More pics of my clean empty house...guest room and upstairs hallway

More pics of my clean empty house...master bedroom

Next steps...

So last night the mortgage brokerage company affiliated with my relocation company emailed. Why she emailed at 10pm last night I don't understand. And I've yet to get a response to my response to her stating "yes please tell me all you have to offer, get me pre approved, and get me some rate quotes". I was less than impressed last time I was referred to the OLD affiliated mortgage company and since I had to pay all my closing costs that time anyway I didn't bother. But this time I really need to either go through them or my old bank in Peoria. Either of those ways the closing costs get direct billed to the relocation company, rather than me having to pay and get reimbursed. Which means less cash I need to have at closing..or more to put down. If the relocation company wants our mortgage business so bad why do they provide such substandard service?

Today came the first call from the moving company. This is my third time being moved with them, and its the same company that moves our big wigs..so I know I'm in good hands. The coordinator was so cute today...I called her back and she said "Is it really time for us to move you already? Didn't we just drop you off in Pennsylvania a short while ago?". She asked about any major furniture and misc purchases since I've moved here and if I thought we needed to do a full inventory teleconference again or if we should just add the new bedroom set to what we had from last time. I told her we better start fresh since they underestimate me EVERY time I move. I seem to recall running out of boxes twice last time. Of course..the shady guy they ended up contracting to do my move kept some of the boxes for himself since he had a daughter moving that weekend..but you KNOW he charged my company for them. Anyway, Monday I'll have my official phone interview with the movers to get that whole process rolling.

Tomorrow both the realtors come back in with their market analysis. Should be interesting. The women, spent over an hour here yesterday. She actually sold most of the homes in my development that are on the street behind me..she worked for the builder as the agent in the model. We talked quite a bit and then she took tons of pictures so we could get me listed as soon as possible once I choose. The man, well, he only spent like 15 minutes here...so I don't know WHAT the heck tomorrow will be like with him. I guess we'll see. But so far I'm leaning towards the women. I wish he was coming in the morning and she was in the afternoon. Then I'd know for sure when she came back I wanted to go with her and would tell her. Not that she can react immediately since I have to tell my relocation consultant who officially tells her...but still..she'd know it was coming. Oh well...wish me luck tomorrow with the realtors! (plus I have a stupid 3 hour teleconference in between those two appts!).

Wow..

Mom and I were BUSY this weekend! We did sneak in a little fun at Hersheypark on Saturday, but most of the weekend was spent cleaning, decluttering, and getting the house ready for the realtors to come in. I have a few more things to get out of the hall upstairs, and need to straighten up my makeshift desk area, and take the LARGE amount of stuff too goodwill. But other than that..its ready. And not looking remotely like my house..its too empty! Here are some pics of the downstairs.

I don't think Miss Zella realizes....

How hard it is to do homework when she's on top of my arms and partially on the laptop!

This would be me..sitting on the couch (thank god you don't see more of me since I've been sitting here working on schoolwork since 7am this morning...right after I got out of bed). Laptop is in my lap (it actually snapped the picture) so I can get some of this weeks assignments finished before mom wakes up and we have to work on getting the house ready for the realtors to come in. And finally...Miss Zella..who has decided she's no longer going to let Miss Elphaba push her around or scare her away...curled up on top of me. As I type she's still sitting on my arms. Of course..Elphaba is ringing her bell..so as soon as I post this Z is onto the floor!

Alrighty then...

Second realtor called. Completely different than the first one. We spoke for maybe 90 seconds to schedule for him to come and do the market analysis Tuesday night. Didn't ask me any questions or tell me about himself at all. If today's conversation were the deciding factor I'd defintiely be going with the other realtor...I guess we'll see how next week goes. He's coming Tuesday at 5pm and then she comes Wednesday at 9:30am.

Funny coincidence

One of the two realtors I was assigned from my reloc company to come in and do the market analysis and interview...was the agent who sold most of the units in my development when it was with the original builder. Seems like that would make her a good person to sell my place right?

