Guilt?

I had to unfollow someone on Facebook today!  I can't say it is something I do a lot.  I thing this makes the second person in total I have ever unfollowed!

The first person was several years ago.  She was the ex-wife if my cousin and I had always liked her.  She sent a friend request and I was more than happy to accept but within a few days I discovered she was crazy as shit!  She would post long post about jesus.  I mean her post were crazy as fuck and she posted about 20 times a day and I just could not take all that jesus freaky shit so she got unfollowed!

The person I unfollowed today was a guy I deployed with and overall his posts were not to my taste!  He posted daily pics and videos of himself working out! I tried to ignore them and he posted numerous pics of his fat ugly wife and their freaky ass unibrow child and again I tried to ignore!

He recently went on a tangent about Colin Kaepernick and would post pro Kaepernick post multiple times a day in a glowingly militant manner and I fucking had enough - so he had to go!

I feel better now!

Slowly...

Things are moving into order at a snails pace.  i still have rooms filled with boxes but slowly some things are finding their place and the initial stages of order are under way.  Next up is a trip to the paint store to put up some color in this place that does not look like old lady taste.  i swear the hardest part of a move is erasing all remnants of the prior owners taste or lack there of.

I am of work tomorrow and that will serve as a day to pick up a bit of paint and some plants.  Looking forward to posting some pics tomorrow and showing the home as it is now so that I can record the progress.

Chill in the air...

The movers arrived yesterday and I am once again living among the boxes.  I have been through this one too many times but it seems overwhelming each and every time.

First things first.  The closets need to be painted and the bedrooms need painting and this requires deciding on paint colors.  I am thinking a creamy colored paint for the ceilings and use the same for the closet then one of the gray tones for the walls.  In this home I am attempting to use colors all in the gray and gray-blue category.  I would like to attempt to maintain cohesive color palate throughout.  It may not hold up but going in this is what I am thinking.

Sadly, I am not graced with a whole lot of time this week as I work all weekend then Monday I have to travel out of town overnight.  So Wednesday I have a full day to sort through the boxes and run down and look at paints.  Hopefully, if all goes well this week things can finally settle down a bit.

Morning..

Sleeping on air beds is not my idea of a restful nights sleep, but at least I am not in the hotel anymore.  No, I am in this empty old home and trying to learn more about it as I learn how to live in it.

My favorite part of the home is the four season porch.  It had wood floors, a full wall of windows that open up and it is heated for the winter time.  Also, the screens are replaced by glass when winter approaches to help keep out the cold.  The area is sadly empty as I have yet to pick out any furniture for the area.  I am thinking a sofa that is pair furniture and a few chairs and maybe even a rocking chair - I dunno.  I need to give this some more thought.

With the windows open this morning I can hear random cars going by the other streets, loads of birds making noise and I see an occasional dog walker pass by.  The traffic noise I sort of enjoy as it reminds me that I am still in a city (although very small).

Today, I want to find some chairs for the back porch and maybe browse some paint colors.  This rehab process is going to be a slow deliberate process that I hope to enjoy and not all rushed like the last home.

Welcome Home...

I signed the paperwork and wired a whole bunch of money and in the end I was handed the keys to my new home.  The home is actually 106 years old and creaks and groans like any home its age.

Now begins the real work of making this home more me than the prior owners.  The movers arrive Friday and the whole sorting and arranging begins - but some of it will need to wait until some painting is completed.  Every wall and ceiling needs to be painted and given a fresh coat.

So begins a new life here is Wisconsin..

Hello July..

The new month promises to be better than the last.  I close on the new home next week and I am relieved to have this process completed.

The irony is that the home I am ending up with is the very first one I liked over a year ago online.  The home sold the end of last year and the owner placed it on the market one month later and the home has sit on the market ever since.

It has some flaw that I hope to fix but it will have to wait until next year when I have a little money saved.  In the beginning the plan is to clean and paint then buy pieces of furniture here and there.  I have a pit group on the way for the lounge.  I want to buy a larger tele for that room and a stand for the television along with assorted tables.

The formal living room I have end tables and a coffee table and found a sofa I will order but need another chair and maybe a bench near the window.  There are lamps, desks and rugs to buy.  So many things to buy as I made the huge purge on moving.  Plus I do not even have a bedroom set, just a mattress.

So, it will take a while to build this home into something near complete.  Much to do and many photos coming soon!

