Ever have an experience where you narrowly avoided disaster? Like almost being hit by a truck or something? On the one hand you are relieved to be alive but on the other you are in shock by what could have been. I felt like that when I got an email from the bank near the last week of January.
Our closing date was supposed to have been January 23rd. The contractors were scheduled to preview the jobs on Friday, the 25th and start the roof and HVAC on Monday. I emailed our loan officer to see if she had heard anything and if I should cancel the contractors or not. She responded with this,
"Can you make any appt to come in to see me tomorrow? I have all morning available... I just heard back from underwriting and they still don't like the appraisal. I want to talk to you about another option for financing and it will actually work out better for you without the need for mortgage insurance... "
I ended up calling her to find out more details. She said the value was there for the appraisal but the underwriters didn't like the comparables. With riverfront acreage the other houses that sold recently weren't close enough to our price range, square footage, etc. My real estate agent even provided them with more recent comparables that were closer in value but they still didn't like it. She told me that they work nationally and our situation wasn't fitting tidily into their little forms. So, they rejected our loan.
She and another fellow in the bank had come up with a way for us to avoid the mortgage insurance altogether. They would still do the construction loan but for 80% of the amount instead. Then the remaining balance that we needed to borrow would be loaned as a second mortgage. She said they didn't normally offer this option but they were willing to take the risk because they knew the area, the value was there and we were well qualified.
I just can't imagine what we would have done if we hadn't been able to get a loan to buy this place. <<shudder>>
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Limbo
I wrote this a week ago (Jan. 20th or so):
So here I sit in limbo. We are living in the little house by the river but we don't own it yet. We are waiting for final approval on our loan and then we'll get a phone call to set up a time to go in and sign the papers. I'm nervous, a little, just because almost everything I see around me makes me so excited but I keep trying to hold myself back because it's not official yet. The river, the eagles, the snow, the land...even the house. My mind keeps running off and making plans and dreaming about the things we can do here.
I've also been having a interesting time balancing my daily life. I'm reading a book that is proving to be very useful to me. It is called Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin. It is helping me learn how my brain works and how to get what I want from myself. I have realized that if I tell myself that each day is full of busyness and projects and today is really no special than any other day and each day will have it's own busyness and work it helps me do the normal stuff. It helps me get out of panic mode and pay attention to the people around me (and myself).
Most things I panic about are not real panic-worthy things. I set too much importance on getting the dirty floor cleaned or finishing whatever it is I am working on. Especially when there are any slightly bigger things going on like moving, home renos, etc. I still need to pay attention to my kids and it's ok to take a break and walk down to the river and take some photos. It's also better to keep a regular schedule like making dinner and stopping to relax in the evening.
We recently made a family decision along these lines of reasoning. My family reserved a cabin in Cranbrook, BC to spend the Christmas holidays at and we had been invited but hadn't committed. We decided to go instead of spending the four days cleaning this gross house. Honestly, yes, this house could really have used four days of cleaning but in the end we decided that there was so much work out here that four days really wouldn't make that big of a dent anyway. The entire house is coated with nicotine and grease and the floors are layered with grime and there's a lot of cat urine. However, the dirt would wait but if we missed out on the time with my family we'd really regret it.
We are so glad we went!
Daniel and I were arguing the other day about whether he should install the dishwasher (his idea) or organize the garage or house (my idea). He phrased something in a way that really helped me to stop and think. He said, "I don't think you are really hearing me right now. By the way you are talking, it makes me wonder if you would like to talk about this later?" I apologized and said no, I would like to talk now. I did keep pressing my point, however and then he was quiet and then left. A little later I went and found him and told him I decided that what I wanted really wasn't that important to me. I had been arguing that the organizing was more important to me than the dishwasher but I wanted to let him know I had realized that it really wasn't. I was just arguing for the sake of trying to prove my case. If he felt the motivation to do something different then he should do what he was motivated to do. Those are the methods I use on myself to get things done and I should leave him be. There is a lot of shit to do around here and I just wanted to relax a little and go with the flow.
So, I just finished preparing our taxes and now I'm going to go outside and check on my chickens. I also want to see if I can spy on a little bird I saw yesterday diving and fishing in the ice-choked river. I would like to know what it is.
