– and a heart that wants to be true –
The appraisal came through at 193k. I’m paying 192k, so that’s just about as perfect as you can get. I think this means I can go ahead and give notice at my apartment complex and start packing my stuff. From what I can tell, this whole condo thing is now a definite GO.
Soon I will be posting everywhere, giving away my possessions. 
Let’s see, what’s happened so far?
The bank appraisal happened last Thursday and I’m waiting for the results of that. The home inspection happened on Friday, and there were a few things but none of them were dealbreakers. The furnace-slash-a/c-system is old and end of life, but it’s working right now just fine. I’ll have to start up a new furnace fund and hope it gives me a couple of years before breaking. There’s a couple of lumpy spots in the floor in the master bedroom and the kitchen, but I intend to (eventually) put down hardwood in the bedrooms and redo the kitchen linoleum, so that’s ok.
The stackable washer/dryer unit didn’t have an overflow pan under it; the owner is going to take care of that. The balcony isn’t up to code, but that’s the condo association’s problem and they’re already replacing all of the balconies. I think mine is scheduled for the 21st of June, but I’m not sure. It might be May. Also about 18″ of gutter is missing at one part of the roof, but again that’s the condo association’s problem. I’ll bring it to their attention. Likewise with the fact that the chimney is terribly tall and has no guy wires.
What else? Um. There was a smell of gas in the utility closet, so the owner had the gas company come out and the section that was leaking on the furnace will be replaced this week. And really that’s it, I think. All of the wiring and water and things like that are just fine, so I’m left with only cosmetic things to deal with.
I know I want to put in hardwood in the bedrooms to match the living area, and new linoleum in the kitchen. I always want new cabinets in the kitchen (or maybe just reface the old ones depending on how sturdy they are). The bathrooms are SMALL and so eventually I’d like to redo the master bath and see if a bigger tub could be put in. I am going to miss my garden tub here at the apartment! We do so love baths.
There are TWO linen closets in the condo, which I find to be the height of luxury. And they’re big! Lea’s seen my tiny linen closet here. It’s always a disaster area and it blurts blankets and pillows every time it gets opened. I’m looking forward to having shelf space to nicely fold and stack sheets and towels and blankets according to size and what bed they belong to! Eeeee!
The condo is lovely, but it definitely is missing wall space. The living area is where most of the square footage is, and it’s all windows and the fireplace with no stretch of unbroken wall. That means my five truly enormous and tall Ikea bookcases will have to go into the spare bedroom. The spare bedroom is also supposed to have a bed AND my office in it - my office that will consist of two desks, a printer table, and a smaller matching bookcase. I’m really not sure how I’m going to be able to bend the time-space continuum to make that work. I figure I’ll just put what I have in there and then slowly deal with switching out furniture to things that work. I’ll weed through my books ruthlessly and see if I can give one of the Ikea bookcases to my sister, and free up a little more space that way.
I’ve been shopping around for some sort of futon or bunk bed setup for the spare room as well. I’d like something that isn’t a double bed because 1) a double bed takes up a lot of area, and 2) I need to have separate beds for my niece and nephew. Maybe one of those bunk beds where there’s a top bunk and then a futon underneath that can be folded out into a double bed.
I successfully fended off my mother’s attempt to foist off a massive number of antique heirlooms on me, including a mahogany bed set that my parents slept on for literally decades. It’s a beautiful set, but it’s huge, dark, and once belonged to the evil grandmother and I don’t want it in my house.
My Ikea bed frame sucks, and my Ikea dresser has two broken drawers, so I want to replace those, too. I’m looking at platform beds which don’t require a box spring, so then I can get rid of one of my two (TWO) queen size futon mattresses and just keep one to use on the platform bed.
I’ll also need to buy some runners and area rugs to help protect the hardwood floors, so there’s another expense. Thank God the Venetian blinds are staying in the condo so I don’t have to worry about doing windows right away.
Money sucks. My traveling is going to be severely curtailed, I can tell. However, I will have a spare bedroom so people can always come visit! (Hint, hint.)
Once the appraisal comes in and all of that is settled, then I can give notice at my apartment complex and start collecting moving boxes to pack. I need to touch everything that I own and decide what stays, what goes to Goodwill, and what gets trashed. It’s overwhelming, but I comfort myself with the fact that this is the FINAL move for a very long time.
And that is what’s been going on in ELL for the past week or so.