The Process...

Mr Toad, when does this ride end?

The entire moving and arrangement of moving is an enormous pain in the ass. Throw in the fact that we are moving out of state and doing a two part move with storage time thrown in and you reach cluster fuck levels of complications.

The house is under contract and we seem to have a couple of eager first time buyers. The home inspection was as nit-pickey as humanly possible and this led to follow-up inspections by roofers, plumbers and electricians (oh my). We are still waiting for the final requests from the buyers but the initial feedback is not that bad. I think we will have to replace a dated electrical box and have some minor wiring work completed - but that is not bad. We just need to see the request in writing so we can accept or deny.

There is the selling of as many things as possible in progress. A 3500 sq ft home with additional basement storage is crap-loads of junk to get rid of. Furniture, televisions, exercise equipment and most everything must go. I have a huge dining room set that is not selling and our next home will be much much smaller - so I am not sure what to do with the furniture. Things are selling - slowly and here and there. The more we unload the less we have to move.

The movers are coming this week to assemble their quotes. What is going to happen is we will have out belongings moved to storage and my new employer will move the items from storage to their final destination. The time frame is the bitch. Because we must pay for the first part and the final move is paid by the company. The good thing is the moving expences will be tax deductable and I have tons of deductions this year!!

So, if the repairs get straighened out and we arrange a moving company then slow bus back in pittsburgh must get in gear and organize packing and preparing for the actual move as well as arrange the home repairs - whew!

I have a plane ticket to PA for November 4th and I am renting a van and driving back to Texas with the dogs and whatever else must move with us. If all goes extremely well that will be the final trip to Pittsburgh, but I am not holding my breath. What most likely will happen is I get the dogs and items and the slow one will need to return to Pittsburgh to tie up lose ends- Yuck!

Here is the real kicker. When my company moves me I have to send someone back to Pittsburgh to supervise the move from storage provider to moving fan and they must sign on the spot. This will mean I need to arrange a POA before January.

When I return to Texas around november 6th, I will be here about another month. From here I am heading to MS to house hunt and on to Florida for holidays. If all goes smoothly and I am not expecting a smooth ride, but at least the process has started.

I have bought and sold about 5 homes now and I must admit I despise the selling process, but love the buying process. In selling you have no real power and just sit and wait until you get a nibble and must be ever so careful not to scare the home buyer away.

As a buyer I go in make an offer and low ball as much as I can. I demand everything and dare the seller to flinch. See, I do not fall in love with a home and can easily move to choice two, three or four to get the deal I feel good about. Plus, in buying I put is mad amounts of research to ensure the home will sell when I am ready to move on. I will take a dump of a home in an excellent location and do the repairs so that it sells when I am ready. The truth is the home can be changed, but you are pretty much stuck with the location so the location is the only really important factor. From location I look at layout and what needs to be changed and how difficult it will be.