MangoMania

Last weekend we went to the Mango Festival at Fairchild Tropical Gardens in Miami. Wow and zowie. Who knew there were so many mango eating lovers. Who knew there were so many different varieties of mangos, and that they tasted so different and that the fruit came in so many colors. The trees are all of different sizes and hardiness. We bought 3 of them for our new house. We tasted a dozen different types. Tangy, sweet, juicy, nutty, citrusy, spicy. One variety that we got is called ‘Ice Cream’.

The Fairchild Gardens were magnificent also……..we just love this Tropical weather………

Webshots Community – Sand sculpture Festival, Dinosaurs, Giants on the Beach 2001

Wow………talk about Sand Sculptures….go to the above website to check out some really amazing eye candy!

You gotta kiss a lot of frogs…………………………………………..

After the inspection of house of #3 the owners got hysterical. Remember he accused the inspector of nefarious intentions and over emotional interpretations of the condition of his house. He refused our counter-offer, only to call us back a week and a half later and say he was willing to deal now. (Boy, that must of been a hard one for him…but we did take joy in his groveling and had some glee at refusing him and his dilapidated house). Remember the inspector found repairs were needed to the tune of like $20,000……….I don’t know what’s the matter with us, but at that time we were willing to split the cost of the repairs with him. I think we got blinded by the canal with ocean access.

The story with house #6 couldn’t have been more different. We took over the inspection report last night. The owner read it over, with interest and intelligent nodding. He remarked on the fine job the inspector did. He asked for a copy of the report and said that he would take care of everything on the list…..no problem. From the littlest thing, loose window cranks, to the biggest, bad electrical box. Of course, this inspection was much better over all than all the others…..the house only needing like $4,000 worth of repairs. It scored much higher on the Mike Meter. We felt we had met out prince .

I must say, though this whole process was long and grueling at times I really enjoyed all the aspects of it. Looking at each home hopefully. Marveling at all the different types of spaces people live in. Doing a quick remodel in my head as we went from room to room. All the bargaining and all the refining of our goals was interesting. All the checking out of different neighborhoods in this area. All the hope and all the disappointments were not so enjoyable, but not all that bad either……like a good roller-coaster ride.

The next stage is another kind of ride. This stage is setting up the painters and the movers and thinking about the different rooms and spaces and figuring out what will go where. All the mundane things that are important in making a house a home. We have a lot of time until our closing dates to think the whole situation through. We can relax and enjoy all the steps now, knowing that we have a new home. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH…………….

NUMBER 6

This is the backyard of number 6. The inspection went very well. Now we just have a few more little details to take of until I can let out my breath…..heave a sigh of relieve, and know that we have a new house……finally. I was getting superstitious about putting photos of the place up on this Blog, because I got so excited before and published the pictures…..only to be disappointed. So, as the days go on and the deal becomes totally finalized, more photos will ensue.

So, back to our little Xangaroo boy. Who seems to be growing and increasing his charm level (is that is at all possible), every day. His favorite toy is an old box that has a hole in it. He is one of those cats who love to chase his tail. He speaks for his food, and so far, he speaks only when he is in the kitchen and hungry. He enjoys watching a good soccer game……………………….

He almost prevented this goal!

Hope Is Alive and Well

Yesterday, after 4 hours of searching the web looking at hundreds of houses for sale, one ad caught my attention. It was in our price range and for sale by owner. With our last fiasco with a for sale by owner, Miranda was reluctant to look at it. I was so depressed at not having a house, and ever the optimist I convinced her to go have a look see.

After spending 2 hours at the house we put down our money again!!! Mind you, this is the 6th….count them 123456…..time that we have put our money down.  Maybe 6 is our lucky number.

Most things have been updated within the last 3-4 years, so we are hoping this time Mike, our inspector will give this place a big thumbs up. (I think Mike has now taken 2 vacations on the money he has already earned from us). These inspections have been money well spent, and tomorrow we will go at it again!

This owner has promised to fix everything that is found to need fixing. If he is good for his word, then we may have a deal! After being burnt so many times, please notice my skepticism.

