Homeownership………….It’s an Adventure

The No-Show Realtor Date

In my last post I mentioned that JMR asked me out to dinner, I had accepted and was a little excited for this date as I hadn’t been out on an actual date since Lestat.  Anyway, we were supposed to have gone out this past Friday, but it never materialized.  I didn’t or should I say don’t keep following up with someone who has asked ME out on a date.  I figure that the guy asked, I accepted and from there on he’ll let me know when, where and what time.  So I figured that since we had such a connection via four Guinness’s, two margaritas and two burgers, he’s be reaching out to me to give me the information as to where our date would take place.  So just because he hadn’t given me any information the day at the pub, I sent him a text on Monday afternoon.  This was in addition to all the stuff I was undertaking in for the move to the new house.  As mentioned, this was Monday afternoon, and soon Tuesday, Weds and Thursday came around and I hadn’t heard from him.  So, as a follow up to Monday’s text, I called him….no answer, so then a few minutes later I sent him a text….nothing.

Friday morning at 3:45am I get a text from him saying that he’s gotten back from the ER because he had his right hand “mauled” by one of his dogs and that if I wasn’t squeamish he’d send a picture of his hand to prove it and that we would need to reschedule our dinner date.  My response?  I just told him I was sorry about what happened, and that for him to take care of his hand.  Whether this was true or not, and him offering proof of what had happened to him may or may not have been a feeble attempt as to why I hadn’t heard from him all week.  Yes, I say feeble attempt because I sent him a text on Monday and I didn’t hear from him until Friday early morning?  Why couldn’t he have just sent me a text or called me? Or why did he wait until he supposedly got back from the ER to let me know we’d have to reschedule?

Either way, I’m not putting any expectation into a thing that hasn’t even turned into a “thing” yet. He didn’t even say we’d keep in touch or that he’d call or text me later on in the week/month/year to see when he’d take me out again.

My House Is As Old As I Am

On Weds I spent the first night in my very own home, then cried that night and two nights afterwards because I still wasn’t sure what the fuck I was doing at my age buying a home and not having any clue about home ownership or all the financial responsibilities it entailed. No wonder the house is in need of some repairs, I’d be cranky too if I needed to be cared for.

On Friday I went early to go clean the house and get it as sanitary as I possibly could because on Wednesday the movers would be bringing all the furniture.  That day, as I swept and mopped all 1631 square feet of my house, as I cussed and regretted for a split second buying a house that big, I had the electricity come on.  I thanked God for that utilities being transferred finally and turned on all the ceiling fans in the house since the AC wasn’t on yet.  The person I contacted about coming to turn on the AC said he’d be there that afternoon.  Sure enough at 1:30 he showed up and we introduced ourselves and then caught his last name was JMR’s last name.  I asked if there was a connection and he said “Oh, yeah! He’s my cousin” and thought to myself, of course he is.  Then he climbed onto the roof and after about 20 mins he came back down and told me, the pump, motor and pads had to be replaced.  It’s a damned Master Cool and I know those stupid cardboard pads cost in the hundreds depending on the size.  He told me it would be about $250 to get it going.  It was 99 degrees that day and I was sweating up a storm, I was soaked in sweat because not only was it hotter than the devil’s crotch, it was humid due to all the rain we’d gotten in the last few days.

I gave him the okay and off he went to go get the supplies needed to fix my AC.  It took him two hours to replace and start the unit.  When he came back down he told me that he’d strongly recommend that I replace that unit before next summer because although he could start it up, it would only last me a couple of more years.  He’s a really nice guy, and he told me that if I decided to replace the unit he’d finance it for me so I didn’t have to pay for the entire thing out of pocket.  Then he opened up the closet where the heater is and said “Ummm, you may need to convert to refrigeration/heating instead.”  I almost fainted…because he said that the heater might not start up for the winter but that he’d be back around the end of October or early November to check it out.

