The Reluctant Landlord

I held onto the property management contract as long as I could but they told me they recommend 45 days out to properly market my unit so I had no choice but to get it together and send it out. I signed the contract. I made copies of my keys. I took photos. I Inquired about a landlord policy. Mj finished up a few minor repairs. All of this in preparation for something I never wanted in the first place.

When I bought this tiny condo 5 years ago I fully expected that I would live there for the rest of my life. No balcony, no in unit laundry, and street parking but it was affordable for me on my own and I'd never have to move again. While frustratingly small at times and suffocatingly hot in the Summers it was brand newly renovated and it was enough for just me. I was tired of crappy apartments and never knowing how much my rent might go up year to year and this seemed like the ONLY way I might ever get even a small piece of real estate in an outrageously priced housing market. Yes, it was settling a bit as I have done with rentals in the past but I am no stranger to making sacrifices for budget. I had no intention of meeting anyone, falling in love and totally outgrowing said studio. But it happened and I have to adapt accordingly considering there was no way I could convince Mj to stay there forever with me or buy the house and get a roommate. Not that I necessarily wanted to.

I have had passing visions of how wonderful it would be to live in a house again some day and not have to settle. I left quiet suburbia of my parent's home for city apartments in sometimes questionable neighborhoods about 6 months after college graduation and have not made it back there yet. I envision myself washing my car in my very own driveway and doing my laundry inside my very own house. I would have a garage to park my car and a bike if I want one. There are extra closets to store things. I could have guests over and do a little entertaining. I'd sit outside in my backyard reading a book with a glass of wine and be able to take walks in my own neigborhood. Seeing as how I have saddled myself with a condo and a property value that has dropped more then 50% since I bought it the only way for this to happen is to rent it out. Selling is not an option and neither is paying two mortgages.

In preparation I started a condo fund. Over the last year once I accepted that this was inevitable I began transferring what I could spare into this account to cover any expenses that might crop up. I contemplated renting it myself but decided that at this point it's not something I want to undertake on my own.

I have three major fears where this is concerned.

1. Not finding a tenant.
2. Having said tenant destroy my property or stop paying rent causing me to have to evict them.
3. Having to rent it at a huge deficit.

Rental rates are down and there is so much competing inventory out there for renters. Ideally, I'd like to rent the place for an amount that would cover my mortgage and HOA but realistically that might not happen. This is the last piece that I need to fall into place.

The place is listed and I have a little over 30 days for someone to decide they want live there.

Birthday Shopping

Shopping is not something I do on a whim, for the heck of it or just because I saw something in a catalog that I like. At the beginning of each season change if there are things I need to update my wardrobe a bit I make a list and usually don't have a problem getting just those items. I already have my list of things that I missed out on this year that I want to get next Fall/Winter. There are three typical scenarios that will cause me to hit the mall:

1. I receive a coupon without a minimum purchase requirements. When I get these my goal is to walk in and buy one single item to maximize the discount to money spent ratio. If I can walk into a store and buy a $25 shirt and get $10 off I'm all in. This is my excuse to shop at The Limited and The Express which are stores I love but usually don't frequent because they are not cheap.
2. There is a gaping whole in my wardrobe. There might be a top or a pair of pants that I'll keep trying to wear but can't because nothing looks right with it and/or I don't have the right shoes. I finally get sick of this and go out searching for the item that will allow me to wear that piece.
3. I have an event to attend and/or a trip planned and there is absolutely nothing already in my closet that will work.

There are some exceptions here and there but that is typically my shopping profile and it helps that I generally avoid malls unless I have a specific purpose. It's not because I don't love shopping and new clothes. Oh, how I do. I just don't necessarily have a budget that is too forgiving when it comes to casual shopping, I don't use credit cards and like it or not that's that. For my Birthday my favorite stores were kind enough to send me coupons and of course I have to use them-see #1 above. It's my Birthday and I don't allow myself splurges too often so even though I am in the middle of buying a house, planning a wedding and have car registration due next month I decided to use all three.

Victoria's Secret sent me $10 off so I got these adorably soft yet lacy Angel's hip hugger panties on sale at 3/$30 (regularly $14 each). These keep me in my comfy cottons that I like but are going to be visually appealing to the hubby.

Express sent me $10 off.  I am always cold so I'm always looking for cute lightweight sweaters and these stylish tanks immediately caught my eye. I said what the hell and decided to get them anyways even though at $29.50 each not a single one was on sale (I got the ruffle top in Ivory). With my coupon the average cost per shirt was $26.17.

The Limited sent me a $15 off coupon so I did a little power shopping at lunch today.  I meant to only get one single item but I fell in love with both of these AND they were on sale. I got the drop waist one on the left in gray for $24.50 (regular price $44.50) and the peasant top was on clearance for $39.99 (down from $44.50). With my coupon the average cost per shirt was $24.75.

