Part I - Impetus
Over a year ago, Charlene was in her final quarter of RN college and was feeling so beaten and worn down that she told me, "Maybe I should drop out this quarter, get my mental strength back and start again in January". It was a tough final quarter but I knew she could make it. I reminded her that she was Above Ground and there were 33 men trapped almost a half-a-mile underground in Chile and they would be there for months without the possibility of seeing the Sun until at least December. That sort of gave her the strength to go on. Then, the men were rescued much earlier in mid October. That was great! We all cheered and cried happy tears as they came to the surface one by one. But, I lost my leverage to help her keep going. So I switched to, "When you finish school, we'll be able to buy a house". OK, that one took off and she struggled forward, finished college, passed her State Boards and was hired immediately as an RN. Months later, she brought up the fact that she wanted to get our own house. In August, I signed us up for a home buying/financing class given by a local Mortgage company. Very informative and interesting. At the end of the class, they offered to pre-approve us for a mortgage so Charlene filled out the forms while I was playing with the pencils on the Group W bench. OMG! We found out that we have excellent credit scores and were approved for over 400 grand to buy a place. Wow! They even referred us to a real estate agent who works closely with them. Even though I do copier and networking stuff for some of the largest real estate companies in the county and personally know most of the agents, we decided to go with "their guy".
Part II - The Quest
It's been decades since either of us has shopped for or purchased a home. It was an easier time in those days, less scrutiny, much less paperwork and easier to find a place. Boy, times have changed! We had great help and direction from the mortgage lender and especially our real estate agent. Communications seemed nearly instantaneous via text messaging and e-mail. Much easier and faster than phone messages. After the great sub-prime meltdown, money for mortgages became harder to get as lending institutions restricted lending, increased requirements and requested mountains of paperwork. I do mean Mountains! Down payment requirements went way up, 10% to 20% needed. If we wanted to buy a house for 50 grand or less, cool, we could do that, but this is Cowlifornia and 3 bedroom houses start at 200 grand (the junky ones) and up. Uh, that would take some years to save that much but our lender set us up on the California First Time Home Buyers program. Way cool! Extremely low down payment, extremely low interest rate and the State kicks in a bunch for our down payment (of course, we have to pay it all back but the down payment just 'rides along' for 30 years at an even cheaper interest rate).
We gave our requirements to the agent and within hours started receiving potential listings. We'd read the listings, look at them from space with Google Earth and do the math to figure out what our house payments would be. California homes in the area we wanted seem too damned expensive. We fell back, regrouped and decided to go with Condo shopping for a less expensive alternative. With that in mind, Charlene wished for a pool and hot tube/Jacuzzi while I wished for a lower monthly payment.
The first place we put a bid in was just a little further from the High School and College that Nic and Trav attend but it was good. Nice pool and hot tube just steps away. Gated complex but only 2 bedrooms. Luckily, the seller was a real dick and we dropped our offer.
The next place we saw was nice and close to the schools, 3 bedrooms, pool and hot tub just steps away. We liked it a lot. It was in the process of being updated with all new carpet, appliances and the like. We put in an offer and even got to pick out the carpet. but then, the FHA appraisal came in too low and there was no way we could make up the 20 grand difference, so that was a bust. It was very discouraging.
The next condo we saw was also close, pool and hot tub, 3 bedrooms. We saw it in the afternoon and tried to put in an offer only to find that there were 2 offers ahead of us by just hours. Ahhhhh! In Southern Cowlifornia, places for sale are as follows: 1) 60% of the offerings are short sales that can tie up your down payment for months just to be turned down by the owning mortgage holder. While you are waiting for them to make up their mind, you could find the dream house but your down payment money is tied up. 2) 20% are sold at auction on the courthouse steps leaving, C.O.D. there and then which leaves 3) 20% of the rest at regular sale transactions. Bummer. We even talked to our agent and mortgage broker about mobile homes which we really didn't want and they told us of all the restrictions and 20% down payment. Another bummer. Just when we were about to commit home buying suicide, we got the following e-mail from our agent:
"Hi Charlene and Kelly,
I had taken 2 weeks vacation to do this move and Charlene had scheduled 'vacation' time, too so throughout the follow week, we each made a million trips hauling the small stuff by car. I'll tell you, when you get old, you bruise easily and by Wednesday, I looked like a 10 day old banana. I rented another truck for the following weekend to haul any leftovers and all our outdoor plants (about a bizillion of them). We decided to have everything hauled away on Saturday and there was a giant mound of old, worn out furniture, tons of crap from the garage so I called the first place I could find in local little free newspaper. He came out, gave us an estimate and hauled the stuff out the next day. Did a wonderful job with his beat-up old truck and helpers, swept the garage and driveway and used a leaf blower to make it perfect. I gave him a big tip. We had filled all the nail holes in the walls, had the carpets cleaned and Charlene hired one of those Merry Maid time crews to make the place perfect before we left. We had heard from the neighbors that previous renters never got their deposit back but we got most of ours. Very cool, indeed.