I did a bit of research on my house and found out it was built in September of 1969, it’s as old as I am, okay the house is month older than I am but I’m pretty sure all the windows are as old as the house.  Oh you’re all wondering why I say that.   Maybe it was the thunderous rain and hail storm we had this past Sunday and EVERY SINGLE WINDOW IN THE HOUSE LEAKED, ALL TWELVE WINDOWS!!!  I have twelve windows *as I mutter every curse word known to man* and said to myself “you wanted a big house, you should have thought about this more, and twelve widows is a lot to replace, how about you kick yourself right now.”  The wind was hella-strong as I live up near the mountain now, and as water slowly made its way through every window and my son and I were grabbing towels of every size to put up against them.  I started to cry…again, not regretting purchasing the home…but because of all the money I’ll be putting into this house.  My son hugged me as he laughed and said “Don’t worry mom, you’ll have this house exactly how you want it in a couple of years, and then you’ll be happy.  I’m very proud of you mom.”  And I cried even harder, my son is proud of me.  Then, I realized that the slant on the back and front yards is TOWARDS the house not away from it!  The water started to pool and I prayed as hard as I could that the water wouldn’t reach up to the doors and that this will be another HUGE project I need to undertake so that can be fixed as well.

But I have to admit, the view from where I live now is awesome…

Northeast Franklin Mountains. The poppy’s bloom in the spring and the mountain is covered in yellow and purple flowers.

My Son Is Closing On His House

My son told me on Friday that Mortgage Bitch Lady let him know he’d be closing on Friday!! I’m so excited for him, one because he has a newer house (but wayyyy smaller than mine) and that two, he’ll have refrigerated air so he doesn’t have to deal with what I’m currently going through.  But he’ll be living on the opposite side of town, and it’s about 19 miles away from my new house.  I’m so very proud of my son and everything he’s helped me with. 

My Boys Are AWESOME

On Thursday afternoon I get a knock on the door, my son was at work and I don’t know anyone in the neighborhood yet, so I was surprised.  I opened the door, all sweaty, dirty and with a huge headache to find a crew of three guys from Vivint telling me they were there to install two cameras, motion sensors and a video doorbell.  I laughed out loud and said they probably had the wrong address because I hadn’t ordered any such service.  One of the men looked at his clipboard and said “This is *Blah, blah* address, and you are Ms. Huntress, correct?”  And I said that I was but I hadn’t ordered anything to be installed at my house and that there must be a mistake.  He said to me that the equipment and service had been paid for, I was still confused not to mention my headache getting stronger by the second.  Then he said to give him a minute and he took out his phone for a call.  Then he came back to the door and handed me his cell phone and I said “Hello?”  And my oldest came on the phone and said “Okay can you stop being a pain in the ass and let them install the security system please?  Me and the guys paid for it so we know your safe when I move out, so just let them in and they can get started because it’s going to take about two hours.”

My son told me to hand the phone back to the installation guy and I did….and I cried for the fiftieth time that week.  My boys paid for a Vivint security and video doorbell system because I’ll be living alone for the first time in five years.  They were worried about me being by myself, and they all chipped in to get me the service, for their peace of mind as they put it.  Little do they know that it’s not that they have to be worried about me, more that I may be the one the neighbors have to worry about, *insert evil laugh here.* 

Speaking of being worried, I came back to work after a week off to move to my new house and was told (again) I have anger management issues, okay not so much anger management issues but, I need to learn to be “nice.” But that’s for another post entirely.

My Cat Didn’t Like The New House

On Weds I finally transferred my cat to the new house. He spent the day behind the couch as he didn’t really want to explore. That night he finally came out and was walking close to the ground, wandering around the huge house he now lives in. After we went to bed, he cried all night and my son let him onto his bed so he could fall asleep. Well apparently my son didn’t sleep but Charlie did, and in the morning my son drank almost a pot of coffee all by himself. The following night, Charlie cried all night again, so I got up to go to the living room, turned on the lamp and television so I could stay up with him and make him feel at ease. We both woke up after my son came to tell me he was leaving for work. I was exhausted and still needed to finish unpacking and putting things away. My cat? That mofo slept all day long on the couch, and as mad as I was I let him.

My middle son told me to give him some nip and let him relax. So I did just that…..

This is my cat….

This is my cat on nip…

……to be continued.

So until next time……this is the Huntress, saying…”Don’t be a Moth Around a Dim Yellow Bulb, Be a Moth to a Flame, Make it worth the Burn!”