I hesitate to say what is good about this one. I didn’t say anything about the last one and the woman has backed out anyway. Geeeshh, why put your house up for sale and get a offer and then change your mind?….anyway, that was last weeks story.

This one….is in an okay neighborhood,has the square footage we need, doesn’t have any carpets we need to rip out, has a small pool, is on a canal which goes out to a lake (no ocean access, which is fine by us), and is within our comfortable price range. It’s a little close to the railroad tracks and the freeway, but a gurgling fountain will offer some consolation. I think all it will need is a good inside paint job……but Mike, our hero, will let us know tomorrow.

Our little boy of many names is oblivious to all these shenanigans. He just wants to eat, play and lay on his back in our arms and purr……..

Da Funk

There is a funk in my brain today. I deserve it. It is well deserved. We have looked at every house for sale in the greater neighborhood…..within a 20 mile radius.

The last bid we made, and agreed on a price. The seller now wants to wait to sign. This is too eerily similar to the second house purchase we tried to make. This time, though, the woman claims she needs to find a place to live. It all sounds way to fishy to me.

This makes the 5th house that we have put our money down on and something or other has happened to end it.

We are re-thinking this whole moving thing…..maybe we should move to another city…..another area…… but we do have to move and we have to move within the next 2 months…..

Big gulp!

This little kitten boy, whose name changes by the hour has won our hearts many times over. He is endless delight and endless sweetness. His gray eyes are turning a bit toward the yellow. He seems to be part dog, part kangaroo, part lover boy, part monkey, part otter and part rascal. He is almost 2 months old. We worry about his health constantly, but so far he is eating a lot and gaining weight. Ain’t he cute?

He is eager to try lobster.

He had just eaten, but the seafood was irresistable. It never hurts to try.

No one else in this area must be buying houses.

We have put down money now on 4 different houses and each one has fallen through for one reason or another. In all of them, after the deal is dropped, we get a phone call offering the house at the price we said we would pay. But, each time, we have already moved on. Now we are about to try for a 5th one. Maybe we are trying to set a record. Miranda asked our real estate guy if there was some sort of organization watching our buying moves and if there was a limit on the number of houses you could move through in a given amount of time……we all got a good laugh out of that one….but we are wondering if anyone else is interested in any of these houses……..

So, now the plan is to forget about the neighborhood, and just go for the house which has enough room and that can be gotten with the lowest mortgage we can get….none would be best……

I think we got one in mind right now….no waterfront access, no ocean access, no swimming pool…..but with a little savings, maybe we will be able to put one in soon………..another inspection is in the horizon.

I think we are supporting this inspector Mike this month…..this is the 3rd one in as many weeks………better safe than sorry…..each penny has helped us in the long run.

Sad Day…..

Mini died last night

Our hearts are full

Our hearts are sad

A touch of cuteness is gone from our world

Inspector Saga Continues…..preliminary report from the inspector is more of the same….meaning this new house we are after is a fixer upper, just as bad as the last one.

This is a huge disappointment to me, because I thought that this one would be better. I saw it needed work, but my untrained eye and skills didn’t see what was really going on.

Next step is to get the detailed report from Mike#1. His reports are beautifully written up, with pictures, and pointers and estimates on costs of repairs. (He could write a great blog, if he was so inclined). He even includes a ‘Mike-o-meter’, which gives a scale on how bad (or good) the property is….running from ‘Bring your toothbrush’ to the dreaded….’Bulldoze the building’.

Then we go back and forth with the current owners to see if we can agree on a price with the repairs that are needed.

All typical homebuying routines……but this is the 3rd house that we have gone round and round about.

Patience is the requisite need of the day. Patience, just the emotion with which I am least familiar. I was even born with impatience…..as my mother was approaching the hospital steps she began calling out…’I feel a foot’…it was me, racing to get out!

So, the patience pressure is on me….both with tending to our little Mini and with the house……my best thought at this time….go take a nap. And with that….I off.