Exhausted

Man I'm pooped. I'm writing this entry because I will be offline for a few days and I didn't want to forget anything. My cable modem is being disconnected tomorrow and my DSL isn't going to be installed until next Tuesday! Gulp!

Well yesterday was a loooong day! I mixed about 900 lbs of cement. Not all at once! hehe. They come in 80 lb bags, but then you add water and the weight balloons. We also started working on the foyer that we wanted to make. I was so pissed because we had two small spots left to sheetrock and we ran out! So we had to go back to Home Depot for another piece. I hope to finish that off tomorrow and start spackling. After that we'll be ready to paint the living room. Once that's done, I think we should just start moving stuff into that room. Actually as we finish painting a room we'll start moving the stuff in. There's so much to do!!!!

See you next week!

Block No. 877 Lot No. 304A

That's right.. I own Block No. 877, Lot No. 304A! I had my closing today and let me tell you, it took forever. I was there for 4 hrs! Overall, I thought my lawyer was pretty crappy except for the actual closing. He took so long because he reviewed every piece of paper with me before I left. Anyways, I don't have to deal w/ him anymore. I went for a final walk through afterwards and met with the family that's moving out. They seemed cool. The daughter and her husband were there as well. She seemed like she was about to cry.

It's 5PM and they still haven't moved out yet. I wanted to go in and get started on some construction but they seemed emotional so I didn't want to shove them out. I think it'll be soon though because they seem like they're wrapping things up. We have another tenant coming to look at this apt at 6!

Construction and Renters part Deux

So yesterday we tore down the first section of fencing and cleared out the 6" ditch that used to be under it. Today we got cement and filled up that ditch to complete our side of the walkway for moving day. Take a look at the before and after pics below:

Before...

After...

We also made a little bridge further down the backyard so we can walk over between yards and over the plant bed. Check it out:





















It's basically a small deck walkway. The last board isn't in yet. We'll put it in once we remove the fence behind it.

We had a few more people come over to see the apartment. We didn't like the last two guys that came over. I mean they had 6 people! 3 couples! Plus I didn't enjoy the way in which one of the guys spoke to me. Anyways, before they came over, we had a family take a look. They seemed so nice. My mother got along w/ the mother of that family (Mina) so well that when the father (Ajay) was ready to leave, they had to call her like 3 times before she broke out of her conversation w/ my mom. hehe. Well Ajay said he'd tell his current landlord that he will be moving out in 1 month and would move in starting July. We haven't signed the lease yet so nothing's official. But it looks good.

The family who rents the second apartment above us gave us notification that they'll be moving out at the end of July. DUM DUM DUMMMMMMMM

Renters: Round 1

So we put up "For Rent" flyers around Newark Ave. (For those who don't know, it's a street full of Indian stores and such.) We put it up in that area because we would like Indian renters; not that we're racist against others but it would make communication between them and my mother much easier since she'd be home most of the time and would be the person to interact w/ them. We're also looking for a nice family for the stability.

Anywho, we've gotten a few responses; I think it's because of our cool flyer (pictures and all). One family came to look at our place earlier today. I didn't really get a good vibe from them. I was right, too, because the father called back later and said he would take it for $250 less than what we're asking for. So I said that won't work. What's he thinking!?!? Then this couple came by around 9PM and I really liked them. The wife graduated from STEVENS! And her brother is currently attending Stevens. But the couple seemed really nice. She's preggy w/ a kid on the way in a few months so it seems like a good fit. I just hope that they say yes! I would even negotiate a cheaper price for them (by a little) because they are nice. Fingers crossed!

Summer of Ankit!

So I just started my two week vacation and when I got home, the episode of Seinfeld where George hurts himself during "the summer of George" was on tv. His body was in a state of severe atrophy because he didn't do anything but sit around at home. hahaha! Well, I don't think I'll the luxury of laying around. I'm closing on the house next Wednesday so before that I'll be working on our current place so it'll look nice when renters come to look. Then we'll work on the new place (painting/some construction) before we move in. I think I'll tear down some of the fencing this weekend in preparation for moving day. Plus there's so much stuff to get!

My Cousin Floated Away!!!

My cousin, Palu, and her parents were evacuated last night because the river near their apartment building was flooding due to the 7-8 inches of rain we got!!! She was first taken to their local fire station where she hung out w/ some firemen. I bet she liked that. As I was on the phone with her, someone screamed in the background, "The bus is here! Everybody on the bus!" So she had to hang up. She called me back once they reached their shelter. They had gotten cots with Red Cross blankets but NO pillows! At least they were dry. Palu said that their garage was flooded again and they probably lost a lot of things (a bunch of her cookbooks to name just one). Poor Red Crossed Palu! I know she's reading this because she told me to write a piece on her so read this:

THE NEXT TIME IT'S GOING TO RAIN A LOT JUST COME OVER TO OUR HOUSE SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A REFUGEE AGAIN!

hehehe.. steal a Red Cross blanket for me.

House

You know how they say that buying your first house is one of the most stressful things you'll do in you're life? Well it's totally true. I never thought about it, but it's totally true.

The sellers want to close on the house as soon as possible and I'm not opposed to that but they really pissed me off while we were in Attorney Review. They took forever to respond to our Rider! One the one hand they want to rush me but on the other they take their time negotiating the contract! I really couldn't start w/ the normal house-purchasing procedures like inspection and looking for a mortgage until I got a contract signed. Anyways, I got word that they signed the contract yesterday so I booked my inspection for this Saturday. And I'm speaking with a few mortgage people.. but the trend in interest rates seems to be upward so I hope to lock in with one of them soon.

The money is probably the biggest stress causer. I guess it's because I've never laid down so much money at once. Plus we'll be balancing mortgage payments for the new house and our current house. (well we'll be renting this place but what about until we find tenants?) I have to send in a check tomorrow for 5 figures. gulp! 5 freakin figures! Ok I should stop freaking out. I'm getting a house. That's a good thing. I can't wait for my tax refund next year!!