What the #@!%, is there a Full Moon?

I cannot believe this is happening to us. We are losing the house. Our Lender changed on us the last second AND the house did not appraise out. So as of tomorrow we will be signing a Mutual Release and terminating our contract.

I am so pissed. This would have been our FOURTH mortgage. We have NEVER defaulted on payment, we have 680+ credit score and yet we still can't find anyone to give is a 90% LTV Loan!?! Are you freaking kidding me? There is no freaking reason we should have to come up with 15%. No way. This is crap.

We are back to square one. I loved this house. I did not see this coming. First my Office closes and now this? We are SIX DAYS away from closing.

I sure as hell hope we get our Earnest Money back...

UPDATE: There is more to this story and I'll be blogging about it as soon as I know Josh and I are free and clear and the Mutal Release has been signed.

I'm Still in Shock....

Yesterday at 1:30 p.m. it was announced, by the powers that be, during our "Emergency" Office meeting that they are shutting down the Hillsboro and Potosi Offices and merging them into Festus. To some of us this came as a huge shock. I knew something was wrong when Carol McCabe and Jim Dohr walked into our office for the meeting....My heart sunk....

For months I have said that this was going to happen but I didn't actually think it would come when we started picking up business. 3 months ago we were dead. Now we are all going 90 miles an hour and doing a good amount of business. I have 3 contracts in the works to close in February and May. I have one listing coming up with another agent and they choose to do this now?!?!

Joyce will be turning over her position as Broker to Glenna (the Broker at the Festus Office) and becoming a Salesperson. Krista Snyder (the Broker of the Potosi Office) will become a Salesperson. Our Secretary lost her job and Lee (Our Trainer and Assistant Manager) has also be "demoted" to Salesperson.

While it isn't as hard for me because I was already in the works to leave and join the K&N Office in St. Charles...but these co-workers were my family and I am so sad to see their lives turned upside down. Everyone cried and a few of my co-workers couldn't even sit through the meeting.

They gave us no time either. We have to merge on Friday. I have no idea how many agents will make the move or join other Offices or Companies....I will be making the temporary move to support my co-workers.

This was such a hard time for everyone :(

Kitchen Dreams....

I have to say that the most exciting part about buying a Home/Investment is that I can treat it more like it's a home and customize it to fit our family needs and wants versus just thinking about whats the most cost effective/buyer friendly way. I have no fear that any of Josh and I decisions wont be well liked by Buyers but they wont be carbon copies of the last two investments and because I spend a great deal of time in my Kitchen I want it to be special.

This home is going to be richer and more inviting than the first two. I have been scouring Kitchen websites for days looking for design ideas.

Here is the Kitchen as of now:

We are weighing a few options in terms of the colors we will be using. We like the Dark Cherry Cabinets with the light Neutral Counter tops and Neutral Flooring. We will be taking out the existing island and putting in a new one. We'll also hang pendant lighting above the island and we will be taking out the top cabinets above the "work area" and lifting the bottom cabinets so we can fit a wine rack and wine glass holders on the bottom of the lifted cabinet.

Like this:

We like the Cabinet, Counter top and Flooring colors. The back splash would match the Flooring and the paint color would be more neutral tan. I'd take a tile and try and color match the paint to the tile we are using. The floors would be Travetine in the larger size and we would lay it in an off set, "brick like", pattern for a more custom look.

We also like the lighter look of White Cabinets, White, Black and Gray speckled Counter tops and Dark colored Hardwood Flooring. We would paint the room to match the Counter tops. A light Gray would be very pretty.

Like This:

The Cabinet, Counter top, Flooring, Paint and Backsplash colors are PERFECT! We would install stainless instead of Black Apliances and the wine rack would be a lot smaller.

Inspections Update

We just got home from the St. Charles house and the inspections went well. Dave spent almost 3 hours with us going over everything. When all was said and done the only concern was the Aluminum wiring the home is wired with. It's not copper. But it is oxidized and connected correctly and any educated Buyer and Inspector wont have an issue with it because if both of those things are done it's not a fire hazard and not an issue.

So we are good to go. Josh and I took down some wall paper while we were there. The home has so much of it!