Slightly less freaked...

ok..talked to a co-worker who had to use the company buyout for his house and sold at a loss.

based on company relocation policy for "loss protection" support and what I owe on my mortgage...If I have to take the buyout offer from the company I need it to be at $128k or higher for me to come out even or ahead. If I'm able to find a buyer..I need to sell at $120k or higher to come out even or ahead. I think the average SELLING price in my neighboorhood is around $135k year to date. As long as that hadn't dropped much I should be okay, though not ahead which would have been nice. That said, I was told to push to get the appraisels down ASAP as they are used to come out with the buyout price - which I can be notified of 1 month after the house has been listed - assuming the appraisels are down and reports turned in.

On the other end..the Illinois realtor called me today (don't know what the hell is taking so long for the 2 in PA). We're all set up for househunting the last weekend in June. Yay! We had a nice long chat about what I'm looking for on that end and she's going to start sending me information. I'm less concerned about that end..other than how I do on this end may impact what I'm willing to spend on THAT end. Fortunately, even at the low end of my preferred price range there...I should still come out with housing fairly equal to what I have here. Plus every place there has basements and 2 car garages...versus now where I'm on a slab with a 1 car garage.

Anyway..thats all for my relocation update for today!

It begin..

Personnel announcement finally went out last night. Effective date on new job is Aug 1, though training doesn't start until Sept 8. Luckily the training dates have changed from the original ones I was told so I won't miss any training for vacation like before. I do apparently get "homework" that has to be done before training..so I'll probably stil shoot for moving mid Aug.

Assuming of course I can sell my house.. well..I mean...selling it shouldn't be the problem..as long as there's not something horribly wrong with it then I should be able to SELL it because the company will buy it. Problem is at what price and where does that leave me. I'm thinking I'll be negative right now..meaning smaller house needed on the other side. That said, relocation company finally called to get stuff rolling last night...I'm completely overwhelmed...I don't know how single people go through the sell / buy move process on their own. It was complicated enough to buy while relocating without someone to help me through the process. I don't know WHAT I'm going to do with selling.. I mean...what do I do with the animals if I'm out of town that day and someone wants to show the house?

Wish me luck....I think I'm going to develop an ulcer over this....

Too cute!

So its pouring cats and dogs here today..and I braved the downpour for my Friday starbucks treat. I'm sure I've been in when its been rainy before..but I've never seen this..look at the cute little stopper they put in my cup so the rain didn't get in!

Would you be disturbed???

Two disturbing things this week.

First....(copied this off my ravelry post on the same subject so some of you may have seen this already).....

I live at the end of a street with relatively new construction, only 10 people living in 7 townhouses, and the rest of the street is as yet undeveloped. When you pass the two buildings the road goes up a hill into a culdisac (spelled totally wrong but you get the idea - and again totally undeveloped as of yet).

Over the past couple of months I’ve been noticing pairs of cars show up, spend 10 minutes up the hill out of site, then depart. Not necessarily the same two cars every time...but pairs of cars.

Now..again..10 people live here. Prior to this..NO ONE drove down here with 2 exceptions. 1)The few of us who live here or 2) going to the model home which is directly across the street from me on the opposite corner (there are like 4 townhouses still unsold). Usually people who are going to the model, park right in front of the model and walk in. Or park in one of the open driveways and walk in. They do NOT drive to the top of the hill and then leave after 10 minutes.

So today, get home around 4pm, walking to the mailbox when I see a Camary pull up and park and sit, not at the abandoned end of the rd but in front of the houses. A minute or so later a silver honda pulls up, they talk, they drive up the hill together. After 5 mintues they drive back down the hill, park on the opposite side of the street. She gets out of her car and gets into his car. They sit..and sit..and sit. I’m outside with the dog the entire time waiting for her to go #2. Finally, after them sitting 20 minutes in the one car not doing anything, I call the local police.

I mean…these cars are coming all hours of the day and night for 10 minutes max. What would YOU think they were doing?

