Sold!

I'm happy, sad, a bit nostalgic and a bit shocked. In exactly one week, my Texas home sold! Closing is this Thursday. That means the last house payment has been made and tonight I had the pleasure of canceling the utilities. So, one bill left for each of those. That will make bill paying, among other things, so much easier. I love to watch the shows on HGTV and worried that the house was empty. They say houses that have furniture and/or are staged sell quicker. I guess not in Texas, which is totally fine by me.

I was also pleased that the offer was fair - I didn't get taken to the cleaners. I'm actually coming out okay. A little loss, but nothing really hurtful, plus I figure in the long run I'm coming out ahead. No more property taxes to pay, pest control to do, lawn care to arrange, HOA fees to pay, or anything house related. Right now, I'll just enjoy renting. One day I hope to have my own house again, but I have no idea where or when and I'm okay with that right now.

It's been a long road, but I'm at the end of it now. I'd wondered off and on (especially after bad manager stepped down) if I shouldn't have hung out a little longer at the job. I'm taking the quick sale of the house as a sign that I shouldn't have - that I made the right decision. Now, I can just move forward.

Up for sale...

Yes, the house in Texas is for sale. It was official last Sunday. I had briefly entertained the idea of keeping it and heading back there in a couple years, but decided that wasn't the best thing to do. Yes, I own the house and there are lots of pluses in that. However, the job here is good. The memories there, not so good. I gained one really excellent friend from the whole return to Texas fiasco, but that doesn't require I live in that house.

I also don't want to limit myself to that area of Texas. It's not bad, but if I do wind up back there, I'd rather do it with a clean slate. My visit back to view the repairs reinforced this. It was a hard decision to make and kind of sad. I enjoy owning my own home. However, I also enjoy the freedom that renting provides. Not just in the maintenance aspect, but in the ability to move aspect. It appears that I still have a bit of wanderlust left in me. I know that someday I'll hit the spot that I'll stay (hopefully) and be able to retire, but until then I kind of like knowing my options are open. That I could go where I want to... maybe. It all depends.

Until then, it will make life much easier not having to take care of a house from afar. So far, three showings. Cross your fingers for a quick sale.

From almost the middle of nowhere.....

This posting is coming from small town Illinois. My Mom and I have come to finally go through my Dad’s childhood home and decide what goes with us, what goes to charity and what is a decision for another day. It was something my Dad wanted to do before he died, but he was just too ill in the end. So, here we are. So far, so good. My Mom adjusted the “goals” a bit, but that’s okay. My plan was to come, evaluate the furniture, get anything in it out of it, and get it ready for the movers. Basically, that’s what we have done. She, though, also made it a goal to go through some of the other stuff and “clean it out.” Ugh. There were many children in this family and many of them brought things to their Mother. They were stored out in a storage area. It’s strange. Going through the things here is not just going through my Dad’s life, but through almost every brother and sisters and his mother’s. We found an odd fur hat. Excellent condition. Makes me think of a lodge hat, but who knows. We found two Navy hats. Two of the boys were in the Navy. We wonder if they both belonged to one or if there is one per Uncle. We’ll probably never know. We found oodles of blankets, mismatched dishes (some China), an old fur (fake) coat, a couple of down comforters. Lots of little odds and ends. We could spend months here, but we can’t. So, we try and focus and know we’ll probably be back. Most of it is still good, but not really anything we want or need. This afternoon we took eight large trash bags, plus a couple of small boxes to the local Goodwill. It was quite a drive, but it was worth it. Hopefully, someone can make use of what we don’t need. The rest will head out with us.

The house here is pleasant, but not luxurious by any means. However, we have what we need. The biggest pain about coming is doing the bit of clean-up required after any house has been vacant. The worst is getting rid of the spider webs. I hate creepy crawlies, but I’ve gotten good with the vacuum’s wand attachment. Not every nook and cranny has seen me and the vacuum, but most of them have. The others I’m learning to deal with and really, for a three year gap between visits, it’s not that bad.

We hadn’t realized it had been three years. The last time, we left a day early. I think it was just too soon after my Dad’s death to come. Every visit before had, of course, included him. We did not come here without him. This time, we’re doing better. We’re laughing at the poor little refrigerator’s fan, which sounds like a motorcyclist diving through town. The A/C unit outside doesn’t sound much better, but at least it works. Earlier, we discovered we had a bad fuse. The weather’s been pleasant, but the humidity in the house was reaching some high levels. The range is old and if we could put new insulation in the oven we would. As it is, we can use the stove, but not the oven. The microwave could qualify as an antique, but it works and that’s what counts. All in all, believe it or not, it’s been pleasant and relaxing. Small towns are. This is technically a Village. I’m guessing some where between 500 and 1000 residents. It’s literally a bedroom community - all houses, one tavern, and a small post office.

How, you wonder, is this blog posting being done. Before I left for this trip, I got a laptop - a MacBook. I’ve never used a Mac before, but so far, I’m not having any problems. It’s also my first wireless PC. Before coming, I looked for wireless networks. Bless the McDonald’s in a near by town. They offer free wi-fi and that is how this entry is being posted -- Via McDonald’s free wi-fi. Go Mickey D’s.

Moving forward...

A couple of weekends ago, I made a day trip to Texas. The purpose was to see all the repairs that had been made to the house. A few days before, the new driveway had been poured. It was still marked off, but looked great. The outside repairs were done and they even re-sodded in places, though I spotted some dead spots in the yard. I'm not worried about those though as I know the grass will fill it in. The flower beds were looking a little sad, so I told my yard guy to go ahead and mulch the flower beds and around the trees. Finally pulled up the remains of the little peach tree. It had done so well and then just overnight it seemed to die. After all the cracks in the walls and ceilings had been repaired (I believe they had to totally replace the sheet rock in the ceiling in the entry hall) they repainted the whole house. I think they did a better job on the re-paint than they did when it was first built.

I had briefly considered the some what flighty notion of holding on to the house and moving back there. Eventually, I'll need to be closer to my Mom. However, seeing the house confirmed what I had already decided. As much as I liked that house and the area, between it and the job, mostly the job, there are just no really happy memories there. Even if I move back to Texas one day, I don't want to tie myself to that area or that house. So, once all of the little repairs are finally finished (there were one or two items remaining), friend BA will put it on the market for me. It just feels right. Cross your fingers. If I can't sell it, I'll rent it, but I'm really hoping I'll be able to sell it. It looks like brand new on the inside and thanks to the repair work has a life time warranty on the foundation, which in that area should be a selling feature. They were in the process of repairing two other houses and several more standing by in addition to those already repaired. I can't even imagine the bill for the builders.

The trip. The really good part: I got to have a hamburger at one of my favorite hamburger places and visit with friends. I caught an early flight out of BWI and was supposed to leave DFW at 6:25 pm and be back in my apartment by 11:30 pm. Nice plan. Too bad the weather had different ideas. Storms. So, delayed, then delayed, then canceled, then rebooked. I got home at almost 4:00 am on Sunday morning. It took me almost a week to recover. However, it was worth it. Hopefully, I'll repeat the day trip shortly (without storms) to sign papers to sell the house. Wouldn't that be lovely? Then I truly move forward.