We also wrote down our "To Do" list and "Not To Do" List. We were pleased about all the things we had on our "Not To Do" list. The cabinets, vanities, all but 2 interior doors, all exterior doors and windows are new. This is going to save us a lot. The drywall is also in good condition in almost all areas except the bathrooms so that will save us some money and time. This home is bigger than the first two investments and is going to require more flooring so it's nice to be able to take that money and put it into flooring. We'll be doing actual hardwood on this investment and it's going to be more expensive than the laminate.

Inspections

Today we are meeting our forever Inspector, Dave Kozal of Kozy Inspections, out at the new house for Inspections. I have to give a lot of praise to Dave. We have been working with him for a few years now. He was my Inspector long before I was an agent and will be for years to come. Dave was introduced to me through my agent and now co-worker, Shawn Brewer, when we purchased the Jarvis Investment and so far he has been the Inspector that ALL of my clients have used.

Dave is not just any inspector. He is very savvy when it comes to Investments. I trust Daves opinion greatly and he doesn't just inspect our properties but he really does take the time out to answer all of our questions and give helpful advice when it's needed. Dave has gone above and beyond for us on so many occasions.

I hope everything goes OK today as most of our family already knows due to my bitching about it, we are over on our "Inspections Period" :( So really we can't do anything if something is horribly wrong but we are pretty sure nothing is...We'll see though!

I am also going today to measure the windows and such. This wont just be an investment for us so I plan on putting up curtains and blinds. It's kind of exciting. Closing is in 2 weeks!

FINALLY!

After 3 LONG weeks we finally got back our signed copies for the St. Charles house. We might have to push back closing a bit because it took so long but that will be fine. I am excited that we can finally move forward. Inspections are scheduled for next week.

So Many Options.....

8 years ago when I went shopping for dinnerware I was faced with the fact that there was nothing too choose from. Everything was either too tacky, too plain or just down right ugly.

As I get ready to shell out the money for my first new, matching set I have come to the realization that I might never be able to choose! There are so many colors, patterns, sizes and shapes to choose from. This is seriously turning into a dilemma.

Here is what I have been looking at:

Worldview Collection Multi-Color

Retro Square in White

Square Dial Set in White

Damask Set - Black and White

Trilogy Set in Black

Corelle Impressions Marissa

So far I am leaning towards the Black Trilogy Set and the Damask. I just can't decide!

New Years Resolutions

I didn't make any last year and I know that I should have. So this year after careful thought I put together a list of Resolutions that I promise to put a good effort into keeping :)

1. Lose weight: I put on about 15 lbs. this year and while the last few months I haven't gained any more weight, I seriously need to lose what I've gained.

2. Use my Gym Membership more. This goes hand in hand with #1. I need to be in the Gym at LEAST 3 times a week. There is no excuse for it! I live so close to the gym and when we move I'll live just about as close.

3. Eat healthier and stop drinking soda. This also goes a long with #1 and #2. For the most part I eat semi-healthy. I just eat a lot. I need to cut down my food intake and make a good effort to stay away from fast food as it is my downfall. As for the soda. I really don't like soda and have no idea why I drink it. maybe because it's always readily available and easy. I'll be putting a stop to that.

Luckily I have a husband who can really support me with these three resolutions, as he has really started to make all these changes for himself.

4. Stop being such a BITCH! I need not say more ; )

5. Organize my ENTIRE life. I believe I am fairly organized but by what standards? Mine? My work stuff is everywhere! It's time to get it together and organize it! It's not hard, right?!

Happy New Years!!

This year Josh and I decided the boys were really old enough to celebrate New Years and it just so happens we also decided they were old enough to attend their first movie (technically it wasn't the first as they saw about 20-30 minutes of Cars with their Nana but you know.....).

So we decided to take them to dinner and to see Alvin and the Chipmunks. While they didn't quite understand why we were having such a late dinner and staying out so late and what this New Years thing was we were talking about (I'm sure they didn't even care), they had a BLAST! They lasted through the whole movie and even asked if we could do it every day. Josh and I realized we are getting old though. About 45 minutes into the movie we both turned to each other to inform each other of the severe pain in our backs from the seriously uncomfortable chairs. Ugh!

We made it back home just in time to ring in the New Year with Sparkling Grape Juice and Bells! We hit the sheets by 12:45. It couldn't have been better!