So here I sit in limbo. We are living in the little house by the river but we don't own it yet. We are waiting for final approval on our loan and then we'll get a phone call to set up a time to go in and sign the papers. I'm nervous, a little, just because almost everything I see around me makes me so excited but I keep trying to hold myself back because it's not official yet. The river, the eagles, the snow, the land...even the house. My mind keeps running off and making plans and dreaming about the things we can do here.
I've also been having a interesting time balancing my daily life. I'm reading a book that is proving to be very useful to me. It is called Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin. It is helping me learn how my brain works and how to get what I want from myself. I have realized that if I tell myself that each day is full of busyness and projects and today is really no special than any other day and each day will have it's own busyness and work it helps me do the normal stuff. It helps me get out of panic mode and pay attention to the people around me (and myself).
Most things I panic about are not real panic-worthy things. I set too much importance on getting the dirty floor cleaned or finishing whatever it is I am working on. Especially when there are any slightly bigger things going on like moving, home renos, etc. I still need to pay attention to my kids and it's ok to take a break and walk down to the river and take some photos. It's also better to keep a regular schedule like making dinner and stopping to relax in the evening.
We recently made a family decision along these lines of reasoning. My family reserved a cabin in Cranbrook, BC to spend the Christmas holidays at and we had been invited but hadn't committed. We decided to go instead of spending the four days cleaning this gross house. Honestly, yes, this house could really have used four days of cleaning but in the end we decided that there was so much work out here that four days really wouldn't make that big of a dent anyway. The entire house is coated with nicotine and grease and the floors are layered with grime and there's a lot of cat urine. However, the dirt would wait but if we missed out on the time with my family we'd really regret it.
We are so glad we went!
Daniel and I were arguing the other day about whether he should install the dishwasher (his idea) or organize the garage or house (my idea). He phrased something in a way that really helped me to stop and think. He said, "I don't think you are really hearing me right now. By the way you are talking, it makes me wonder if you would like to talk about this later?" I apologized and said no, I would like to talk now. I did keep pressing my point, however and then he was quiet and then left. A little later I went and found him and told him I decided that what I wanted really wasn't that important to me. I had been arguing that the organizing was more important to me than the dishwasher but I wanted to let him know I had realized that it really wasn't. I was just arguing for the sake of trying to prove my case. If he felt the motivation to do something different then he should do what he was motivated to do. Those are the methods I use on myself to get things done and I should leave him be. There is a lot of shit to do around here and I just wanted to relax a little and go with the flow.
So, I just finished preparing our taxes and now I'm going to go outside and check on my chickens. I also want to see if I can spy on a little bird I saw yesterday diving and fishing in the ice-choked river. I would like to know what it is.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Homestead Beginnings: Beware of Chickens!
This past spring, I begged my husband for chickens. I told him I wanted 3 or 4. If they didn't work out we would just eat them. They were "chicken" after all. No real loss. He finally relented with the stipulation that he wanted no responsibility for them. No problem I said.
We now have 11 chickens. At one point we had 16. It's called "chicken math". People in the chicken world advise newbies to plan for twice as many chickens as they think they'll get. It's a well-known phenomenon.
Then my husband built this beautiful hen house to save himself from the frugal eyesore I would have created. By then he had nicknamed me, "Chicken Slumlord" for the temporary housing I had scrounged up for them as they kept growing out of their confines.
Now we are moving. It was just last year that we bought this house. It is perfect and we have loved it. However, the chickens have awakened the wanna be farmer in me and now we no longer have enough land. I want a cow. I want more garden space. I want to be able to feed my family off the land. I dream of butter, and cream and beef. Of food that ate from my hand. Food that is healthy and happy. I want to feed my two boys and my husband food that tastes amazing because it grew the way God intended. That's what we've experience so far with our chickens.
Sometimes it feels so crazy to be selling our 2024 square foot house in exchange for a 988 square foot one 30 miles out of town. Ever since the first day we moved in here we have said how much we like everything about it. It is so different from our first house. The floor plan is great, how easy it has been to update, how private the yard is, the location, the neighbors...
