Diving in Head First

A couple things about me - big changes petrify me and large financial commitments stress me. I am a tax CPA, I have an accounting bachelor degree and a master's of taxation. I studied the financial world for five years and have been working in that world for four. I firmly believe a good house is a good investment, yes markets can fall but they also rise. Armed with all my financial knowledge and with a bevy of years of advice/tips from my fixer-upper parents, I began the house hunt.

I met with my realtor, Cristy Christy, (nope, not a typo that is her name) for the first time on June 30th. After one prior offer and withdrawal, I found this place on Monday, August 4th and made an offer. By that Friday, I was in my 10 day inspection period. In less than a month and a half I went from the looking phase to the purchasing phase. All the time I remained surprisingly calm and confident about my choice. I kept waiting for the freak out, a major meltdown but it never came.

Because the process went so much faster than I had expected or planned, I did have a little bit of a dilemma. I have a lease on my apartment till mid-November. I was closing mid-September. Two months of rent and a mortgage and double utilities. As a solution, I asked if my sister and her family wanted to rent from me. They were moving to Phoenix and needed a place. I gave them a pretty good price and a deal was struck. It wasn't ideal, my very first home and my sister was going to move in first but it was the most logical and financially best choice.

The week of closing, I got all my utilities set up and the day before close I did my final walk through. Everything looked great and still no buyer's remorse or worry. Even though I felt confident about the decision, the financial obligation was still very large and I was expecting buyer's remorse to hit soon probably as soon as title cleared. On Friday I checked my email all day long waiting to hear when title cleared and I could get keys. Finally, around 3pm the email came. I was so excited, I made plans to meet my realtor with keys at 4:30pm and left work a little early. And still only excitement and anticipation, no remorse whatsoever.

I got to my brand new house and found my sister with a look on her face, something was wrong. As I walked in my brand new house I saw gas station cups on the counter, odd, those hadn't been there last night. The arcadia door to the backyard was wide open. The guest bathroom had been peed on, all over. The final devastating blow, someone had smoked an entire cigarette in my master bedroom. Butt and ashes left on the windowsill and ashes on the brand new carpet. It reeked of smoke.

I saw red!

What?! Who?! WHY?! Why MY brand new house, didn't they know this was my first ever home purchase? Why is society so screwed up? I was so angry and I had no one to blame. No one to pay for this. No one to clean it up. No one to make it all go away. It was my home, my responsibility. It was hard for me to swallow this.

Due to my blinding anger and a prior super unhelpful police incident, I figured it was pointless calling the police. Lesson 1: hopefully this never happens again, but if so I will call the police. Also, I had my sister's family moving in the very next day and I had a mess to clean up, so we cleaned up all the evidence before I even thought to take a picture. Lesson 2: Take photos first thing. (Though on a personal level I'm glad I don't have photos of the desecration, I think they would still bring up so much anger and without them it just feels like a horrible nightmare.)

Needless to say I had a long weekend of scrubbing every inch of the floor, ceiling, and walls. A few other things went wrong that weekend. It was a long, exhausting couple of days. I definitely dove headfirst into real life home ownership. Strangely enough, despite the great deal of anger I felt and the frustrations of the weekend, I never felt buyer's remorse.  25 days in and I still feel good about my purchase.

Grown Up Moment

There are moments in my life that feel really big, really important. And the thought comes, "This is a grown up moment, I can't believe I'm a grown up." Paying my first utility bills - grown up. First car purchase - grown up. First real job with a 401k - definitely grown up. The greatest grown up moment in my life came two weeks ago - BUYING A HOUSE - when did I get so grown up? Apparently, September 12, 2014 - when this little beauty became mine.

It has FANTASTIC bones! A great brick home built in 1958. Super large windows for its time AND good size walk-in closets in not one, but two bedrooms.

The entry way and a little coat closet.

I have a giant front/living room. And a giant window. I love them both. Though the windows are original so I will be replacing them soon with better double-paned ones.



You can see the dining area from the entry way and living room. The hutch seen here I bought from the prior owner, the dining table I did not. Also, the giant random living room mirror will be removed.

The dining area has an arcadia (sliding) door to the backyard. I plan to replace it with french doors.

Kitchen. It will most definitely be updated. But I am grateful for the sink - super deep and heavy duty. No dishwasher yet but a great sink.

Another great thing about the house, two full bathrooms. Its amazing how many old homes in central Phoenix only have one bathroom or one and half bathrooms.

The bathrooms will also be getting a makeover. Like the kitchen they are dated but still in great condition, well taken care of by the previous owners.

First bedroom, next to the living room, across from the bathroom.



Second bedroom, bigger than the first, a great size. The picture was taken from the walk-in closet.

Master bedroom. The door showing is the bathroom, the walk-in closet is just off the right side of the screen, along the same wall as the bathroom.

Master bathroom. I look forward to updating it.

Back porch, super large, love it.

 

Really large lot and a backyard full of potential.



I want grass, trees and a trampoline. Also on the far left of the house, that last tiny window is a storage/workshed. Currently it only holds my washing machine. We have some plans for that room.