Cop shows up about 10 minutes later, talks to them for 3 minutes, gets in his car for like 8 minutes and leaves. Honda and Camary still sitting. Meanwhile, model (which was open) closes and agent leaves. Cop calls me 10 minutes later (cars still there) to tell me that they say they are considering buying one of the houses, and since they don’t have any outstanding warrants, seems to check out and I shouldn’t worry.

I express to him my concern, that 1) why would they not go IN to see the house versus sit on the street for an hour which it was close to at that time, 2) its not just these 2 cars, but all sorts of cars 5-6 times a day and in the middle of the night, and 3) I’m outside with the dog every 2 hours roughly and see this all the time and can’t imagine what all these cars are doing up at the undeveloped part of the street.

I told him I felt silly calling but that this whole thing just seems weird. He said not to feel silly, they’d rather I call than not call.

What do you guys think? I’m sitting hear shaky because if there is something bad going on, its probably obvious to the people who it was and what house. Plus, aside my own personal safety which is a concern. I’m getting ready to put the house on the market. What if something funky IS going on up there and a potential buyer is also concerned by it?

Do you guys think I’m worried over nothing? Would you be calling the cops every time a strange set of cars showed up (and didnt go into the model - or anywhere near it for that matter?).

Second....
I'm in the post office yesterday to mail out a package. In front of me in line are two foreign gentlemen...I honestly couldn't tell you were from I only saw them from behind and they spoke in very broken english. The one has one of those little orange cards the mailman leaves when you have to go to the post office to pick up your package. He gives it to the clerk, she grabs his letter. She tells him she needs to see some ID before she can release the letter to him. He tells her he doesn't have ID and the letter is really for his "brother" standing next to him. She asks the "brother" for ID, but he "forgot" his ID at home. Without any hesitation, she just lets them sign for the letter and leave. Mind you...the entire time the original dude is holding his car keys...so I'm thinking..."how did he drive here and he has no ID of any kind?". I get outside, and the two men are sitting in the car, and the original one is reading the letter.

Now...two things bother me here... 1) Why was neither of these men able to produce ID and 2) WHY on earth would the post office clerk release the letter! If I was the sender of that letter and required ID I'd be furious to find out that the letter was released with out it. What do you think?

Disney Fun!

So I'm headed to Walt Disney World for the first time in almost 10 years this September..followed by a week on the Disney Magic. I've been getting very much into the mood..listening to podcasts from Lou Mongello, gathering my vacation wardrobe, and reading up in my favorite Disney Travel Book.

So here's a little Disney fun to share....

Apparently I need to breakout the DVDs for a little review on this one:

I SCORED A 71%

Which Disney Princess Are You?
	You are part Jasmine. You are loyal and would visit the ends of the earth for what you believe. You would never let obstacles stand in the way of true love.
	You are part Ariel. You are beautiful but impaired. At times you are na�ve. Still, your innocence and good heart make you sought after and loved.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Which Disney Villain Are You?
	You are Lady Tremaine. You're the evil stepmother little girls have nightmares about. Hooray for you, who helped kids learn to love their birth parents and do everything possible to avoid stepparents. Next time, though, be careful not to get in between a girl and her dreams.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Which Disney Hero Are You?
	You are Aladdin. You don't have much in life and you couldn't be more happy. Based on your background and history people often misjudge you, but you will soon show that you are a hero in a plain man's clothing. Until then, brush up on your singing and laughing because they will get you through some hard times ahead.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Ouch!

So I may or may not have written about this in the past, but my alarm clock in the morning typically consists of either Joey or Elphaba pawing, licking, or nibbling somewhere on my face. Perhaps not the most IDEAL way to wake up, but one to which I have become acustomed. And mostly enjoy as being woken up by creatures who adore me is certainly less jaring than the alarm clock.

Until this morning.

Now, when she gets really excited (which she is in the morning usually) miss Elphaba accidentally goes from nibble to bite. This morning I woke up to Elphaba fangs INSIDE my nose with a sharp bite. Little stinker. Blood of course immediately exploded out of my already sensitive inner noise area. After the initial gushing it stopped pretty quicky, and luckily I moved fast enough to avoid getting it all over my bed and floor..but damn if my noise doesn't hurt like a ...... well...use your imagination there.