Selling and moving, Part 3.

November 2015
Final walkthrough before closing.

It’s important to preface this part of the story with the fact that we know NOTHING about selling a home and very little about owning a home. We bought our house in a whirlwind of crazy 3 years prior with the help of an awesome realtor who took care of EVERYTHING and owning one home does not make you experienced. SO, let’s proceed with caution and skip the “you should have known better” eye rolls.

About 3 days before we were scheduled to close we decided to touch base with our realtor friend who had been giving us advice throughout the whole process of selling. I couldn’t even tell you why we called him because the rest of the conversation made me nauseous. He asked if we had closed out our permits for the deck and gotten the Certificate of Occupancy (a required inspection certifying that the home is safe for the new owners).

I’m sorry, WHAT? We hadn’t gotten a permit for the deck, the electrical outlets that we had installed outside OR the porch columns that we replaced a few weeks prior. MAJOR FACE PALM. We were screwed.

When we bought our house we purchased it from the Bank so the Certificate of Occupancy was OUR (aka the buyers) responsibility. So we (stupidly) assumed that it was their responsibility. FUCK. Turns out it wasn’t, it was our job and 3 days before closing- it wasn’t done, or even started!

Needless to say, we spoke to our attorney ASAP, let him know the situation, and I was in the Construction Office at 8:30am SHARP the next day. We were given a 4-6 week timeline and I nearly shit my pants. 

We literally lived on eggshells for the next few weeks. I all but begged them to work with me, help me and forgive me because we NEEDED to get to closing. Any delay in selling means another mortgage payment or worse- a buyer backing out. Neither of which we were prepared for.

This period of time included MULTIPLE trips to Home Depot, too many drives down to the old house to sit in an empty home with a 3-year old waiting on an inspector, and lots of tears. I was overwhelmed to the max by the to-do list that landed in our laps overnight. At the end of the day, it was our negligence that brought us here but damnit, that was a hard time.

FIVE weeks and two days. Thank heavens for the most patient and understanding buyer, ever. We closed on the house on a Thursday and we happily handed over the keys, thanked our sweet first home for the memories and got the EFF out of there.

Sometimes I think when we feel drawn to make a change or take a leap of faith and then second guess ourselves throughout the process- we are SHOVED by the universe. Given every reason (and then some!) that we need to get on with it and not given much mercy when we think twice. 

This was exactly as it happened for us. 

Do I miss that house? Yes and no. 

Do I wish it had gone a little smoother? Sure. But we learned SO much through this. 

Do I want to do ANY of this again ANY time soon? HELL TO THE NO. 

We keep joking that we have been through so much lately and are still married so we must be doing something right. This has been the ultimate test of our relationship, our sanity and our ability not to pick up drinking habits. I am SHOCKED that the latter didn’t become a thing because YOU GUYS!

We are so glad to be on the other side of that life change and seriously looking forward to some quieter times. 

❤

BUT I haven’t even told you WHY we did all of this in the first place. Sigh, that’s going to be a story in and of itself. Until next time, friends. ️

xoxo, Em

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