move to California

All alive, more or less – God is good. But it was a horrifying experience in so many ways, and today may be the first day in the nearly 3 weeks I’ve been here that I don’t feel we’ve made a horrible mistake.

Now, to actually pay for the move …..... :/ It cost far more than we’d dreamed.

We load the truck here on the 26th, and will be there 2 weeks from now, most likely. We’re still not sure whether Middle Daughter is joining us or not.

I’ve been alternating between sheer joy and absolute panic! Since we didn’t get the keys to the Roseville house until the very end of closing week, there is much work to do.

I’ve been training my replacement at work all week, and she is fantastic! I feel so relieved to leave my beloved Boss Man in good hands, and it’s really been fun getting to know her.

I still need a job there. And we still have had zero interest in our condo here. But I feel oddly at peace, anyway. It will all be fine.

The final week & a half here will be bittersweet – many farewell gatherings, but also filled with anticipation for the new life ahead.

the bummed-out feeling. Son-in-law (who’s in the construction biz) was at the house inspection at the end of last week and called over the weekend with an update – lots of deferred maintenance problems of which we were unaware, which will result in a lot of money collectively in repairs. Assuming the lenders approve our loan.

Also, nobody is interested in buying our condo yet. It’s been listed a week, and the only response so far was a 1-sentence question on the association fees, which are admittedly high because of maintenance of the pleasant, winding, wooded drive into the development. My attempt to put a positive spin apparently fell flat, as I’ve not heard back from that person.

And the job search is equally unfruitful. So yes indeed, I am totally despondent right now.

though, about the moving arrangements. Yesterday we had a national mover give us a quote, and it was completely unaffordable. So we will most likely have to not only pack it all ourselves, but also move it all. We are definitely too old for this, so maybe we can at least hire some burly guys on each end to help.

I’m also nervous because Youngest Daughter will most likely have to drive one of the vehicles out, and she has not been behind the wheel since January. Although her current meds are doing well, I hope that continues and she stays on them.

and I hope we’ll know by the end of the week when closing will be. Can’t wait! But am terrified the lush plants will all be dead by then, as the place has been vacant one year this week.

getting there! This is a total miracle; the realtor told us at the outset our offer would be rejected, and we’ve not heard one single word on this offer these past 8 weeks – until this morning.

I know things can still go bad …. but hope and pray they don’t! Of our initial offers, this is our favorite. Not huge or impressive, but made just for us, and it has everything we thought was important. Our initial offer was $10k under asking price, which we told our realtor to up to asking price two weeks ago – but they accepted the initial, lower offer. Which is honestly all it’s really worth. Now I won’t be so worried about it not appraising out.

Now to sell the condo, arrange for the move, get a CA job, etc. Woo hoo!

More losses. However, one of our original bids (our least favorite) is actually moving along, and we should have either an approval or counter-offer in the next 7 – 10 days.

Last night Hubby finally agreed and let our realtor know that we want to up the bid on another.

My replacement at work has been found, but there are some negotiation hitches, since she wants to retain her current 4-week per year paid vacation accrual, and that’s not our office’s policy. I hope they’re able to strike a deal and get her hired in SOON, since she’s the most qualified.

I cannot wait to have an accepted house offer, so we can move ahead with other plans – marketing our condo, finding a job for me and apartment for Youngest Daughter there, hiring a mover, etc. This process has been exhausting, and I’m tired of it consuming my life.

That’s me. It’s been 5 weeks, and not only are our original bids not progressing at all, but the pre-approved short sale home we absolutely fell in love with and almost had accepted a week ago was snatched away from us by house flippers, who offer a cash deal – meaning they can close within 2 weeks. Though that house would have been a real stretch for us financially, it’s still discouraging.

So if there is no forward progress on our most likely bid by next Monday, we will be selecting our favorite traditional sale house (one that’s been flipped), and just settle for that. I have had it.

to be overly optimistic, but today our realtor sent us an addendum to sign on one of our bids. My hyper self wants to take this as forward motion, though I’m not sure that’s what it is.

have offers in to the bank as of the middle of this week, and now there’s a newly-listed house in Citrus Heights that is just 6 blocks from the kids’ excellent Montessori school!

So we are sending daughter & s-i-l to see it, and may make a bid on that one, too. Though it doesn’t have many trees and has no fireplace, the price is great and – did I mention it’s right next to the kids’ school? :)