Silence...

So the hunt for a new home has gone every which way of wrong.  

We had an accepted offer on home number two but after trying to secure insurance I was not comfortable with all the numbers.  I contacted my realtor and asked to get out of the deal.  

There were the expected stalling tactics by both realtors involved in attempts to "save the deal" but in the end I could get out now or wait until the inspection either way I was determined to get out!

As it so happens we have been told the seller is unable to sign the cancellation paperwork as they are out of town and this being a holiday weekend it may well she until next week before we get the required signature to escape this deal.

Yes, I have a home lined up to make a bid.  The new home meets the wish list I first made and even though it has some flaws I think we can make it work.  Also, the cost is less and we can afford to rehab the home any way we desire.

Not my dream home but at least I will be able to sleep at night.  That is if we are allowed to make an offer.

If the home is unavailable when we finally are free to offer a contract - no worries - we will begin again!

Okay...

Tuesday, we made the appointment with the realtor to make an offer on option C.  However, I decided to make one last counter for the round home.  The offer was only 5k more than the last one I made.  We wrote up the offer for home C and the plan was the realtor would call about the round house and get a verbal one way or the other and if the answer was no then the offer would be presented to option C!

We received a text about two hours later that the offer had been accepted!  So, I guess we are back on for the round house.

Now I just have to wrap my head around the new and much higher mortgage!

On and on...

I am beginning to believe people here don't really want to sell their homes!

We made a bid and the seller made a counter!  We then countered their counter and waited and waited.  I got fed up and wrote my realtor to express a desire to make an offer on another home.

We waited hours for a response from our realtor.  We thing she was working to save the bid on the current deal, but at this point we really don't care.

I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon to make an offer on the next home!  The we get a text the other seller will make a counter tomorrow!  At this point We don't care!  I am so done playing these games!

We understand this market and know what we are doing.  When we walk away from this home it will sit on the market for more than 6 months and the seller will slash her price again and again.  She won't get what we are offering and she does not understand that!!!!

So we will walk and bid on a different home!

We are not new to this and can walk away from a home we like to take on a home we don't like quite so much!

Square One...

The first home we bid on fell through!  We had a home inspection that revealed a mess of problems and the seller refused to fix any of it.  So we decided to take our party elsewhere!

We placed an offer on home number two yesterday and are waiting for a response/counter offer.

The new home is way different than what we were looking for but the home felt good when standing inside.  It felt like it could be home.  The home needs some updating, a lot of updating but we are up for the task!

The one cool thing about the home is that is has an atrium with a domed roof and skylights!

I no longer get my hopes up when going through the home buying process it will either work out or not.  I would rather find a home that fits or wait until one does.

We will see what happens!

Here we go again...

We found a home and made an offer.  It went back and forth several times and we finally came to an agreement!

Then came the inspection and they found so many things wrong!  We requested the seller make repairs and all shit went crazy!

Bottom line!  The seller did not want to fix squat and we did not want to spend money fixing their shit!  So it fell through!

Now we start the process again😂

Endless...

I feel like I am on the hamster wheel!  I wake up and do the same thing every day even though I don't want to...

A little more than three weeks until we close on our home!

Lyfe..

Finally beginning a routine now that work has begun.  

Still living in the hotel an living day by day.  Our expected close date is in the first week of June!

It Begins Again...

We are under contract.....

House Hunting for a little bit and for the past week we have been going back and forth with offers on a home we sort of like.  Monday night we made our final offer which the seller countered.  I guess final is never really final when it comes to real estate, but we were dead serious.  We gave word to the realtor of two other homes we likes and planned to view on Tuesday with an offer to be made that evening.

The seller's agent called the next morning and agreed to our final offer.  Prior to that with their final counter the seller's agent wrote that there had been heavy activity on the home and the seller was confident the home would sell soon for higher than our offer - we called their bluff!

So now begins the process.  I called my bank to begin the application but they were having some serious system issues and will call back this afternoon.  I went to the bank and obtained the ernest money and we are calling this morning to schedule the home inspection.

The home inspection scares me a bit as I know there are spots of rot here and there and I am concerned about the roof.  The seller replaced shingles some 12 years ago, but i saw water stains in the attic.  The stains may be old but still cause for concern.

Our realtor also pointed out another potential issue which may come up with chipping paint.  We are using a VA Loan and they are very picky about the proper handling of chipping paint where lead based paint could come into play and with the age of the home it remains a serious possibility that somewhere along the way lead based paint was applied.  But we cannot worry about that until it comes up.