Josh and I have high hopes for 2008. It's already started off on the right foot and we couldn't be happier. Hopefully all will go smooth and we'll close on our house the first week of February. I'll make the move to a St. Charles office and life will proceed smoothly.

I hope the best for all my friends and family for 2008. Thank you so much for all your love and support! It means the world to Josh and I!

Cheers!

We Chose....

The 3 Bedroom 2 Bath!

There were a few deciding factors in our decision. The yard is larger and more secluded. It also is covered almost all the way around by 6 foot fences. It also has a more defined Master Bedroom with it's own Bath. It also has a larger Kitchen and driveway which is great because of Josh's vehicle festish. All in all this was just the better option for us. It's definetly going to need some work and we can't wait to customize it!

Here are some additional pictures:

The Kitchen

The Dining Room

The Living Room

The Master Suite

Hallway

Backyard

If all goes well and we close we will be rehabbing this one as well for future sale. It's not a quick flip like the others were. This is also going to be our home.

We will be putting in all new carpet and hardwood flooring, painting all walls (after we tear off the wall paper) and even ripping out the wall that sits in between the living room and dining room. We'll stain the cabinets and install new counter tops. We'll add stainless steel appliances and install a tile back splash. We'll trash the existing island and put in a new one. We'll paint the existing doors as they are fairly new 6 panels. Both bathrooms will be gutted and everything will be replaced. All light fixtures and fans will be replaced. The basement will be finished creating 2 new bedrooms/office and a large living area and washer/dryer room. The entire house will be re-sided and we'll extend the deck and the lighting system the deck has. Add some landscaping and repair the fence and we'll be done!

The Call....

OMG, We just got the call I seriously was NOT expecting. For those of you who know us and have received my numerous crazy calls about our recent house hunting, know that we have been searching non stop for our new home/investment. It seemed like every time we found something it went under contract. Well a couple weeks ago we found two GREAT contenders.

This 3 Bedroom 2 Bath home in St. Charles:

and

This 3 Bedroom 1 Bath home in St. Charles:

Both in GREAT Neighborhoods right off Hwy. K with good profit potential. Both new on the market but we thought we would give it a shot. We decided to write an offer on the larger one first and of course we weren't the only one who wanted the home. So we went into Multiples. We put in our highest and best offer in on the 17th and began to wait.

Needless to say, we never thought we would be the highest bidder as our bid was pretty low. So we decided to take a shot at the smaller one while we waited. We wrote an offer on the smaller one and right as I am faxing it through I get a call from the listing agent telling me there is another offer in! What! Ah! So we sent through our offer and informed the agent that it was our highest and best as there was no way we were paying more for the property. We thought "no way, we aren't going to get this one either"....

Well, we did get the second one!!! After many counteroffers and us refusing to go up on price the Bank FINALLY accepted our offer yesterday and the agent informed me she would be sending the addendums and hard copy counter over this evening.

It gets better...

The call I received tonight was about the first home. WE GOT IT TOO!!! The Bank took our offer over the rest and they just faxed me over the addendums and the counter.

Now what do we do? Well, we are going tomorrow to look at both houses again and hopefully we can make our decision. I am so torn! The larger of the two needs more work but the smaller is well....smaller. They both have about the same potential profit but we think we might be able to get a little more out of the larger one and we know it will sell faster. They both have great backyards and are close to all amenities.

Josh and I hope to make a decision tomorrow and we will update you on the home we chose so stay tuned!

Our Furbabies

These little guys play a serious role in our household and we view them as children. They bring so much joy and love into our home and I cannot imagine not having them there. They are all very well behaved and very well mannered. They are also super smart and have learned more than your basic tricks and commands. Remy even does "Stop, Drop and Roll". They love playing with the boys and cuddling up and watching movies with us.

Madden is our 2 1/2 year old American Pit Bull Terrier.

Remington VonPigBull is our 8 month old APBT/Boxer mix.

Kit/Spunky is a 3 year old Domestic Shorthair.

Mad, Remy and Kit are permanent Furbabies but as you all know we have also had some great fosters that have graced our lives. Trina, our most important foster, has been living in her forever home for awhile now. I still very much miss her.