Don’t kill me, dear Kelly
I know. I was horrible about posting last month. By the time I got five minutes of quiet time to myself, I was usually too tired to write anything at all. Too much has happened for me to catch up on so I’ll have to wipe April clean and move on. It will be like a soap opera you haven’t watched in years. Five minutes and you’re up to speed again.
What’s going on now? Well, we’re finally looking seriously for a place to live. We were going to apply for this gorgeous house we found on the other side of the city but they received a purchase offer the night before and that was that. We made the mistake of looking around a bit before we went to apply but I guess I’ll pretend I believe “it wasn’t meant to be” and go with that.
After we found out the house was out of the running, we were on our way to dinner when I noticed some condos that our (former) builder was selling. In one window it said “sale or lease” so I gave the agent a call. We decided against that because while we could do the deposit and the rent and it would be a lease to own, there’s no back yard for the kids. At that point, however, I called because we need a place to stay and I was curious. Well, as a result, it seems I’ve struck up a nice relationship with the Realtor and she seems really nice. Yes, I know that Realtors (and strippers and sales clerks and your mother) make you feel good because that’s what they do but she does seem nice. She’s also literate in email and seems like someone I’d actually be friends with so that’s a plus. I’m not actually looking to add to my dance card but it’s nice dealing with someone who seems sane and sincere about helping. She’s already calling people in the city who she knows owns rentals to see if any are coming up etc., etc. We’d have to pay her a bit of commission but if she can find us something that isn’t a shithole, I’ll be very happy.
I have to talk to her to see what she thinks but we’re also going to see if it’s even possible for us to get another mortgage. There’s a historical 1883 Victorian that’s bank-owned, big and needs a shit-load of work to say the least. However, they are asking $49,900. We could put 20% down and even with a large interest rate, we could comfortably swing it until we could refinance. At that time we could yank out a bunch of equity (at least $100-125k) and really turn the place around. I’m not sure if it’s even possible so it’s simply something I’m kicking around in my head. I figure, if we’re going to live in a shithole, it may as well be ours, super cheap and have potential. I’m not going to think too much about it though.
Spring break is just about over and the kids go back to school on Monday. Usually I would dread a solid week of the kids being home but Jeff was also on vacation so it worked out fine. It was nice having us all together and it worked because it wasn’t just me handling everything. Jeff goes back to work tomorrow and is working 6/12s. The OT will be good and very welcome. He hasn’t had much in quite awhile.
I’m still doing the laundromat gig but I’m actually starting to enjoy it. It’s a PITA to haul the stuff rather than walk downstairs but at the same time it gives me a break from the house and I’ve met some interesting people. Usually you think weird and scummy when you think of the laundromat but this place is small, clean and the freak factor is way low. I know this makes me sound sad but it’s really not as pathetic as it sounds. Okay, maybe it is but the point is that it’s not the huge drag I thought it would be.
We did have some money earlier in the year for a washer set but, as usual, something big and unexpected came up and we had no choice but to divert the funds. We could get a set now but I want to get this house thing situated so I’m not making any big purchases until things get settled. Whether we rent or own, I’ll be happy to get somewhere and finally unpack for awhile.
Oh, here’s something pretty cool — I became the director for the special needs division for our district’s AYSO. Kelly says that will give me a life (I love that girl) and I’m looking forward to working on making it a little more organized and add some perks. For example, I’d like to see if I can solicit enough donations so that I can get a basic photo package paid for for each player so people don’t have to miss out on picture day. I’ll have a better idea of what I can do and what needs to be done when I take over.
Now I’m going to run up to the store, grab the local paper, see if there are any new rentals listed and then go to bed.
