday each had one showing. I now truly remember why I hated having our home on the market while living in it with a dog!  9 potential buyer showings so far and zero offers - sigh.  

We took the pup out for a 4 hour field trip Sunday while the house was shown. It involved lots of dog joy (Riding in the car! Walks in new places! A pet store visit! People to meet!) while his humans got a couple things off their to do list (new dog address tag ordered & a library stop). Then a visit to the local brewery's outdoor seating. OK, that was for the humans but pup proved to have good “bistro dog manners” as he was worn out and we took something for him to lay on plus water and treats.  

On the moving front: Monday Hubby loaded a 10 foot U Haul truck with boxes of stuff and most of our light weight furniture. Tuesday he drove to the new house and got the keys.  He gave me a FaceTime tour once he was there and I do really like the house even better than from what I saw in the photos. 

Wednesday he unloaded the truck and had the furnace and sump pump serviced. As feared the furnace was installed incorrectly as the crawl space gets wet and the sump pump is not adequate. He contracted to have both fixed and they were done by midday Friday.  An unplanned expense but we expect lots of those in an old house no matter what. We are making a prioritized list for the other systems and structure repairs we do know about.

Thursday he returned the truck and flew home, took the train to our stop and I picked him up there. After he got home he acknowledged that despite all his bike riding the house stairs made muscles ache. It will be getting back in stair climbing shape for both of us!

He had some nice family time. Our 6 year old granddaughter started her campaign for us to pick her up from school every Wednesday and bring her to our house for after school care. Apparently that is the day she has to ride a bus to her after school program and she doesn't like doing that LOL. Hubby told her that we could do it some Wednesdays but not all. 

On the life goes on front: I picked up my new glasses and sunglasses. My vision is so much better! I haven’t tried driving at night yet but I’m sure it will be better too.

I chaired a scholarship fundraising tea at my club as my final act as club president. I’ll truly miss those kind, smart and interesting women who have become friends. They have said the nicest things about me which makes me think I need to say more of those kind of thoughts out loud along the way instead of waiting until someone moves on! 

Decluttering Progress

3 more items gone - Total YTD = 105 items + lots of paperwork decluttered