Water and Drywall and Rain … oh my!

Water is a wonderful thing. HOT water is even better.

I have a hot water heater now, along with two water hydrants near my cross-fenced fields, and a fully functioning water pump.

Funny how something so simple can be so satisfying

I took a local Big Box Store clinic on repairing drywall recently and am now in the process of making a huge mess in my hallway covering up the huge holes and dings left by the former owner. This mess will turn into a beautiful wall … after I get the sanding finished and the paint up.

Funny how something so messy and ugly can wind up disappearing.

 Ceilings – and their corresponding poorly repaired roofs – are another subject altogether.

What we hoped would hold out a year opened it ugly maw and let the pouring rain fall down upon our already weather abused wood floors. You know, those wood floors I love so much and can't wait to refinish? Yea, a little more water damage to enhance the rustic patina.

 Wonderful hubba hubby rigged up a type of water diversion shed in the attic, using some old gardening plastic to guide the water out the roof vent. The leak quit; pretty cool idea if I do say so myself – even if I did have to sacrifice some hoop house material. Just in case, we left a bucket under the hole. When we returned the next day, no more water had collected (Yea!) Of course, this even became a game changer for us. Because of this, we're having to reprioritize our repair and renovate list – we obviously don't have the year we hoped for to put on a new roof. So now we're in the midst of pricing Big Box roofing rep and figuring out how to pay for this as well as the other necessary renovations to bring the house to the point where we can move in the furniture and start on the property planning.

Trying to do this and stay debt free is the real trick because, well, we might not be able to manage it without borrowing a few dollars. Did you know that if you have no debt, and have carried no debt for about, oh, say nine years now that your credit rating is a ZERO? This is despite evidence of previous credit extended and promptly paid. And then to find out that you are an “unusual situation” because you saved your money and paid for your house instead of getting a mortgage. (Also weird is that the word 'mortgage' is derived from the french word 'morte' which means 'death' or 'to die'. So seriously, WHO would want something that basically says its going to kill you?! But I digress) So, we'll see what we can do to improve our financial situation a bit or take care of the roof and put off the floors, install the insulation ourselves, and keep our spending to the essentials.

Our saving grace is that our expenses are very low, we have more than a few months of food put back, and growing season is about to be in full bloom. We have so much land to explore that we will be spending a lot of time outdoors getting to know our property and hiking, hiking, hiking (something this little round pumpkin butt needs!) I walk out my front door and I'm on a vacation adventure. There's a part of me that knows the easiest thing to do would be to get a job, but I think higher authorities have my job already in front of me: set up the house – get the garden started – begin THIS adventure – do THIS job first.

I keep applying for intersting jobs and I'm still holding out hope for the one's I've applied to call. Until then: the weather is turning towards Spring and will soon have us Southerners complaining about the heat and humidity of Summer (instead of the freakishly cold and/or rainy weather we've experienced since LAST Spring). As for the house, our initial efforts have begun slower than we thought – I don't know, I guess we thought we'd have the painting finished by now and be working on furniture arrangemenents. Of course, we have only owned the house SIX days. Maybe we're being a tad over-ambitious? We've been working towards this day for the last few years … we're definitely anxious to get this homestead in motion.

Regardless of the unexpected events, a sudden deficit in patience, and dwindling funds, we're both happy with this decision. These initial bumps in the road will be the events that help us plan and organize the development of our homestead. I am happy we bought the house and look forward to the day we look around at our homestead, I gaze lovingly in my hubby's eyes and say “Hey, think we could move the goat barn to the other side of the field?”

What my Realtor has put together, let no man put asunder.

Well, no “man” … but how about the closing attorney's?

So we got this great house at a great price and the closing was supposed to be the end of the month but it got moved up to the middle of this week (3/12/14 as a matter of fact) and EVERYTHING has been smooth sailing.

We've heard the horror stories about purchasing foreclosures. Heard tales of home inspectors who didn't know how to turn the water on a toilet and declared it “broken.” Friends have had deals ready to close only to have them snatched out from under them hours before closing. Others have looked for over a year to find something in a price range they could afford – only to have the lenders INSIST on a 30 year mortgage. Oh we have heard the stories and we were armed with info and anxiety.

But everything was cool; eerie cool. First, our home inspector spent four and a half hours with us (4.5 hours!) teaching us about our house, what was good, what could be problematic but fixable, and what to prioritize. Turns out, for a 50 year old house, its level (he checked every floor), the foundation and crawlspace just need the vapor barrier repaired; a few minor electrical and superficial (read: esthetic) fixes and we had a steal of a house. And no lead in the paint anywhere! Too cool!