The house we are moving to is a 1952 low-ceilinged cinderblock bungalow with no heating or cooling system. The roof leaks. We had to get a construction loan in order to buy it because there's no bank that would lend money on the home in the state that it's in. But I couldn't love it more. I can't really explain it. It's not just the land. Well, it's mostly the land but I've always liked small houses, too. It sits on 2.37 acres that is bordered by a river and a county road. There's trees, a pasture, a cabin, a playhouse and a really crappy two car garage with flat roof that leaks worse than the house. I can't wait to just be there.
Sound exciting? I know, it sounds more like a lot of work. One step at a time, though. I've promised my husband that I won't get the cow until we both feel ready for her.
I did have a crisis of doubt one day shortly after we made our offer. I was worried that I was being selfish. My husband, Daniel, told me that he was happy where he was but that if I wanted to move out of town that he was good with it. That he wouldn't mind all the work. That he was even excited about parts of it, too. But, at one point, I worried. I worried that I was making this decision all on my own and that I needed to be an adult and put aside my dreams and not drag my family into something stupid. By the time Daniel got home from work, I was full of anxiety. He reminded me that this was our decision. He asked me a simple question, "Do you still want it?" "Yes!" I replied. "Good", he said. "Let's go eat".
We now have 11 chickens. At one point we had 16. It's called "chicken math". People in the chicken world advise newbies to plan for twice as many chickens as they think they'll get. It's a well-known phenomenon.
Then my husband built this beautiful hen house to save himself from the frugal eyesore I would have created. By then he had nicknamed me, "Chicken Slumlord" for the temporary housing I had scrounged up for them as they kept growing out of their confines.
Now we are moving. It was just last year that we bought this house. It is perfect and we have loved it. However, the chickens have awakened the wanna be farmer in me and now we no longer have enough land. I want a cow. I want more garden space. I want to be able to feed my family off the land. I dream of butter, and cream and beef. Of food that ate from my hand. Food that is healthy and happy. I want to feed my two boys and my husband food that tastes amazing because it grew the way God intended. That's what we've experience so far with our chickens.
Sometimes it feels so crazy to be selling our 2024 square foot house in exchange for a 988 square foot one 30 miles out of town. Ever since the first day we moved in here we have said how much we like everything about it. It is so different from our first house. The floor plan is great, how easy it has been to update, how private the yard is, the location, the neighbors...
The house we are moving to is a 1952 low-ceilinged cinderblock bungalow with no heating or cooling system. The roof leaks. We had to get a construction loan in order to buy it because there's no bank that would lend money on the home in the state that it's in. But I couldn't love it more. I can't really explain it. It's not just the land. Well, it's mostly the land but I've always liked small houses, too. It sits on 2.37 acres that is bordered by a river and a county road. There's trees, a pasture, a cabin, a playhouse and a really crappy two car garage with flat roof that leaks worse than the house. I can't wait to just be there.
Sound exciting? I know, it sounds more like a lot of work. One step at a time, though. I've promised my husband that I won't get the cow until we both feel ready for her.
I did have a crisis of doubt one day shortly after we made our offer. I was worried that I was being selfish. My husband, Daniel, told me that he was happy where he was but that if I wanted to move out of town that he was good with it. That he wouldn't mind all the work. That he was even excited about parts of it, too. But, at one point, I worried. I worried that I was making this decision all on my own and that I needed to be an adult and put aside my dreams and not drag my family into something stupid. By the time Daniel got home from work, I was full of anxiety. He reminded me that this was our decision. He asked me a simple question, "Do you still want it?" "Yes!" I replied. "Good", he said. "Let's go eat".
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Results from using the Morning Checklists
Well, it has been two mornings since using the checklists I made. The boys both love them and so do I. They find it fun to check things off. The whole morning is completely different. The stress has all but been eliminated. All I have to do is monitor a little and ask them to check the time and make sure they are on track with the list.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Organizing the morning routine
We've always had fairly stressful mornings. If there's any part of the day where you would catch me yelling it is in the morning. I have two boys who are 6 and 8. This past Friday was particularly bad. Today is Sunday and I've made checklists that should help the boys stay on track. In order to create them I first tried the easy way and checked online for free printable/editable ones. I really didn't find any that were quite what I wanted. So, I made my own and decided to share them with you.
Click here if you want to download Andrew's chart (you can edit it after) or here if you want Lucas'.
Click here if you want to download Andrew's chart (you can edit it after) or here if you want Lucas'.
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