The home needs lots of work and will become a project home for us.  Everything does not have to be fixed at once and I want us to take a few years to make the home just right.

The gruesome part is that until we close (some time in June) we will be living in this hotel with the camp carpets and the slow internet, but on the bright side it is close to work.

May..

Started a new job and I am making less than I did before.  In fact, I only make slightly more than I did working part time!  However, it's only temporary and I will carry on!

Still house hunting.  The home we bid on and really liked stalled as the owner dug her heels in believing she has a gem that everyone wants.  The home has been in the market for an entire year.

This evening we are taking a second look at two homes and the plan is to make an offer on one (maybe both) afterwards.  I am still not sure which one works best for us!

Hotel living is getting old, but we will make the best of the situation.

House Hunting...

After seeing so many homes they all start to run together.  The big problem we are having is that we are not seeing homes that we love, just ones we sorta like then we have to convince ourself we could make it work.

Yesterday, after a second viewing on a home we decided to make an offer.  The home we 'settled' on has been in the market a year and the house has been dropping in price every few months!  We went in low, maybe too low - I dunno.  My rationale was this home needs a good bit of work and better go in low and creep up to the real value of the home then giving the seller all the leverage.

When you go in too low you run the risk of pissing off the seller.  Trust me, I have been on the seller side of a low offer and I would not respond - however, their home has been sitting for a year and I was hoping they would at least respond with something we could start the process with.

You just never know.  They have until tomorrow to respond.  However, last night we discovered they scheduled an open house for Saturday.  This tells me that have no plans in even considering our offer.

Would I be crushed - God no!  I have been through this process enough to know that there is always another home right around the corner.  My only issue is that we are stuck in an expensive hotel until we get a home!!

Hotel...

So I am getting tired of the hotel squatting!   

Good news, I now have a job and I think it is with an organization I am going to enjoy working for - I start monday!

Today, we are off to view the top 4 homes on my list.  I guess I am hoping that one of these homes will work for us!

Lots of beer - I mean it is Wisconsin!

Wausau...

Well after some 1600 miles and 4 or 5 days of travel (I lost track) we made it!  Let me tell you the dogs are happy to get out of the car for a spell!

Yesterday, we had lunch at a local restaurant then returned to he hotel for some wine and relaxing 🤗

This is their version of a grilled cheese served with a side of plantains!  I had never had plantains before - they were quite good!

The grill cheese was slathered with jam!  Not my first choice of a partner with cheese!  I did eat it but if I return to this restaurant I will order this without the cheese and maybe have them slice up some jalapeños on the cheese - Yum!!

Today, we do some exploration!  Check out areas and drive by some homes I have identified as "possibilities"!

When in Wisconsin...

Had to get some cheese curds 😛😛😀

Green Bay

A trip to Green Bay would not be complete without a trip to the sacred grounds of Lambeau Field!

The wee little town of Green Bay is cute and easy to navigate and actually has a good feel to it!  We went this morning and bought our tickets for the tour and had an enjoyable time on the tour.

Travel...

As we make our way to what is suppose to be our new city we decided to make an additional stop in Green Bay (aka title town). We read about the tour of the stadium and thought that would be kinda cool.  Plus it was only four hours from Minneapolis.

Had a really good meal and drinks at some chain pizza restaurant and drank a bit too much.  Morning is a bit rough but we will power through.  I need some good photos of the stadium.

Travel more..

We are a little bit closer!  Decided to spend the night in Minneapolis and visit the Mall of America😋.  Man that place is big and it has a roller coaster - wicked cool!

Today we are gonna drive thru some different cities in Wisconsin and maybe stay over in one of them before arriving tin Wausau!!

Road..

Traveling and day one is in the books.  We started at 0400 in San Antonio and when all was said and done we crashed for the night in Bethany Missouri.  I think we traveled 900 miles over 15 hours.

Today we got to sleep in and are having motel breakfast! Still finalizing travel plans today.  Thinking about hitting some random cities in Iowa starting with Des Moines.

We should put boots to ground in Wausau in Friday

It's getting real...

You know when the television gets boxed up then it's time to roll!!

Decorating

Not exactly my style but who knows...

Packing continues...

I hate packing.

Ordered packing tape off of Amazon and it did not stick to cardboard, WTF!