This didn't take us long to find. Maybe about 2 months of looking and calling a real estate agent who met us all over Northeast Georgia and was very instructional and helpful in his guidance of what we could expect from each property. When this one came up, we all knew it was the one. The house is sited perfectly on the South East line and we have road access from the front and back of the property. I'm thinking Batgirl cave on the back 5 acres.

When our realtor took our offer to Freddie Mac, we were told there was another offer on the table. We stood firm and – they took our offer. Easy Peasy. And it took days, not months. We could afford to buy the house in cash – and NO ONE insisted on a loan or 30 year mortgage. Got the paperwork in order, homeowners insurance, home warranty (which Freddie is graciously paying for a year), and our real estate guy got a nice commission. He deserved it – we made him go everywhere -lol!

Then came closing week. And everything was going fine. But our realtor is on vacation deep-sea fishing and golfing in Florida. But everything is going to be fine. He says.

Its 2 days before closing and I get a call from the realtor (who has caught the biggest grouper and a mighty big shark) and he tells us we will need to have a cashiers check for the money at closing. No problem – we have a great bank and money in the account. We're waiting on final paperwork, should be there tomorrow.

1 day before closing. I call the selling agent office to confirm the closing time because we haven't received this mysterious paperwork. That's odd, she says, and proceeds to contact the closing attorneys. She calls back – we should have it by 2. They have forwarded me the paperwork – but no attachments ...and its 3:45. I call the selling agent back. We need to wire transfer the money

WHAT?! We've already gotten the cashiers check drawn and written out to the lawyers!

Calls go back and forth. Seller says wire transfer, our realtor says cashiers check, lawyers say: let us check on this. Nope: wire transfer. It's 4:35. Wire transfers from our bank end at 3 pm

We're at the bank – its not our usual branch. I can't talk to our realtor anymore … I'm too angry. I have a difficult time not yelling at the poor receptionist at the lawyers office (its not her fault, I know). No one can pick up their phones anymore – what the heck is up with that?! Time is moving incredibly fast and info is being delivered incredibly slow.

We're not sure we can get the money back into our account from the cashiers check – only corporate can decide that. No one is answering in that department either.

Our realtor guy calls back. I give the phone to my hubby: you talk to him, I'm too ticked.

Bank lady is gracious, tenacious, and empathetic of our plight. She's working like crazy and offering me words of encouragement.

Its 5:00 pm. The banks doors need to be locked. FINALLY someone answers and she rushes to the tellers: “No one close out until we get their money back in their account!” Its something out of a great rom-com movie where the least seen character is the one who saves the day.

Its 10:00 pm. We're showered, in bed, and ready for the closing tomorrow. Tomorrow we will own our ten little acres and a house. The wire transfer is set up to go tomorrow at 9:00; closing is at 11:00.

I should mention that the closing office is 2.5 HOURS from the house; a bit over 110 miles away. No cigarettes, but we will be wearing shades. A bit opposite of the Blues Brothers, but it feels like a mission from God just the same.

There is rest for the weary.

What happens to a dream (or a blog) deferred?

Well, the great Langston Hughes had something to say about this and – granted – his work is far grander and far reaching than my version. Thoreau said: Build your castles in the air, just make sure you put a strong foundation under them, for that is where dreams become reality (I paraphrase here). But both these philosophies have been my comfort over the last few months of absence.

I sulked away from my blog with all the self-pity, discouragement, disappointment, and sense of failure my personal vessel could bear. I have spent the last few months on an emotional roller coaster and have apologized profusely to my dear hubba hubby and my wonderfully stalwart dearest friends. I have cried, calculated, and cried some more. I gave up on our dream and retreated into our little grey room.

And then the dream deferred exploded like a phoenix rising from the depths of despair to become reborn into an absolute miracle. My castle in the air landed on a crawlspace on a nice little plot of land surrounded by trees, creeks, a river, and dotted with other homesteads waiting patiently for spring's glory.

We found a house. Not just any house but a darling little 1964 house with REAL hardwood floors, a big country kitchen with REAL WOOD CABINETS (no pressboard for this lady thank you very much - lol), bricks already in place waiting for a wood burning stove, and just enough room for the semi-empty nesters we will soon become.

Did I mention it was also on 10 acres? And that we got it at half the market value?

How about learning that the septic tank and the well were only 7 years old?

And that I already have quite a bit of fencing up.

Okay, so the interior needs some work as the pictures will attest, but I can see the end result in my mind's eye already. I am so excited about the work we'll be able to accomplish on our own, grateful for the remaining nest egg that will pay for the things we cannot do.

But the very best part: We paid the house off in full. That's right: no mortgage payments, no interest payments sucking us into debt, no one to be able to take this away from us.

We are home. God provides beyond what we imagine.