Re-Fi?

Well, today I got a call from our lending agent, Laura, who told me that she's no longer with GMAC and thinks she and her new company can offer a better loan than the one we had applied for the GMAC. I didn't have time to go into details so I'm going to talk to her tomorrow morning. I need to find out if there is a cancellation penalty on the old loan and, if so, whether the "savings" on the new loan would make up for it.

I don't know or much care if there is some sort of lending agent's ethical code that's being violated here but if we can save some m-o-n-e-y then I'm all for it. Full report forthcoming.

Appliances

Kerry and I were up in Milwaukee for a Brewers/Twins game and stopped by my mom's furniture/appliance store to do a little pre-planning for November. We looked at some dinette sets, formal dining room sets and home office arrangements. Lots of potential but we're not ready to buy anything obviously. We really don't have anywhere to put it.

Next we looked at some appliances. We need a refrigerator and a washer and dryer for the laundry room. Black is a necessity for the fridge and my mom's store had a few selections. Amana, Frigidaire, Whirlpool, etc. Definitely need the front door water and ice combo. The models we were looking at would run less than $1,000 and then we get to factor in my mom's employee discount. Yeah!

We had been considering a front load washer and dryer even though they tend to be more pricey than their top load counterparts. We would need a gas dryer which can be $50-$100 than an electric model. After looking around at my mom's store, we talked to one of her co-workers who is in the appliance section and she recommended the Fisher Paykel brand. We'd never heard of it but the more she talked about the brand, the better we liked it. Especially the high economy aspect of the models since we'll be paying for our own water and utilities. Large capacity in both the washer and dryer and a very interesting drum arrangement in the dryer.

The appliance lady recommended the slightly smaller, less expensive units unless there was a sale and rebate going on for the larger units that would essentially make the difference a wash. We'll see.

All in all, despite the Brewers' loss, the trip to Milwaukee was well worth it as a fact finding mission.

Unstuck

Quite Sunday today. Did a little shopping and Kerry ran some more. Did some laundry and removed the Four Lakes parking stickers from our cars. Kind of the last vestiges of our time at the condominium.

Weekend Apartmenting

Kerry and I are spending our first weekend together in the new place. She is quite pleased with the arrangements I made in her absence the last two weeks. She wasn't thrilled with Buffy's re-appearance in the front window. (The life-sized cardboard stand up). But Buffy does a nice job protecting the premises and even with the renter's insurance in place, we can always use the extra security.

The neighbors are noisy here. There seems to be more ongoing busy-ness in the apartments than over at the condo in Four Lakes. And/or thinner walls. Hard to say. When Kerry got home Thursday night, she noticed the noise. But she seems to be acclimating.

Saturday, she ran in the St. John's Lutheran 5K and then we chased around and got lunch while Firestone looked at the Mercedes' A/C. They eventually decided they couldn't recharge the freon because of Mercedes' special electronic monitors. I had softball practice and then we went to see Spiderman 3 (my review is forthcoming on Blog Dog Musings).

We picked up a wall mount for the 17" flat screen HDTV/DVD combo that I picked up for temporary use in the apartment bedroom and in the new house's master bath. Looks pretty simple to install but since the apartment office is coming through this week to take measurements for future renovations, I'll wait until they come and go before hanging the bracket on the wall. No need to catch their attention with such things.

Closed!

The closing on the condo went about a smoothly as cold have been imagined. I signed my name here and there. Signed for Kerry as her "attorney-in-fact" pursuant to a Power of Attorney. The buyer, a young guy of around 20 named "Mark", showed up with his mother. He didn't seem to be much of an intellect. I think his parents gave him his earnest money just to get him out of their house. Seems they had been making him do his own laundry of late since his purple polo shirt was all bleached around the collar and sleeves.

As usual, I was the first to arrive about 10 minutes early. Then the buyer's attorney and then my attorney, Zack. The buyer was the last to arrive. As he was arriving, I was stepping out to get a bite to eat at the Jewel deli next door. When I got back the buyer and his attorney were going over the paperwork with the buyer grunting faux understanding of what was being said.

I gave the attorney the receipts for the exterminator, chimney inspection and furnace re-pipe. She didn't ask about the loose faucet or water heater release valve. And, I kept my yap shut.

Zack and I went over the settlement statement and I realized that the home equity line that I had taken to put the earnest money down on the new house wasn't included. I kept my mouth shut because if I had said anything, it would have sent the whole closing into a tizzy. New papers would have to be drawn, the lenders would have to be called, a pay-off statement from the equity lender would have to be obtained. The one hour closing would have probably taken six.

So, I looked at the settlement statement, said, "Looks good" and signed off. Of course, I'll have to pay off the equity line with the extra proceeds from the closing and then close the line since I did sign an "Affidavit of Title" warranting that I was giving the buyer title clear of any encumberances. I can do that on Monday.

So, I took my check and deposited it straight away and went back to the apartment to get Kerry who had been working and meeting the cable installer. We then ran off to Claim Jumpers restaurant for dinner. (It's actually a nicer place than it's name might imply).

So our life at Four Lakes of Lisle is over. I have refrained from naming the complex in previous blogs to avoid possibly having a computer savvy buyer "google" Four Lakes and find a bunch of my articles bashing the place. But now, to hell with it. While I have lots of great memories of my time there such as my proposal to Kerry, years with Peanuts and Westley and many great friends, it was time to move on. And the equity from the condo has helped us get the new house so I definitely can't say it was all bad.

