We're singlehandedly killing trees...

trust documents
loan documents
house contract documents (selling and buying)
inspection reports
summer camp registration forms
new school registration forms
school transfer forms
address change forms
before school care program registration forms
tax documents
new insurance documents
dependent care savings account claims
health care spending account claims

Help me - I've been overrun with paperwork!!!!  And why can't all these companies just go electronic so we don't have to kill quite so many trees?  It's 2010 already!

New School on Monday

Once it was confirmed that we were indeed buying a house in the neighborhood we wanted, we started thinking about starting Matthew in his new school for the remainder of this school year.  We wrestled with the idea, but in the end decided that we'd like to get him enrolled at his new school right away.  Last week we started the paperwork, and...tons of paperwork later, Matthew is starting a new school on Monday.  

He is a super adaptable kid, so I think he'll be fine, but he is terrified and in his own words, "so nervous."  Poor guy.  We've been telling him stories about how it was for us when we went to a new school, to try to ease his fears, and it seems to help a bit.  He said goodbye to his friends at his old school on Friday. We met his new teacher on Friday afternoon, and she is wonderful.  And the new school has a completely different feel that is hard to put into words...a good kind of feel.   

So things continue to change for all of us at a rapid pace.  Each week for the last few months has brought about a new change for at least one of us.  Thank goodness for adaptable, easy-going kids!

Inspections Yesterday

We had inspections yesterday for our new house, and I was really nervous going into it because we had no idea what things we might find.  The sellers had not had any inspections done before we made our offer.

I am very happy and excited to report that the inspections went way better than I had hoped!  No termites (which is a normal thing to find in all houses here in CA - they just love our climate)!  Only very few, very minor fixes to make.  So, we are now incredibly excited about our new house! 

It was fun to see the house yesterday again and spend some time in it.  I couldn't really remember what it looked like from the first time we saw it.  Kayla couldn't stop talking about how the kids bathroom has 2 sinks!!  She thinks that it just amazing.  We leaned a few things, too, like the fact that the house has an air conditioning unit, and an alarm system - nice bonuses!  So, we're moving forward, full speed ahead, and in 7 weeks we'll get to start moving in!!  Hooray!

Oh, and we're trying to enroll Matthew in his new school for the remainder of the school year (only 7 weeks left).  We think it will be good for him to make new friends before summertime, and we're not happy with his old school anyway.  He's excited to go to the new school.  But, let me tell you, the paperwork to make this happen is out of control because we are dealing with three schools and two school districts and all the forms they all need to transfer him around.  He'll probably get to start next week!

Such craziness around here, it's ridiculous!  But, it's all good stuff.

Hooray!

We're now in contract on a new house!  We are in a 10-day contingency period, and inspections are being performed next week.  So, it's not really a completely done deal yet, but the contract negotiations are finally finished.  We would move into the house in mid-June.  Here is a street view of the house from Google maps:

How Quickly the Tides Turn

So, in my last post I mentioned a house that we were stalking.  Well, it turns out the poor old couple decided to rent the place instead of sell, for fear of capital gains.  Bummer.  But then we got another lead from the baseball team - what a gem that has been!

Yesterday we put an offer on this new lead - a house that isn't even on the market yet - and we are negotiating and countering as we speak.  The house has 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2100+ sq ft, and is exactly where we want to be.  The house is beautiful, but the catch is that there have been no inspections or anything, so we're going in a bit blind.  Add to that the fact that the house is way above what we thought our budget was for purchasing a house.  So, as you can imagine, I feel sick to my stomach right about now.

The good news is that we can still renegotiate or change our minds if the inspections (that we are now paying for) show something amiss with the house.  So, send us some good ju-ju that everything will work out for us.  This week will be a big one for us!

House Stalking

I met a parent at Matthew's baseball game the other day, and they mentioned that the old couple across the street from them were getting ready to sell their house.  The house just happens to be right smack in the neighborhood that we want to buy in, and there have been no other houses in this neighborhood on the market since January. 

So, our realtor looked up the house and got their phone number, and called them.  An old woman answered, and when our realtor introduced herself, the lady hung up on her.  Our agent tried back saying that she just wanted to know if they were planning on selling the property, and if so who their agent was.  The woman said, "we haven't decided yet," and again hung up the phone. 

Since then Andrew and I have been closely watching this house.  We know the square footage of both the house and the lot, and we know the floor plan.  We've driven by many times to see if there has been anything happening.  This week we saw a dumpster and a moving van outside the house, and were very excited. 

So, why are we being such stalkers, you ask?  Well, the last house that sold in this neighborhood had 14 offers and sold for $100,000 over the asking price.  It's a competitive market out there, so we're doing all we can to try to buy a house before it ever hits the market.  Wish us luck!