Oh Build Us A Home......

The house is coming along nicely.  It's gone from dirt lot and wood frame to this.

Pre Dry Wall March 19th

Insulation Drywall & Stucco March 28

Plaster & Drywall texturing April 4th

It's been a relaxing weekend for me.  You'd think I would be immune to missing Mj by now.  I mean, the man was gone for part of 2008, most of 2009 and in January he was gone for a week.  Nope.  He left Friday morning for drill and by Saturday I was really missing him but he'll be back tonight.  He had no interest in watching New Moon [crazy I know] so I picked that up yesterday and will watch it before he comes home.  I found a recipe for Picante Chicken & Rice in a cookbook and plan to have dinner ready for him.  I had to go out to the homestead solo this weekend and was so excited to see the most dramatic changes yet. 

Cabinets & Stucco April 10

It actually looks like a real house now!!  They will be putting in the driveway and countertops this coming week.  While I was there I measured the windows to get an idea of window covering costs.  I had to go to Home Depot to get copies of my condo keys made so I checked out blinds and brought home some wall paint color samples.  I am really looking forward to decorating and making the house our own.

Our final walk through is scheduled for May 13th and closing should be no later then 7 days after that. There are TONS of puzzle pieces that all need to fit together in order for us to close on time but if everyone does their piece it will all come together.

House building progress cont'd

Loan Lock

It's amazing how eight minutes can make such a huge difference. Just one extra snooze yesterday morning, and I was running super late.  I forced myself out of bed after three today, and was way early. There was a time when I got out of bed when my radio went off the first time, but I've been a snoozer so long I can't remember the last time that happened.

On the home front...we locked our loan last week at 4.75%  with some points.  We didn't buy as many as I wanted to, but it will have to do.  The rates have gone up since we went under contract back in January and they seem to be rising even more so I am glad we were able to lock when we did. I FINALLY know how much our mortgage is going to be. Drum roll please......honestly, I can live with the principal and interest part of it but it's the taxes that kill it for me. Our HOA and homeowners insurance is reasonable but we will be paying about $340 monthly in taxes alone! That was all taken into account when we were house hunting, but buying a house 25k over what I wanted pushed me way out of my comfort zone. This is all pretty exciting, but extremely scary. This is the first time that I have been in a position where I could not pay for my living expenses 100% on my own. From now on, I will be existing outside of my own finances. That whole having to depend on someone else thing is new to me, and it makes me feel out of control. Which I hate. Mj says I get way too caught up in the numbers. I agree, but it's only because I have too! Like it or not, those darn numbers kind of control what I can and can't do. At least in my world. Next step is getting my condo listed so I can get a tenant in there to pay my mortgage so I don't have to and get it to coincide with our closing date.

On the wedding front, the RSVP's are rolling in.  We are going to be doing our cake tastings next weekend so we can get that booked. Next month we'll be meeting with the hotel planner at our venue to go over some final details.

There has been a lull in wedding planning and the house madness but that is OK by me because I know that things are going to start getting crazy busy for us once moving date and wedding date gets closer.

Cont'd:  So Close To Closing

Lot 55

trenching February 13th

staking February 21

foundation pour February 28

first floor framing March 7

second floor framing March 14

the soon to be Great Room

dining area window

It's starting to look like a neighborhood and I can't wait to move in!

House progress cont'd
Home Buying Journey Part I:  Getting Pre Approved

Looks Like We're Gettin' The House!!

Community Plan-ours is lot 55

the models

Plan 1

I thought this was so cute!!!

This whole time I've been sort of holding my breath about this whole house thing. Not really talking about it too much and trying to not get too excited. We've been to the design studio to pick out our cabinets, appliances, flooring and other options. We've spent plenty of time pouring over the models. We go by there every week to take pictures of the home building progress and we receive weekly e mails from the builder letting us know what's going on next. We've watched it go from a pile of dirt to an actual frame with steps in it and even ran into a couple of our future neighbors at the sales office. This is a huge and exciting thing yet the fun of it all has been subdued by fear and the house has not ever really felt like ours even after contract signing.

At the Home Design Studio

First it was the money. Then, when I decided I wanted the house so bad that even though it was above what we originally planned I didn't care. It was still doable and I wanted it. Then, once I got over that it was financing. We got denied our VA loan by the home builder's preferred lender so we immediately went to USAA. We submitted our paperwork two weeks ago and this everlasting limbo has just been going on and on. According to contract we could lose our lot without a lender approval so this was very stressful. You know they don't keep building houses for people who haven't yet figured out how they are going to pay for it. They kept putting our file off behind other ones with closer closing dates instead. Until today. We finally got our answer from USAA and the answer is YES!!

Stainless steel appliances-CHECK

Never mind that Mj sent me this evil e mail telling me that we got denied causing my heart to drop into my shoes only to call me a minute later and tell me he was just joking. How mean is that? Let's just say I am really not used to getting what I want. He is the optimist. He hopes for the best and usually gets it. I however hope for the best, but expect [and prepare for] the worst. Once I heard the news I was overjoyed. I was at my desk doing the happy dance with my shoulders. This means that this is really going to happen for us. We are really going to move out of this tiny studio. We are going to be moving into the new house we have been wanting and it WILL be before our wedding. In the not so distant future I will have space to hang my clothes, a garage to park my car and be able to do laundry without stockpiling quarters. Oh, and MJ can finally get all of his stuff out of storage-including the Wii. Maybe I will finally get some exercise!! My parents are also finally going to get some of their garage back when we can go over there and pick up our storage bins they have so kindly stored for us.

I want to enjoy this experience at least a little and not just be stressed out by it. I think now that we have made it through this final hurdle I will finally be able to. Next step: lock in our interest rate and decide on points. Then, closing here we come!!

Cont'd:  Loan Lock
Home Building Progress:  Lot 55