Pictures? You want pictures? You're as demanding as our spoiled cat! (She loves the new place). O.K., here's some pictures:
The next place we saw was nice and close to the schools, 3 bedrooms, pool and hot tub just steps away. We liked it a lot. It was in the process of being updated with all new carpet, appliances and the like. We put in an offer and even got to pick out the carpet. but then, the FHA appraisal came in too low and there was no way we could make up the 20 grand difference, so that was a bust. It was very discouraging.
The next condo we saw was also close, pool and hot tub, 3 bedrooms. We saw it in the afternoon and tried to put in an offer only to find that there were 2 offers ahead of us by just hours. Ahhhhh! In Southern Cowlifornia, places for sale are as follows: 1) 60% of the offerings are short sales that can tie up your down payment for months just to be turned down by the owning mortgage holder. While you are waiting for them to make up their mind, you could find the dream house but your down payment money is tied up. 2) 20% are sold at auction on the courthouse steps leaving, C.O.D. there and then which leaves 3) 20% of the rest at regular sale transactions. Bummer. We even talked to our agent and mortgage broker about mobile homes which we really didn't want and they told us of all the restrictions and 20% down payment. Another bummer. Just when we were about to commit home buying suicide, we got the following e-mail from our agent:
"Hi Charlene and Kelly,
Not sure if this one might be too far on the East side of Ventura for you."
I "Google Earth"-ed it and we saw it the next day. Yea, further away from the college but Man-o-man was the price lower than the other places and it was huge! 1700+ square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms (Wow! No waiting for the bathroom like the last 11 years!). Tennis court, pool and hot tub, yea! Charlene and I had a discussion about the distance, realizing that this was worth it so we put in a bid. Our agent put a lower bid than they were asking and they countered with a price slightly higher - we took it and they accepted it.
Now begins the process all over again. Untold mountains of forms, income tax records, paystubs, etc. Just when things looked great, Mason, our mortgage broker told us we were just over the income limit for the first time buyer program. Crap! But, he said, he could run it through just in Charlene's name and income. 5 years of struggling through college paid off, above ground! So we went with it that way, it was accepted and we got it. We got the keys 6 weeks after we first saw the place. Throughout the entire quest, the copier that Charlene never wanted in the living room became vital to the paperwork flow. The broker would ask for some document, we'd scan it on the copier and send it on via e-mail. Hundreds of forms throughout the quest. Quick and instant. She likes the copier now and can copy, print and scan with the best of 'em. She especially likes the automatic double side copy/print feature. This all led to the next step......
Part III - The Move
We got the keys on Friday afternoon, November 19. I picked up a big U-Haul truck at 5 P.M., got Trav and headed to Camarillo to buy some new double beds. For years, they slept in the same room and used the other bedroom as their Game/Computer room but now, they wanted their own room - no more bunk beds. We dropped the new beds off at the new place and headed home. For the next two days, the three of us loaded and delivered all the big, heavy stuff. I leaned to love the big appliance dolly with the strap on it. When Charlene wasn't helping load boxes, she was busy painting our most excellent Cinnabar Wall back to it's original Early Apartment White color and cleaning the old place. We had a good Saturday moving day but Sunday it rained all day right up until we took the truck back (that's when the sun came out, naturally). There was still big items in the old house but we were going to donate them, give them away or have them hauled to the dump.