So another cute point about the house, I'm only the second owner! The original owners passed away and left the home to their daughter. She painted it, re-carpeted and immediately put it on the market. The very first day on the market I saw it on my lunch break and put in my offer that night. I have always wanted an old home, I definitely didn't think I'd start with my first home though. But the fact that it is more than a half a century old makes me so happy. And it was definitely well loved and well taken care of. I found a terrific first home, such a blessing.

I have some big plans for the place, some painting, updating, a few built in shelves, a garage. Its exciting. I'm grateful to have a really helpful dad and helpful supportive family. So without further adieu... welcome to my home!

Glad to Part Ways

5 DAYS LEFT...
The list of what I'm dying to say good-bye to is a bit longer - of course. Or else why would I be leaving?

1. Desert - it's ugly and nothing can survive here.

2. The ghetto I live in - yes, the apartment was cheap and fairly nice inside, but the neighborhood was terrible.

3. The color brown (see 1).

4. My cubicle - the cubes looked a bit nicer in Raleigh, here they are dull gray and dirty.

5. My current singles ward - its supposed to help us meet and marry, two and a half years later and still no one has put a ring on it.

6. The Dryness - my skin cracks, my nose bleeds, headaches are constant.

7. Haboobs - too much dirt, EVERYWHERE.

8. Oppressive HEAT - so hot you boil in the car and have to wear gloves to touch the steering wheel; so hot you don't just want to be naked, you want to rip your skin off; so hot you'd rather be dead. Reason enough to leave.

What Will I Miss?

6 DAYS LEFT...
People recently have been asking if I'll miss (fill-in-the-blank.)

I hadn't really thought about it. I knew I was going to miss my family but in addition there actually are a couple things I think I'll miss...

1. Arizona Sunsets, they truly are the best - not disputable, seeing I've seen them in 48 states now.

2. Palm trees out my office windows.

3. My coworkers, they are a unique group for accountants, they actually are fun, shocking I know.

4. My crazy cheap rent. (Thanks, for helping me pay off my student loans so quick.)

5. Delicious health code violating Mexican food.

Lessons Learned in Moving

The countdown has begun!

7 DAYS LEFT...
In one week, I'm leaving Arizona and hopefully not returning (except to visit).

So here is my first countdown post.

Saturday, the movers came and took almost all my stuff away. It was a CRAZY long day and I learned quite a bit.

1. Splinters, stickers, tacks come out of nowhere and are everywhere (stepped on, slicing arms, stabbing hands.) Wear shoes, long sleeves, and pants.

2. Pay attention to the accessories when packing, so the remote gets into the tv box.

3. DO NOT ride a mechanical bull the night before moving.

4. When you do ride a mechanical bull use the legs more than the arms (but again, NOT the night before moving.)

5. Don't leave your bathroom looking like a tornado just blew threw, the movers WILL ask to use it. So clean it the day before they come (you'll be too tired and busy the day of.)

6. Keep one hand towel unpacked in the bathroom so the movers don't use your towel (gross, I had to use a beach towel to dry off later.)

7. When the driver says "I'm on my way." Ask him if he is actually in the truck AND on the road or if he's still doing paperwork with the prior client.

8. Expect them to be hours late, so go ahead and go get that pizza for dinner so you're not starving, tired, and cranky when they finally show up at 8:30pm (3 and a half hours late.)

9. Have a pen ready, there's a TON to sign and their's will be out of ink.

10. Ask him to forego highlighting the paperwork, when its dark you can't see it anyway.

100 YEARS!

Happy Birthday Arizona!

100 years ago today we became the 48th state of the United States. There has been all sorts of activities all over the state going on. In Phoenix around the capital this weekend, they had performers, food booths, and rides.

 The big copper dome on the capital, represents AZ as the largest producer of copper in the U.S.

 The original capital building (with the dome) is now a museum of Arizona history. Here is the hull of the USS Arizona that sunk at Pearl Harbor.

 One of the life rafts from the boat.

 Also Arizona is the only state that kept all items received on the French "Merci" Train. Right after WWII, the U.S. sent supplies to the French and a couple years later as a thank-you, the French sent a train car filled with gifts to each state. Here is a replica of what it looked like.

 Here is a view of the center of the building top floor (4th) looking down.

 In the center on the 1st floor is the Arizona seal. The latin phrase means, "God enriches."

I was happy to find out and proud to know that Arizona was one the 11 states that granted woman suffrage (back in 1912, in the first state election) before the federal government passed it.

 They have a replica of how the first House was set up and on the gallery door as you enter is this:

 "People get the government they deserve. Good, moral people concerned about others get a good, moral government that cares about the people. People that are greedy, lazy, or apathetic, get a government that is greedy, immoral and unconcerned with the public's welfare." HOW TRUE!!!!

 Here is a picture of the original capital right after it was built in 1900, it was just the territorial house at the time, 12 years before we were admitted to the Union.

 CONGRATULATIONS Arizona! Happy 100 years! I'm grateful to have grown up in such a great state.