Fortunately, with the quick closing, we avoid the ongoing parking problems and the parking structure construction project that is planned for June next door to the condo. That would have made a much more difficult sale. But that's all of the past. Time to look to the future.

Shuttle Runs

The week has been spent making the final runs back and forth from condo to apartment bringing over the little things that I had been using up until the final move.

I wiped down the refrigerator and mopped the tile. Vacuumed and steam cleaned the carpet. The carpet didn't look too bad with the furniture around breaking up the light but once the condo was empty, you could really see the crushed down traffic pattern. But the steam cleaner did an excellent job fluffing up the fibres. At least until someone walks on them again. But by then, we'll be closed and "ha ha ha" on the buyer.

Finances Afoot

Our primary loan for the house has been approved. A decent interest rate of 6.125%. We checked with another lender but she couldn't match the rate and certainly couldn't re-work the numbers in the time frame we needed.

So we're pretty much set. After the closing we'll have the 1% of the loan necessary to lock in the rate. That way if the interest rate drops, we can still get the better rate but if it goes up, we'll be locked in.

We will need the secondary loan since we're doing an 80/10/10 loan. The final figures for the secondary loan will be hammered out once we know exactly how much cash down we will have saved up after the condo closing. But things are progressing. And that's exactly what we need.

Settling In

The move to the new apartment is complete. Hersh, TC, Bill and Mike came over to help out. I bought everyone workgloves, soda,water and, of course, KrispyKreme doughnuts. We started up around 9:30 a.m. after some doughnuts were eaten. While these doughnuts were eaten, Kerry was on the last leg of the Indianapolis marathon. Given a choice between moving all day and running a marathon, I'll choose moving every time.

First, we hauled out the entertainment center and TV. Then the mattresses to protect the TV. At 10 a.m., the ex-wife hating exterminator showed up in his little green VW "Bug" for the 2nd application of poison. He wrecked his exterminator's truck and was none too pleased to be driving the company "gay-mobile" as he called it.

Filled around with some smaller items and by 10:45 we were heading to the apartment. It took around 15 minutes to unload. Then it was back to the condo to get the bedroom set, dinette, coffee table and some other miscellaneous items. By then it was about 12:30 so we decided to get something to eat. First we tried to go to Pete and Johnny's Tavern and Grille but unfortunately, the joint doesn't open until 3 p.m. on a Saturday. So, we headed to downtown Lisle and went to Pazzo's for some pizza and beer.

We then ran to the apartment and unloaded. Mike started feeling a bit nauseous after lunch and took off for home. By then we only had the armorie and the second bike. The armorie's height made it one of the more difficult pieces to move. We also took the desk to the dumpster. Ironically, it was THE most difficult piece to move. It was heavier than it would appear and because we weren't planning to keep it, the drawers and doors weren't secured and repeatedly swung open, threatening to pinch fingers and strike faces.

Bill orchestrated the move (as he does all moves), like the invasion of Normandy. And like Normandy, despite the occasional setback, the operation was a resounding success.

The only thing that didn't done was my fault because I didn't hear my cell phone ring when the cable guy showed up at the apartment. This means that I will have to go the week without real TV but I did get the DVD player and Playstation 2 hooked up. And I am apparently able to steal bandwidth to get online. Either that or Naperville has it's city-wide grid in place. Hopefully, I'll get the cable rescheduled and we'll be all good very soon.

Jiminy Cickets, I'm sore.

The Pre-Move Continues

Well, halfway through the week and it looks like everything will be ready for the final move Saturday. I've been bringing clothes, dishes, books, etc. over one car load at a time. I pulled apart the bed and set it aside, ready for loading.

Monday, I got the renter's insurance in place with AIG. About $50/month. I then got a quote from them for our 3 cars and decided that it was time to leave the GEICO gekko. I ran the quote online then confirmed with an agent and found out that for the same coverage (more or less -- I dropped comprehensive on the Rav), our rates will be almost half what we had been paying. Switching over was so easy a caveman could do it.

Thursday, the Association comes over for their final inspection. A week ago, I called to schedule it at 2 p.m. My real estate agent will meet them since I can't be there. Of course, yesterday they call to re-schedule. It's always something with them. Fortunately, my agent was able to rework his schedule to come over at 10 a.m. So, it looks like I'll get my clear letter. I can imagine there being a problem but with this Association, you never know.

Then my attorney called to say that a re-finance loan that I opened in 2002 and subsequently re-re-financed in 2005 was still showing on title. Apparently, when they were paid off they didn't record their release (even though they charged me for recording it). My attorney says that's not unusual. But it did require me to dig through my old files to find the mortgage information so he can have the mortgage company issue a hold harmless letter for the closing next week. I think I found what he was asking about. If not, he says he can track it down another way but it will take longer and he wants to get things in place ASAP.

In any event, I'm watching Lost and packing one more load to bring over tonight. The eating and cooking utensils, Kerry's wine rack and the drinking glasses. I still have some towels to wrap the glasses in. And, since my trial didn't go today, I can bring all my suits over. No more court this week. That worked out. If I was on trial there's no way I'd be doing any moving today. Or probably tomorrow.