I had taken 2 weeks vacation to do this move and Charlene had scheduled 'vacation' time, too so throughout the follow week, we each made a million trips hauling the small stuff by car. I'll tell you, when you get old, you bruise easily and by Wednesday, I looked like a 10 day old banana. I rented another truck for the following weekend to haul any leftovers and all our outdoor plants (about a bizillion of them). We decided to have everything hauled away on Saturday and there was a giant mound of old, worn out furniture, tons of crap from the garage so I called the first place I could find in local little free newspaper. He came out, gave us an estimate and hauled the stuff out the next day. Did a wonderful job with his beat-up old truck and helpers, swept the garage and driveway and used a leaf blower to make it perfect. I gave him a big tip. We had filled all the nail holes in the walls, had the carpets cleaned and Charlene hired one of those Merry Maid time crews to make the place perfect before we left. We had heard from the neighbors that previous renters never got their deposit back but we got most of ours. Very cool, indeed.
Pictures? You want pictures? You're as demanding as our spoiled cat! (She loves the new place). O.K., here's some pictures:
Our agent supreme, Bill Marshall, gives Charlene the keys to our new condo.
Goodbye, Cinnabar Wall.....
I've never seen the garage so clean!
The porch looks so naked....... no plants, no furniture.
I was emptying the closet and discovered Charlene had more purses and shoes than Imelda Marcos.....
Now, on to the new place
I took this pic while I was aboard the space station. I've circled our condo in blue.
Here's our floor plan. The place is extreme long as you can see. Huge family room with fireplace, nice open view kitchen that overlooks the family room, nice bar off the kitchen for informal eating and a formal dining room. The copier, my computer and the kids computer reside there. Attached 2 car garage makes this a really long place.
Here's a corner of our family room. 9' sliding glass doors, fireplace, 15' cathedral ceiling. The place has shag carpeting I haven't seen since the 60's. It also has old people wallpaper that will eventually come down.
Here's the other end of the family room with the kitchen. No, I haven't gained weight, that's our agent showing us the place. Hmmm, you're only seeing most of the ceiling height so it could be taller than 15'....... That beam is in the middle of the cathedral ceiling.
Here's a small portion of the back patio. That's our master bedroom with it's own 9' sliding glass door. The patio is huge and I just couldn't get it all in. To my right is the family room and it's 9' sliding glass door.
OK, OK here's most of the rest of the back patio
Here's the view of the front patio and garage side door from Nic's room. Hideous old people wall paper. Eww!
This was taken from the master bedroom. Charlene is checkin' out the 12 foot closet. Not a walk-in but 2 - 6 foot mirrored sliding glass doors. (editors note: I get a corner of the closet....).
here's the kitchen with it's old people wallpaper. Lots of storage and a big pantry door with shelves in the door and such just out of sight to the left.
This is a newer stained glass window next to the front door. To the right is the formal living room.
here's a pic I took after we moved in. Reading the paper at sunset time. Hey, leaves changing color - we have seasons in California.
They purposely built this with weird geometry shapes. That tall peak in the center is nothing but attic. The family room rises (not in pic) to my right with it's own slope.
Here's our front patio. Nic's room to the right, garage to the left and the formal dining room behind the 9' sliding window in the center (sort of).
Here's a pic from across the court. Got most of the house (er, condo).
Here my young, beautiful princess taking a needed break on the front patio jungle.
This is looking east on Darling road in front of our place. The red-ish building a block away is the Buddhist Temple. When we finally get most of the moving stuff put away, we're going to invite them to bless our sweet little condo. If you keep going past the temple for another 1/4 mile to get to the freeway, the follow picture is the view.
The end of our street at Wells road. This is a view of the 'Santa Paula Ridge' mountains. The sheer granite face in the center is called Topa Topa, sometimes covered in snow (6300 feet above sea level). Lots of ag farm fields out here. We're about 6 or 7 miles east of where we used to live so it's somewhat remote and quiet.
Then, there's the play area for us. This is the pool and hot tub entrance. The tennis court is to the left, out of the picture. Nic and Trav and their friends play tennis a lot. Charlene and I do the hot tub 5 or 6 times a week.