I have a headache and I just want all of this over with already!

Packing...

Packing is not something I enjoy doing and I am not very good at it.  So I have basically been banned from the process.  My efforts are limited to gathering the items, taping the boxes and the all important moving of the boxes.  A vital key to the packing process.

We have a week until the movers arrive to take all of our belonging and lode them up on a big truck and drive away.  I have no idea when we will see out items again.  It could be months to a year or more.  It all depends on how things shake out up north.

Move minus 10 days...

My home has a contract on it and I am shoulder deep in boxes.  I have never been a fan of moving and Lord knows I have done my fair share of it.  I keep lying to myself with each move saying, "this will be the last move".  All the while knowing it won't be and I am not sure if I will ever have the feeling that "this is it".

I didn't start out as a nomad.  I was born and spent all my life in one city until i hit my twenties and then I met someone who was hell bent on moving and that is where it all started.  I had no desire to leave my hometown but wanted to make my other half happy and so I left.  We put our home on the market and moved to Pittsburgh.

Funny thing about the move to Pittsburgh was that the timing could not have been worse.  We placed our home on the market at the exact start of the housing bubble bursting. Plus, we overpriced our home - in hindsight it was a huge mistake.  I used a piggyback loan to buy a home in Pittsburgh and the Florida home sat on the market for three and a half years before it finally sold.  So for three and a half years I carried two mortgages.  I still do not know how I puled that off but thanks to credit cards and some bill juggling we made it happen.

So Pittsburgh was suppose to be the move to last a lifetime.  However, even though we loved the city the job market was horrible.  I could never find the job that fit my skills and education.  Eventually, I started taking contract out of Pittsburgh.

I went to Indianapolis, Minneapolis, South Bend, State College and San Antonio all while still maintaining a home in Pittsburgh and paying for the unsold home back in Florida - Whew!

The traveling taught me many things.  i learned that people in different parts of the country are as different as night and day.  I discovered that I could just go with the flow and stay out of all the politics of work and this was amazing.  The biggest lesson I learned was that I could live for six months and longer with very little stuff.

My first contract I packed everything I could jam into my small car but over time I took less and less until finally I would take a few bags, a laptop and buy whatever else I needed when I got to the destination.  The experience taught me I didn't need all the "things" i had thought were so damn important - it freed me up a bit and I have tried to incorporate that lessen ever since.

Eventually, I came to realize that Pittsburgh just could not work as a home.  i could not just keep traveling around from town to town.  I was growing tired of that life.  So, I did something even crazier.  I signed up for the military.

Yup, the process took a while but eventually my Florida home and Pittsburgh home sold and I was off to Commissioned Officer Training in Montgomery Alabama.  So began my military life that eventually planted my in Biloxi Mississippi.

Biloxi was a horrible place!  The base was wonderful but the town surrounding it was like a slow growing cancer.  The city offered  casinos and a man made beach - so nasty.  Not many other options.  I would spend most of my down time in New Orleans or Baton Rouge and over the years I grew to despise living in Mississippi. Now, i am not saying everyone would hate the city, but for me it was equivalent yo living in hell.  Maybe in hindsight I should have payed the extra money and lived on base - who knows!

Funny thing is I originally made an offer on a home there but backed out because my gut told me to and things turned out better overall because of that decision.

I spent only for years in the military and decided to separate to finish school and be able to establish some roots.  I had a few choices of where I wanted to go after the military.  There was Missouri, Texas, Florida and Iowa.  We ended up selecting San Antonio mainly because we had been there before and we thought it would be the easiest transition,

We made a trip down and looked at several homes and made a few offers - none worked out.  We ended up buying a home we only viewed online.  It was not until we arrived in San Antonio we actually got to view the home and it was shocking!  Homes photo so much better than they show in person and this house was awful.  It was dirty and the repairs/updates the homeowners made were all wrong - so very wrong!  I went against my gut and went thru with the purchase and we have spent the last 16 months fixing and redoing everything.

Thankfully, all the hard work paid off because when we listed the home we had many offers within the first 5 days and ended up accepting an over well over our asking price.  And that brings us to now where we are getting ready to leave out home and the state of Texas to depart on yet another adventure.  i am excited and full of dread all at the same time.

I hope I can look back a year from now and believe that it was all worth it.  Hope I am in a home that I love and that I find a job I find rewarding. Only time will tell.......