All together this shopping spree was $156.44. The last time I had a shopping spree of any kind-which for me is more then two items or $60 or more-was October of last year which just so happened to cause a ridiculous shopping mini melt down that I am all too happy not to repeat. What good is it trying to look good doing me if I don't allow myself to enjoy it? Wardrobe cannot live on Target, Kohl's, and Old Navy alone. Not that I can't find some darn good pieces there but I have learned over the years how important it is to mix it up with some classic, quality, nicer pieces as well.

I was given another $15 coupon with no minimum at the Limited and I'm not going to use it. At Express I earned $25 worth of fast cash with a minimum $50 purchase. I mentioned to Mj that I don't think I should use it yadah, yadah, yadah because of all that I had spent. He said "jeez, just do it I would." Some men try to keep their lady out of the mall but mine apparently has to talk me into it. I plan to go back and get this adorable $54.50 dress that I would never pay full price for.

Incidentally, it will satisfy all three shopping requirements above. I have a coupon and a B day Gift card to use, it will fill a gaping whole in my wardrobe as I have little to no summer casual dresses AND it will be perfect for my upcoming honeymoon. Even I can't argue with that!!

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

Easter Earthquake

We were over at Mj's friends house chatting, eating and having a good old time at 3:40pm when all of a sudden everything on the table started shaking. Then, I noticed I could feel the floor shaking too and everyone was kind of looking at each other with a puzzled look on their face. Usually, by the time it hits you that there was an earthquake and not just your imagination it's over but this one was different. It lasted much longer. I actually had time to process and analyze the situation and say, "Yep this is an earthquake and it's still going." A few people ran to the two open doorways. Even though, apparently that safety measure is outdated and you are supposed to jump under a table.

I just kinda sat there waiting for it to stop. I wasn't too scared for some reason. I have felt them before although they usually don't last for this long. But, for a split second when it didn't stop it got my mind thinking, "What if this is the big one?" Thankfully, it was not. Within minutes everyone was on their phones or laptops looking it up and we found out it was a 7.2 out of Baja Mexico. Usually, I am the only one that seems to feel these things. I felt the 5.5 out of Rosarito on February 1 when nobody else did and barely heard anything about it in the news but this one has got everyone talking. It seems unbelievable that this earthquake was only .2 less powerful then the one in Haiti and there were only 2 reported deaths. One of them was indirectly related when a man ran outside and got struck by a car and killed while trying to run for safety. How sad is that?

There was an aftershock this morning while we were still in bed. I felt the bed shaking but Mj only heard it. Apparently those are supposed to go on for about the next couple weeks.

It makes me wonder if the earth is mad at us. It also makes me wonder if Mj and I should go ahead and get earthquake insurance on our new home. We weren't going to but it might be better to be safe then sorry.

Some Birthday Fun

I had a really great B Day. My mom got me a Kabuki brush from Mac which I've been wanting for a while but hadn't gotten around to because they are kinda pricey. It is so incredibly soft unlike a lot of my cheapo brushes with bristles falling out. My fashionista little sis got me this adorable double mirror compact. It's the first and only thing I have ever owned by Marc Jacobs. Chances are it will be the last. My big sis got me a Visa gift card which is cool because I can use that as needed for whatever I want. Hubby got me a pair of running shoes with my favorite color in them. Wonder if this is his way of saying that my butt is getting too big and that I need to get back into the gym?

The double date with the rents was fun. We went to a nice restaurant called Paradise Grill where I ordered drink called a Pain Killer. Not nearly enough to put me down but very tasty. We had a nice meal and they even had my favorite dessert on the menu: Chocolate Molten Lava cake. It was good!!



On Friday night I met some girlfriends for happy hour at our fav spot-94. It starts out as happy hour then turns into a dance club. We used to go there way more then I like to admit but now it's not so often that we all just get together there and hang out all night. Yes, there were patron shots involved!! It was a fun time.


Saturday I got a chance to break in my new kicks. I went along to the rec center again with Mj and I got a good brisk 1 hour walk in. The air was crisp and cool, so it was a perfect day for it. The shoes are awesome. They are really comfortable and let your feet breathe. I could actually feel the breeze running through the little air holes. After my walk there weren't too many people around the ballpark area so I could not resist the urge to do some gymnastics in the grass. I started with a back walkover. Then a standing back handspring. And since I hadn't fallen on my head yet I did a round off two back handsprings and side aerials (no hand cartwheels). It was so much fun!! I haven't tried this stuff in years and I could tell my arms were a little weak and my back a little stiff but this old lady still has some skills!! I showed off to Mj that I could still do it. He has never seen me tumble and was maybe just a little bit impressed.

Today we are going to check out our house in progress. Then we are going stop by Mj's friend's house before heading up to my cousin's house to meet my parents for Easter dinner. My four day weekend is almost coming to an end but I have certainly enjoyed every single day of it.