The beautiful young princess enters the hot, bubbling water. No chlorine in this, instead they use some kind of Bromine and it's so much easier on the eyes and blonde hair.
In the hot tub, through a foggy lens.
The hot tub is much better on a cool night.
Come back from the hot tub in the evening to a lovely fire. As an early Christmas present, I got us all a Gas Firelog Set. OMG! We all love it to death! No mess, instant, big or small flames, glowing embers and all. To quote Bill and Ted, "Totally Excellent!"
There, had enough pictures? I close now wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas and an even better 2012.
Goodbye, Cinnabar Wall.....
I've never seen the garage so clean!
The porch looks so naked....... no plants, no furniture.
I was emptying the closet and discovered Charlene had more purses and shoes than Imelda Marcos.....
Now, on to the new place
I took this pic while I was aboard the space station. I've circled our condo in blue.
Here's our floor plan. The place is extreme long as you can see. Huge family room with fireplace, nice open view kitchen that overlooks the family room, nice bar off the kitchen for informal eating and a formal dining room. The copier, my computer and the kids computer reside there. Attached 2 car garage makes this a really long place.
Here's a corner of our family room. 9' sliding glass doors, fireplace, 15' cathedral ceiling. The place has shag carpeting I haven't seen since the 60's. It also has old people wallpaper that will eventually come down.
Here's the other end of the family room with the kitchen. No, I haven't gained weight, that's our agent showing us the place. Hmmm, you're only seeing most of the ceiling height so it could be taller than 15'....... That beam is in the middle of the cathedral ceiling.
Here's a small portion of the back patio. That's our master bedroom with it's own 9' sliding glass door. The patio is huge and I just couldn't get it all in. To my right is the family room and it's 9' sliding glass door.
OK, OK here's most of the rest of the back patio
Here's the view of the front patio and garage side door from Nic's room. Hideous old people wall paper. Eww!
This was taken from the master bedroom. Charlene is checkin' out the 12 foot closet. Not a walk-in but 2 - 6 foot mirrored sliding glass doors. (editors note: I get a corner of the closet....).
here's the kitchen with it's old people wallpaper. Lots of storage and a big pantry door with shelves in the door and such just out of sight to the left.
This is a newer stained glass window next to the front door. To the right is the formal living room.
here's a pic I took after we moved in. Reading the paper at sunset time. Hey, leaves changing color - we have seasons in California.
They purposely built this with weird geometry shapes. That tall peak in the center is nothing but attic. The family room rises (not in pic) to my right with it's own slope.
Here's our front patio. Nic's room to the right, garage to the left and the formal dining room behind the 9' sliding window in the center (sort of).
Here's a pic from across the court. Got most of the house (er, condo).
Here my young, beautiful princess taking a needed break on the front patio jungle.
This is looking east on Darling road in front of our place. The red-ish building a block away is the Buddhist Temple. When we finally get most of the moving stuff put away, we're going to invite them to bless our sweet little condo. If you keep going past the temple for another 1/4 mile to get to the freeway, the follow picture is the view.
The end of our street at Wells road. This is a view of the 'Santa Paula Ridge' mountains. The sheer granite face in the center is called Topa Topa, sometimes covered in snow (6300 feet above sea level). Lots of ag farm fields out here. We're about 6 or 7 miles east of where we used to live so it's somewhat remote and quiet.
Then, there's the play area for us. This is the pool and hot tub entrance. The tennis court is to the left, out of the picture. Nic and Trav and their friends play tennis a lot. Charlene and I do the hot tub 5 or 6 times a week.
The beautiful young princess enters the hot, bubbling water. No chlorine in this, instead they use some kind of Bromine and it's so much easier on the eyes and blonde hair.
In the hot tub, through a foggy lens.
The hot tub is much better on a cool night.
Come back from the hot tub in the evening to a lovely fire. As an early Christmas present, I got us all a Gas Firelog Set. OMG! We all love it to death! No mess, instant, big or small flames, glowing embers and all. To quote Bill and Ted, "Totally Excellent!"
There, had enough pictures? I close now wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas and an even better 2012.
